Inside Retail’s Top 50 People in E-Commerce is an annual ranking of the most inspiring leaders in Australia’s online retail industry. As we gear up for the launch of the 2022 report, we are revisiting some of the people featured in previous reports for a new series called Top 50 Talks. Here, they discuss their origin stories and passion projects. The e-commerce industry is full of founder-led businesses. From Tony Nash’s Booktopia to Jane Lu’s Showpo, these businesses often benefit from
om a strong sense of purpose and deep understanding of the customer. But sooner or later, there comes a time in every founder-led business when a new leader steps up. And that transition can be incredibly difficult.
Luckily, MTB Direct co-founder Jen Geale has been preparing for it from the beginning. She has always practiced a style of empowering leadership that aims to give employees room to learn and make mistakes and, ultimately, take ownership over their roles. This approach enabled her to hand over the reins recently to Damien Smith, the first non-founder CEO in MTB Direct’s history.
We asked Geale what it was like to step down from a business she helped launch 10 years ago, why she believes so strongly in empowering leadership, and practical tips for other founders to learn to let go. Spoiler alert: it’s time to book a holiday.
