Keeping The Country Running - Greg Boorer, CEO and Founder CDC [S8E3]

Scaling up: Lessons from the world's best CEOs and Founders

Very rarely do you get to tell the story of a wildly successful entrepreneur that is largely unknown beyond the immediate circle of influence. Today on Scaling Up, Greg Boorer, the CEO and Founder of CDC, formally Canberra Data Centres, which is in some rarefied air among companies globally, having compounded earnings at over 30% for the last 15 years.

It's now valued well in excess of $10 billion and is at the centre of the beating heart of Australia's critical infrastructure. All this, and it still has a massive growth runway ahead of it.

Greg's story in many ways is the CDC story from an aspiring cyclist and reluctant it graduate. Greg has become the face and often lead salesperson of a business that has rewritten industry standards as it relates to innovation and security.

In what is seen from the outside as a commoditised industry, CDC has thrived by listening to customer needs and adapting accordingly.

This is a story of initial hustle and belief in an opportunity, but ultimately it's about resiliency and delivering on promises. Greg has undoubtedly built one of Australia's best businesses from the ground up, and to hear him speak about this scaling journey with the knowledge and passion that he does will undoubtedly be inspiring to all our listeners.

Transcript:

CHAPTERS:

(00:55) – Greg’s beginnings

(05:50) – A foreign start

(11:32) – Moving back to Australia

(18:40) – Building Canberra Data Centres , now CDC

(22:40) –Tactics, tips and techniques

(24:12) – Technological and competitive ddvantage

(30:54) – Solidifying CDC’s Future

(36:58) – CDC’s scaling journey

(44:08) – Why you need to partner with the right people

(47:33) – CDC’s sustainability commitment