David McNamara – businessman on the move, sports fanatic and administrator.
Our newest member David McNamara undertook the onerous task of being our first on-line guest speaker, using the Zoom platform.
Hearing from a new member of our club is always a treat. Sometimes we hear a philosophy of life. Other times we get a plethora of dates and jobs that form a curriculum vitae. With David McNamara, we got both; and we revelled in them both.
This scribe can only scratch the surface of the detail; whilst trying to portray the flavour of David’s career in business, and his love of sport.
David’s early life was anchored in Geelong – the football club, and his catholic education: “I wasn’t much of a scholar”. But that didn’t seem to hold him back from a stellar career of some four decades with the Olex cable manufacturing company.
Others made the cables; but it was David who sold them throughout the Asia Pacific Region. Constantly travelling, always forging and nurturing personal relationships with his customers. “A good life for a bachelor with an expense account”.
Olex underwent changes of ownership; and finally he left. Only to be snapped up by a start-up Chinese cable manufacturing company, which he powered to a commanding position within his ten years, only for the company to close in June 2019. His retirement has become our gain.
Along with all this commercial endeavour and success, David has had a major hand in many trade lobby groups, and in several sports – most notably Cricket.
Cricket is his passion: he pl
ayed at school and continues in the St Joseph’s Old Boys team, and has travelled overseas in “Golden Oldies” Competitions , Ashes and Test Match Tours to South Africa, New Zealand, UK and the West Indies. He is an active member of the Taverners Club, a charitable organisation which promotes cricket among young people. .
He was also a passionate football player and is now a keen Geelong supporter.
David has carried the nick-name “Big Mac” since his schooldays. Relatively late in life, in 2007, David married, and inherited a family.
David fielded a number of questions from the electronic audience, mainly relating to dodgy practises in large corporations, and the role of the Chinese government in Australian Business.
We welcome David to our club, confident that we are gaining a member who will participate and innovate. I, certainly, rejoice!