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In an manufacture known for its conservatism, George Frazis has built a vocation connected dynamism, crisp strategy, and a knack for forging relationships with Australia’s astir almighty concern figures. Now, aft decades astatine the helm of large banks, helium has taken connected a caller challenge—his ain firm, George Capital Finance Solutions. But to recognize what drives him, you person to spell backmost to wherever it each began.
George Frazis is not what you’d telephone a accepted banker. While astir fiscal executives blend into boardrooms with practiced anonymity, Frazis has spent decades lasting out.
“I grew up successful lodging committee successful Darwin,” says Frazis from his elegant Castlereagh Street bureau successful Sydney’s CBD, wherever photos of F/A-18 combatant jets stock partition abstraction with banking mementos. The abstraction is distinguished by its expansive arched windows that flood the country with earthy light, a striking architectural diagnostic that frames the municipality setting.
“I didn’t person a country to myself until I went to twelvemonth 11. Before that, I utilized to stock with either a relative oregon a brother.”
It’s this grounded opening – arsenic the eldest of 7 children calved to Greek migrants from the land of Kalymnos – that Frazis credits with shaping his attack to business, adjacent arsenic helium ascended to tally immoderate of Australia’s largest banks.
His puerility was defined by hard work, community, and an unshakable content successful education. “We were migrants. We lived successful lodging committee successful Darwin. My parents worked hard—normal migrant story, right? It was each astir educating their kids and making a amended life,” helium recalls.
“We utilized to stock our location with caller Greek migrants arriving successful Australia due to the fact that that’s what you did,” helium recalls. “It’s each astir assemblage and helping each different and moving hard.”
That ethos present drives George Capital Finance Solutions, the indebtedness advisory steadfast helium founded successful December 2023 aft his high-profile exit from Bank of Queensland. In conscionable 12 months, the steadfast has arranged much than $550 cardinal successful lending, chiefly for household businesses seeking maturation capital.
From Fighter Jets to Finance
Long earlier helium became the banking enforcement who would yet orchestrate ME Bank’s $1.35 cardinal acquisition, Frazis began his nonrecreational beingness successful a dramatically antithetic mounting – maintaining precocious craft systems successful the Royal Australian Air Force.
“After schoolhouse I joined the Royal Australian Air Force, did electronics engineering, was based retired of Western Australia, past moved implicit to Williamstown with 77 squadron, liable for the F/A-18 Hornet combatant aircraft,” Frazis says. “That plane, by the way, is featured successful the past Top Gun movie. Because that exertion is present being declassified, it was allowed to beryllium successful the latest Top Gun movie.”
It wasn’t until property 29 that Frazis pivoted to finance, completing an MBA astatine the Australian Graduate School of Management earlier joining Boston Consulting Group. That determination launched a meteoric emergence done Australia’s fiscal sector: CFO astatine Commonwealth Bank’s organization division, starring NAB’s concern and backstage banking (Australia’s largest concern bank), moving Westpac New Zealand, past St. George Bank, earlier heading Westpac‘s monolithic Consumer Bank.
His last firm relation arsenic CEO of Bank of Queensland saw him present six consecutive halves of net growth, importantly grow the indebtedness publication from $50 cardinal to $80 billion, and oversee a integer translation that modernised the determination bank’s operations.
Not Your Typical Buttoned-Down Banker
Merivale laminitis Justin Hemmes, who worked with Frazis for much than a decennary portion gathering his hospitality empire, offers an unequivocal assessment. “George is professional, intelligent, charismatic, and a realist,” Hemmes told the AFR recently. “I worked with him astatine National Australia Bank, St George, and Westpac, and crossed that we’ve built a fantastic friendship.”
This sentiment has been echoed by Ahmed Fahour, CEO of Gurner Group, and formerly the managing manager (MD) and CEO of Latitude Financial Services, MD and CEO of Australia Post, and CEO Australia of the National Australia Bank (NAB), who has described Frazis arsenic “fiercely loyal to his team” and “very driven and whip-smart.”
Such connections person distinguished Frazis successful an manufacture wherever executives typically support debased profiles. But his networking prowess is matched by a strategical caput that has consistently delivered results done transformative leadership.
“I’ve enjoyed each that I’ve been doing successful banking,” Frazis says, reflecting connected his career. “You’re close successful the consciousness that it was astatine a elder level, but I’ve ever liked each elements of it. I’ve ever liked the lawsuit broadside of things. The information present that efficaciously the concern I’ve built present is each astir that.”
His determination from firm banking to launching his ain task was inspired by the relationships helium built passim his career. “I was inspired by looking astatine different people’s examples successful presumption of what they’ve done gathering up their businesses and secondly, due to the fact that I’ve ever enjoyed that facet of my firm life, it made consciousness to bash that successful this signifier of my career.”
The Heart of George Capital: Family Businesses
Frazis has agelong been fascinated by household businesses, galore of which stock his ain migrant story. “They’ve worked hard, taken risks, and gone done ups and downs to get wherever they are. I ever respect those stories,” helium says.
His absorption is present wholly connected household businesses – a deliberate prime that aligns with his idiosyncratic values.
“I could bash this for companies, but my prime is to absorption connected families. We assistance operation their debt, root capital, and find the champion fiscal partners,” Frazis explains.
“I’m ever fascinated by their stories. Like each household business, peculiarly if they person gone done a generational change… A batch of them are migrants that person travel with thing and past built these astonishing businesses. They person worked hard, and it goes to amusement that Australia is simply a state that does supply that accidental if you privation to enactment hard and bash thing for yourself.”
This passionateness for household businesses isn’t simply sentimental – it’s strategic. Frazis has built his steadfast astir a cardinal insight: household businesses request antithetic fiscal structures than corporations, peculiarly erstwhile readying for generational transitions.
“The happening with household businesses is, it’s truly important to recognize what their objectives are,” helium says. “They thin to privation to modulation done a procreation oregon two. That doesn’t mean that they won’t needfully merchantability oregon aren’t unfastened to selling. So what that says past is that you’ve got to negociate the concern to that requirement. Don’t turn it excessively accelerated oregon don’t turn excessively slow.”
The Greek Connection
Frazis’s Greek practice remains cardinal to his identity, some personally and professionally. He serves connected some the US and Australian boards of The Hellenic Initiative (THI), which is celebrating its 10th day successful Australia with a gala ball. “I’m truly arrogant of THI,” says Frazis. “It’s each astir helping Greece’s economical improvement and strengthening ties with the diaspora.”
“The US gets unneurotic successful Florida astatine the extremity of the January each twelvemonth for a strategical conference, truthful I’ve attended that for the past 3 years. This year, really ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle, the recently designated US ambassador to Greece, came and spoke to THI successful a benignant of backstage dinner, which was truly bully of her to bash that and generous of her time.
“She truly showed her passionateness for Greece, the value that Greece has politically and the adjacent narration Greece and the US have, it was truly bully to beryllium portion of that meal and to perceive it straight from her.”
Last twelvemonth Frazis accepted an invitation to contiguous astatine the Delphi Economic Forum , covering trends successful banking and besides immoderate commercialized and geopolitics, peculiarly regarding Australia’s narration with China.
“I was precise impressed with the forum,” helium says, calling it “arguably 1 of the much influential economical forums aft the Davos conference.”
This transportation to his Greek roots manifests successful his concern doctrine too. “If you deliberation astir however I built my business, it’s based connected idiosyncratic relationships due to the fact that I genuinely judge successful relationships,” Frazis says. “For me, it’s each astir what’s the close happening for that idiosyncratic agelong term. So it doesn’t mean let’s alteration banks oregon bash things conscionable for the involvement of it – it’s astir doing what’s close for you and what you are comfy with.”
The George Capital Difference
The George Capital squad consists wholly of ex-bankers, cautiously selected by Frazis for their expertise and relationship-building skills. His competitory edge? Relationships and experience. His squad is made up wholly of ex-bankers with heavy manufacture knowledge.
“Through my clip successful banking, you bash get to cognize who the bully bankers are,” helium explains. “We recognize the banks, however they run and we truly recognize credit. So we usage that cognition to get the champion outcomes for our clients,” Frazis says.
“The close indebtedness operation is captious to wealthiness creation,” Frazis emphasises, a doctrine that sits astatine the bosom of his caller venture. “If you don’t get the operation close astatine the start, you tin stumble a spot erstwhile you person flimsy ups and downs, and past trying to hole it aboriginal is harder. So it’s ever amended getting the close proposal and structuring it cautiously from the beginning.”
Despite being 1 of Australia’s astir well-connected bankers, Frazis remains profoundly grounded successful Greek values of family, relationships, and community. His squad includes his high-profile banker member Paul, the 2nd youngest of the 7 Frazis siblings. “Paul’s a large banker, helium is simply a truly experienced commercialized banker,” Frazis says proudly.
Frazis has besides sub-let abstraction successful his Sydney CBD offices to his lad Michael’s concern fund, Frazis Capital Partners. “I get to spot him a batch much now,” Michael says, describing his begetter arsenic “hardworking”. He adds, “Diligent is excessively boring a word, but helium is precise client-focused, and helium fights for his clients, that’s for sure.”
“We absorption connected household businesses. We assistance operation their debt, root capital, and find the champion fiscal partners,” helium explains. In conscionable 12 months, George CFS has arranged implicit $550 cardinal successful lending.
Family Business Wisdom
According to Frazis, the astir palmy household businesses stock respective characteristics that helium helps clients cultivate.
He believes excessively galore household businesses don’t program good for generational transitions. “The businesses that thrive are the ones wherever the older procreation stays progressive portion the younger procreation brings innovation. It’s astir uncovering that balance.”
“The much palmy household businesses guarantee that each generations enactment engaged,” helium explains. “Founders—often the parents—don’t simply manus implicit the reins and measurement away. Their wisdom, combined with the younger generation’s thrust to innovate and grow, creates the strongest instauration for semipermanent success. Transitioning should hap gradually, with the adjacent procreation taking connected much work implicit time, but my proposal is to support the parents oregon grandparents progressive close to the end. Respect and instrumentality their advice.”
Another communal mistake? Relying excessively heavy connected 1 bank. “If 1 narration goes south, you request options. Having aggregate banking partners creates competitory hostility and ensures you get the champion deal.”
He besides emphasises the value of clarity astir maturation and risk. “You don’t privation to instrumentality much hazard than you’re comfy with. You bash privation to grow, beryllium sustainable, and deliberation astir the antithetic generations.”
Digital Banking and the Future
Looking forward, Frazis sees important changes connected the skyline for finance.
“There’s nary uncertainty that AI is this adjacent question of technology, which is incredible,” helium says. “The net was a immense infinitesimal successful caller history, and present we’re astatine the commencement of this AI benignant of explosion. So each organisation has to commencement reasoning astir that and astir however it tin make worth for your ain business.”
Another cardinal inclination helium highlights is the maturation of backstage credit. “The banks are present not the lone prime that household businesses have. They’ve got backstage recognition providers, which are precocious quality. They thin to beryllium a spot much expensive, but they thin to beryllium much flexible and faster.”
His proposal for businesses navigating this landscape? ““Technology is revolutionising payments, but trust, experience, and knowing however to operation deals volition ever beryllium key. I inactive deliberation relationships matter.
“Making definite that you’ve got choices successful the banks that you usage – not being solely reliant connected 1 supplier of concern due to the fact that if for immoderate reason, that narration doesn’t spell good astatine immoderate point, it’s bully to ever person a backup and immoderate competitory tension.”
The Private Credit Horizon
Though George Capital is hardly a twelvemonth old, Frazis has revealed that he’s already readying his adjacent task – a backstage recognition money that would let his steadfast to straight supply financing alternatively than conscionable put it.
This isn’t conscionable concern for Frazis – it’s personal. His vocation has travel afloat circle, from the lodging committee kid of Greek migrants to banking enforcement to entrepreneur gathering his ain steadfast centred connected helping different household businesses thrive.
In an manufacture not known for sentiment, Frazis remains refreshingly connected to his roots portion looking resolutely forward. For the families and businesses that crook to George Capital Finance Solutions, that operation of heritage, expertise, and imaginativeness whitethorn beryllium the quality betwixt simply surviving and genuinely thriving successful an uncertain economical future.
“For me, it’s ever been astir relationships,” helium says. “I archer my clients: I’m not present to conscionable bash a deal. I’m present to marque definite you person the close backing operation for the future.”
For Frazis, concern isn’t conscionable astir deals—it’s astir people.
George Capital Finance Solutions
Level 3, 219 Castlereagh Street
Sydney NSW 2000 Australia
(02) 9072 9288
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Natalie Martin
Editor
Natalie Martin is exertion and writer astatine Greek City Times, specialising successful penning diagnostic articles and exclusive interviews with Greek personalities and celebrities. Natalie focuses connected bringing authentic stories to beingness and crafting compelling narratives. Her endowment for storytelling and compassionate attack to journalism guarantee that each nonfiction connects with readers astir the world.
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