For almost 25 years, Matt Michalewicz has been running high-growth tech companies in the now-popularized areas of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
Current Work
As an entrepreneur, he has experienced first-hand the challenges of starting, growing, and selling his own companies and can effectively connect with any audience of business owners. At the same time, his entrepreneurial experience has revolved around the application of advanced technologies to large, global organisations across a diverse set of sectors-including financial services, FMCG, mining, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, retail, and government-and he is able to provide expert commentary and insight into how these organisations achieve efficiency, competitive advantage, and internal innovation.
Previous Experience
Throughout his career, Matt has raised more than $60 million in venture capital, sold his own companies for tens of millions of dollars, served on the board of directors of several ASX-listed companies, and written many books, including Life in Half a Second, Winning Credibility, Puzzle-Based Learning, Adaptive Business Intelligence, and The Rise of Artificial Intelligence.
He is considered a modern leader, having personally led organisations through the crashes and uncertainty of the dot-com, GFC, and covid eras, as well as the rise of disruptive trends such as mass personalisation, on-demand, digitalisation, and the rise of AI. Matt is also known for attracting global names to the boards of his own companies-including the former President of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Lech Walesa; former Bank of America Chairman and CEO, Hugh McColl Jr.; world-renowned fraud expert and subject of Steven Spielberg's blockbuster "Catch Me if You Can," Frank Abagnale; and former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States, Zbigniew Brzezinski. His achievements have been featured in numerous television shows and publications, including Time Magazine, Newsweek, Sky News, and Forbes, and he was also named the Pearcey Foundation “Entrepreneur of the Year”, Business Journal “40 under 40” list of accomplished business leaders, and Ernst and Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” finalist.
Matt is currently the CEO of Complexica, a provider of Artificial Intelligence software that helps large organisations make better decisions in sales, marketing, & supply chain operations. Matt’s more notable achievements at Complexica include raising almost $35 million in venture capital, being named the 2018 Australian Innovator of the Year, and winning several global tenders against competitors that were more than 100 times larger. Complexica employs more than a hundred staff across four offices and has many well-known customers, such as Dulux, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Metcash, Asahi, Pernod Ricard, Woolworths, and Arnott’s among others.
Prior to Complexica, Matt was the co-founder and CEO of SolveIT Software, a company he grew from scratch to 180 employees and more than $20 million in revenue before selling the business to Schneider Electric in 2012. SolveIT Software provided Artificial Intelligence systems for the mining industry to optimise their planning and scheduling processes, and was named the 3rd fastest-growing company in Australia in 2012 with global customers such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Viterra, Glencore, and Xstrata.
From 1999 - 2003, Matt was the co-founder and CEO of NuTech Solutions in the USA, where he raised almost US$20 million in venture capital and grew the business to almost 200 employees in 6 international offices. NuTech Solutions provided Artificial Intelligence-based software to the banking, defence, and manufacturing sectors, with customers such as General Motors, Unilever, Beiersdorf, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Air Liquide, NSA, U.S. Department of Defense, and Ford Motor Company among others. NuTech Solutions was acquired by Netezza Corporation, which was subsequently acquired by IBM Global Services.
From 1994 - 1999, Matt was the founder and operator of Fitness Forever, a personal training business, and later, the co-founder of CFG Investments, a money management and financial planning company with more than $150 million under management.
Matt is also a Limited Partner in Blackbird Ventures, an Australian early-stage venture capital fund, and from 2005 - 2016 he held the position of Visiting Fellow at the University of Adelaide where he lectured on the subject of technology commercialisation for graduate students.
Talking Points
From Starvation to Success: How to improve small business performance
Most small businesses are stuck in a perpetual state of 'survival', never quite able to achieve the financial success their products and services deserve. Matthew's presentation pulls focus on the critical factors that make the difference between starvation and success in any small business. Based on real-life examples and case studies, participants are provides with knowledge, insights, and action items to improve their top and bottom line performance, along with insights into Matthew's approach to fast-tracking business growth. Matthew has started, grown, and sold four companies during a 20-year period, with his last venture being ranked by Deloitte as the third fastest growing company in Australia in 2012.
From Starvation to Success: How to improve small business performance
From Cradle to Grave: How to foster innovation within any organisation
Why innovate? To gain differentiation, competitive advantage, increased productivity - the list is endless. The problem large organisations face is how to approach innovation - which is typically an unstructured discipline - in a structured manner. Matthew presents different innovation models for, from cultural and KPI-driving innovation, through to think tanks, strategic alliances, spin-ins, and strategic investments, and how they have been applied in various industries.
From Cradle to Grave: How to foster innovation within any organisation
Commercialising Tomorrow's Technology
Bringing new innovations to market is both exciting and potentially very rewarding. However, there is often a funding and knowledge gap that has to be overcome when bringing new technologies to market. Using case studies and real-world examples, Matthew explains what it takes to bridge these gaps. His presentation also provides practical guidance that all businesses can apply to maximise their chances of achieving successful commercialisation outcomes.
Commercialising Tomorrow's Technology
The Science of Success
The problem with success is that everybody has an opinion on how to achieve it. These opinions are usually based on personal experiences within a specific industry, time period, and geography, and can often be contradictory or irrelevant. In the 'Science of Success', Matthew presents the five fundamental drivers of success that are evidence-based and proven through thousands of studies and decades of scientific research. Free from opinion and bias, he explains the mechanics of each driver, why it works, and how it can be applied for attaining business, career, and personal goals. Matthew's talk is often included as a keynote presentation in conferences, corporate events, and professional development programs, and is based on his groundbreaking book Life in Half a Second.
The Science of Success
Winning Sales
It's not the company with the best product or service that wins the day, it's the company with the best sales and marketing. Calling on his 20+ years of experience in both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) sales, Matthew Michalewicz will share the secrets that can transform an average sales organisation into best in class. Using case studies and research from the field of psychology and behavioural finance, he will present what the ideal sales process should look like and how to apply it. Participants will learn how to:Winning Sales
• Optimise their sales process for cost and conversion
• Sell the 'prize' versus the 'product'
• Apply 'emotional involvement'
• Become more customer-centric
• Increase their credibility to increase sales
Matthew has used these techniques to sell his way to success in a number of diverse settings, including:
• Winning the largest corporations in the world as customers - such as BHP Billiton, General Motors, and Bank of America - against competitors that were larger, more established, with better products
• Convincing internationally-renowned people to join his board of directors, such as the President of Poland and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa; the Bank of America Chairman and CEO Hugh McColl Jr., and subject of Steven Spielberg's blockbuster 'Catch Me if You Can' Frank Abagnale
• Selling the businesses he built to multi-billion dollar corporations, such as IBM and Schneider Electric
Matthew Michalewicz can dramatically change the way your organisation sells its products and services.
Big Data, Disruption, and Artificial Intelligence
Most people realise that the world is rapidly changing - with technology re-writing the face of countless industries across the globe - but few people realise that the speed of this change is accelerating. Rapid change is not just a “phase” - rapid change is the new “norm”. According to a new Innosight study, the average lifespan of an S&P 500 company has fallen from 61 years in 1958, to just 18 years today, and new business models may only have a lifespan of 5 years or less given the speed of change.Big Data, Disruption, and Artificial Intelligence
As an international expert in disruptive technologies - having started, grown, and sold Artificial Intelligence software companies in Europe, North America, and Australasia over the past 20 years - Matthew Michalewicz delivers an succinct keynote on big data, disruption, and Artificial intelligence. Topics covered include:
• Big data and the Internet of Things - what is it and why it’s important
• Major trends driving innovation and disruption, such as personalisation, on demand consumption, and virtualisation
• How new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, 3-D printing, and quantum computing will re-shape and disrupt countless industries
• Implications for sales, marketing, and supply chain business functions
• What major companies are doing to accelerate innovation and protect themselves from disruption
Engaging and educational, Matthew’s keynote draws on facts and studies, as well as first-hand case studies on the topics covered
Video
Matthew Michalewicz on the rise of Artificial Intelligence
With more than two decades of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology, Matt Michalewicz speaks about business success, goal setting and leadership. He’s also an expert on artificial intelligence and disruption.Matthew Michalewicz - Corporate speaker, innovator, success expert, and serial entrepreneur.
Matthew Michalewicz has 20 years of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology. He has established boards that include former heads of state, Nobel Peace Prize winners, and Fortune 500 CEOs, and has a track record of starting businesses from scratch and selling them for tens of millions of dollars. He is currently the CEO of Complexica, a provider of Artificial Intelligence software that helps large organisations increase revenue, margin, and customer engagement through automated analytics.Matthew Michalewicz | 'The Science of Success' at the 2014 Saxton Ultimate Event Experience
Matthew Michalewicz has 20 years of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology, establishing boards that include former heads of state, Nobel Peace Prize winners and Fortune 500 CEOs, and with a track record of starting businesses from scratch and selling them for tens of millions of dollars. At the 2014 Saxton Ultimate Event Experience, Matthew presented the fundamental drivers for success, proven through thousands of studies and decades of scientific research. Free from opinion and bias, Matthew explains the mechanics of each driver, why it works, and how it can be applied for attaining business, career, and personal goals, as based on his groundbreaking new book Life in Half a Second.Matthew Michalewicz- Artificial Intelligence - Switzer Daily 8 June 2017
Matt Michalewicz joins Switzer TV to share why jobs are not in danger, yet, from the rise of artificial intelligence (broadcast on Switzer TV Thursday 8 June, 2017). With more than two decades of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology, Matt Michalewicz speaks about business success, goal setting and leadership. He’s also an expert on artificial intelligence and disruption.Matthew Michalewicz on 'Life in Half a Second', success, fear and desire on The Switzer Report
With more than two decades of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology, Matt Michalewicz speaks about business success, goal setting and leadership. He’s also an expert on artificial intelligence and disruption.Motivation Man: Matthew Michalewicz talks Life in Half a Second on Today Tonight Adelaide
With more than two decades of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology, Matt Michalewicz speaks about business success, goal setting and leadership. He’s also an expert on artificial intelligence and disruption.Matthew Michalewicz on Switzer TV - March 2016
With more than two decades of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology, Matt Michalewicz speaks about business success, goal setting and leadership. He’s also an expert on artificial intelligence and disruption.Matthew Michalewicz on Switzer TV January 2016
With more than two decades of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology, Matt Michalewicz speaks about business success, goal setting and leadership. He’s also an expert on artificial intelligence and disruption.Matthew Michalewicz | Speaker, Author, Entrepreneur
Matthew Michalewicz has 20 years of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology. He has established boards that include former heads of state, Nobel Peace Prize winners, and Fortune 500 CEOs, and has a track record of starting businesses from scratch and selling them for tens of millions of dollars. From 2005 to 2012, Matthew was the co-founder and CEO of SolveIT Software, growing the company from zero to almost 180 employees and $20 million in revenue before selling the business to Schneider Electric. Under his leadership, SolveIT Software became the third fasting-growing company in Australia in 2012, as ranked by Deloitte. The company won numerous awards, and counted among its customers some of the largest corporations in the world including Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, and Xstrata.Business Agenda SA - Episode 4 feat. Matthew Michalewicz
With more than two decades of hands-on experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and success psychology, Matt Michalewicz speaks about business success, goal setting and leadership. He’s also an expert on artificial intelligence and disruption.I have now heard Matthew Michalewicz present several times. His presentations provide that rare mix of being both educational and entertaining. He makes the complex simple. With the use of p ... keep reading Macquarie Private Wealth
At an event that drew over 300 people, Matthew spoke with great eloquence and conviction about the business and life journey that culminated in the writing of his first book. He is an accomplished speaker, but more than that, he presents with the utmost authority and credibility. He has an ability to gauge the mood and interest of the audience, and tailor his comments and presentation to suit. Matthew spoke from the heart, not from prescriptive notes, and had just the right blend of humour, hard fact and personal experience.
Matthew is a fine, natural speaker and I have been delighted to engage his services for several important events. Drawing upon a variety of successful experiences, including leadership of several high-tech companies, Matthew is able to convey deep insights into issues such as the commercialisation process and work-life balance in a highly articulate and entertaining fashion.
After hearing Matthew speak, you gain an insight into what makes an entrepreneur tick, what drives him, and what motivates him as a Company Director to take an idea and turn it into a business. He speaks with passion and self belief, and above all, he is entertaining and very easy to listen to.
Matt was outstanding. His level of professionalism in both preparation and presentation is first class. Matt’s message was hugely impactful to our audience. He is engaging and quickly connects with the audience and his willingness to stay and talk further with the attendees over a coffee was greatly appreciated.
Matt is a great professional and an inspiring and engaging speaker. Matt brought humility, humour and passion to his presentation. Drawing on his expertise and own success, our conference delegates left informed, inspired and with great knowledge to take back to their workplaces and lives .
