Michael Traill: Our Common Humanity & Social Investment

The Jono Fisher Podcast

Michael Traill is passionate about applying business skills to care for the lives of people in need. During this conversation, Michael shares his thoughts on the importance of service, social conscience and his spiritual life. We hear about his experience doing rites of passages with his sons, taking family sabbaticals and how he naturally gravitates to people who are open, emotionally available and vulnerable. Ultimately, Michael reminds us of our pressing need to craft a new narrative. One that appeals to our common humanity - and who we really want to be as a community. Michael Traill was born in the small industrial country town of Morewell in Victoria. He graduated dux of his school, got an MBA from the Harvard Business School and by age 41 was running Macquarie Bank’s venture capital arm, overseeing $400 million worth of investments. One morning, in the late stages of a $20 million investment, he found himself not feeling the usual rush of adrenalin and excitement. On this occasion, he was more concerned about a team member in his son’s under 11’s Aussie rules team. His life direction was changing. It wasn’t long before Michael “jumped ship” and was the founding CEO of Social Ventures Australia. For the last 13 years he has dedicated himself to investing in social change.