The Greensill family has been honoured with the 2019 Hinkler Innovation Award in front of a large gathering at the Multiplex on Thursday morning.
The award, named after Bundaberg’s famous pioneer aviator Bert Hinkler, celebrates exceptional individuals who have made local, national and international contributions to innovation or entrepreneurship and are leading the way in Australian innovation.
“This award evokes the legacy of the late Bert Hinkler whose pioneering spirit, innovative developments and daring significantly contributed to the transformation of the aviation industry in the early twentieth century,” Mayor Jack Dempsey said.
In presenting the award to family businessrepresentative Damian Botha, Mayor Dempsey said the Greensill family continued to maintain their business base in the Bundaberg Region despite the huge international success their farming and finance ventures had enjoyed.
“Having experienced first-hand how capital constraints can hold back farming enterprises, this family was determined to find a solution. Collaboratively, they created Greensill Capital, the world’s leading non-bank provider of working capital for companies, including agribusinesses.
“Using a powerful combination of technology and knowledge of financial markets, Greensill Capital found a solution to liberate billions of dollars of capital locked up in supply chains round the world.
“Greensill Capital’s supply chain finance model gives a company’s suppliers the ability to have their invoices paid immediately, eliminating delay.”
In 2019, Greensill expects to provide suppliers with $225 billion worth of capital across more than 160 countries. Last month, Lex Greensill was named Ernst & Young Australia’s Entrepreneur of the Year.
Mr Botha, in accepting the award, said the future was very exciting for the Greensill family interests.
“The family is excited about a range of expansion and investment plans to be developed over coming years and, of course, this will result in many, many jobs for the local region.”
He said Peter Greensill, who was expected to accept the Hinkler Innovation Award, was with his wife and unable to attend due to the birth of their latest child.
