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With more than 25 years of experience spanning corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, banking, strategy and advisory, Michael Vincent has built a career helping businesses navigate some of their most important decisions.
Having worked as a Chartered Accountant with a major international accounting firm, a senior M&A Director within a major Australian bank, and in senior finance, investment and strategy roles across ASX-listed companies, Michael brings a unique blend of technical expertise and commercial insight.
What sets Michael apart is his deep understanding of the challenges faced by privately owned businesses. Whether it's preparing for growth, planning succession, building business value, or navigating an acquisition or sale, he combines strategic thinking with a practical, hands-on approach that helps business owners move forward with confidence.
Drawing on experience across a wide range of industries and businesses of all sizes, Michael is passionate about challenging the status quo, identifying opportunities, and helping owners unlock the full potential of their business.
In this Q&A, we sat down with Michael to discuss his perspective on business growth and the lessons he's learned from decades of working alongside business owners and leadership teams.
What’s your biggest business learning from the past year?
"Not to prejudge an outcome, no matter how many times you might have done something before, but to evaluate each problem on its merits with a view always to do things better.
Buyer behaviour is always hard to ascertain. Like most things in business and in life, the secret to sourcing the right buyers for vendors is dedication, listening to others (the market), sometimes revamping the message, but always remaining vigilant and keeping an open mind on the possibilities."
What’s the one thing SMEs need to know to thrive today?
"The judgement to know and the decisiveness to act on outsourcing and harnessing the expertise of an external specialist in areas critical to your business where the opportunity cost of value forgone outweigh potential savings from ‘going it alone’."
What would the title of your autobiography be?
"Lessons Learnt: Things I would do differently next time round!"
What three words describe you?
"Strategic, Pragmatic and Value-driven"
What book or podcast are you currently listening to?
"M&A Science"
The best piece of advice I have ever been given is...
"The best deals happen when both sides feel like they've won."
What’s something you wish people would ask you?
"What would a clean, compelling exit story look like for my business?"
Considering a future sale, succession plan, acquisition or growth strategy?
Michael Vincent works closely with business owners to help them understand, enhance and realise the value of their business. If you're thinking about what's next for your business, contact Active Directions to arrange an initial discussion and explore your options with confidence.
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