David operated multiple SME businesses in City of Port Phillip when I was the Economic Development Manager there. He brought both passion, strategic insight and strong leadership skills to representing the St Kilda business owners as president of the Business Association for 4 years and was then asked to be the founding president of the St Kilda Tourism Association which he served for another 2 years. He was heavily involved in his community for over a dozen years and had strong connections with the arts & music communities, being a sponsor of the St Kilda Film Festival for more than 10 years. David is an advocate for businesses being involved and giving back to the communities that support them. In 2008 he convinced the State Member and the Council CEO to back a seminar as the GFC was looming, to help SME owners understand what their options might be. I coordinated it and we had over 500 SME owners attend. It was a huge success.

I am happy to recommend David to any Council CEO, State & Council Economic Development & Tourism teams to help educate, engage, mediate and negotiate in the space where government, business and community overlap. This is an area of strength and passion for David and I hope he invests his time in this area as I am confident government and communities will get great outcomes and real benefits from his insight, outcome-oriented approach and ability to engage businesses with their communities. Bringing his corporate CEO leadership skills, entrepreneurial flair and ability to easily connect people and solve problems strategically, together with his experience of leading business community organisations, possibly makes him unique in this space.

I first met David when he was working with business and community in St Kilda to form a new tourism association.
As the inaugural chairperson he brought vision and panache to proceedngs.
David worked his tail off to bring people together and realise the power of collective action in his community.
His leadership in those early days elevated the debate and got people thinking more strategically about how they could work together.

I’ve known David Carruthers for 7+ years, while I was working in Economic Development and Tourism at City of Port Phillip. At the time David was the President of the St Kilda Traders Association, long serving committee member, businessman and a very community minded person.
‘He gave a sh’t about business, economic development in Port Phillip and his local community’. He volunteered many long hours supporting local business, the arts and charities in his community.
I was fortunate in my role to have had David as an advocate for economic development and tourism. Not only did he attend many of the Port Phillip business development and networking events, participate in the Port Phillip Business Excellence Awards, David was also key player, driver in the establishment of the first ever St Kilda Tourism Association. Without his support and contribution I don’t think there would be an association. Of course, there were other key people involved who should be equally recognised, but David turned up to every meeting, wrote the marketing plan, championed tourism in the region, established strong connections with the tourism industry and state industry representatives – all mind you, in his own time!
I really like David, he’s smart, he’s experienced, he’s well known in the area, he goes out of his way to make important connections, he turns up to events, he has valuable business insights and experience, he supports local business and the ‘buy local’ ethos, ‘he get’s his hands dirty’, and he’s genuinely a nice guy to work with. Good luck David.

I arranged to meet David for a mentoring session as I was interested in his advice on how to get into corporate consulting. Over one session my entire work direction refocused into doing what I really love right now. I had thought I needed to start again as an entry-level consultant. Instead, David helped me realise my existing strengths, reflected back my own passion and drive, and encouraged me to use this as the basis to develop the ‘nugget’ which I can offer to the world. I left our meeting feeling both unsettled and delighted. The following morning I woke at 4am with my head brimming with ideas about my ‘nugget’. Since then, whenever I speak about my work it’s like I am – for the first time in my life – speaking the obvious truth, with joy and absence of resistance or self-consciousness.

What’s the lesson here? Be careful who you ask for advice as they may just change the course of your life! David has a real gift for helping people realise their deepest goals and supporting them to develop a clear strategy for achieving them.

David was my mentor as part of the School for Social Entrepreneurs BT Accelerator program. He was fantastic at helping me to get my head around key strategies, the steps I needed to take and most importantly to be confident in my ability to take my social business forward. I highly recommend David as a strategic and business mentor.

David has an uncanny knack to insight issues, pragmatic solutions and realign clients with their personal vision. He’s a straight talker which enabled me to access the next road in my practice as a Creative Intelligence Specialist and Coach. My words to him were..”I can’t tell you what a difference our meeting made yesterday….it tipped me into clarity, purpose and action when I felt stuck and couldn’t see the path ahead. I can’t thank you enough!” I’m now so excited about the next 12 month and have a clear plan to achieve the next profit level in my business and broaden my professional horizons.

David is an inspiration. The achievements in his life are remarkable and his advice to me has made a massive impact on my business. After one conversation with David as a business mentor, my business had a whole new outlook, he opened my eyes to a whole new strategy and business model I could implement and get amazing global results from. I would highly recommend tapping into his wealth of business knowledge, expertise and life experience.

David is a powerful agent for change. He has helped me in one very important area of my life. That needed trust. Which is where David started. He is also patient, thoughtful and insightful. The world needs David. Look out for him.

It’s always hard with these things to articulate just how much an impact someone has made on your life. Earlier this year I had coaching with David. It continues to have a resoundingly positive impact on my career, personal life and overall happiness.

David provided amazing coaching services for my life and career in timely, clear and simple ways that proved more effective than I could imagine. He was excellent to work with because he uses creative techniques to solve problems and gives practical solutions to help you find the right answers.
David is perceptive and analytical. He was warm-natured and considerate when working together. He is passionate about helping people discover their potential, True North and next goals to get there.
I recommend David to anyone needing a guided push to take the next plunge in your business, leadership or personal life – he is a beacon of wisdom, encouragement and direction.
Thank you David!

Thanks David, I just wanted to let you know how much your coaching has helped me.

I needed someone who would challenge my approach to life in business whilst supporting me to achieve the changes required to make it all work. And you delivered all that and more.

Through your coaching, I’ve gained renewed focus and identified the practical steps required to put my ideas into action. As a result, I’ve been able to launch new aspects of my business more quickly and effectively than I could have done on my own. And I’m finding better ways to manage my energy so I can enjoy the journey.

Thanks again David, love your work!

I first met David way back when he was in a major corporate role and we have maintained contact throughout his own entrepreneurial journey. It is refreshing to exchange ideas with a true social entrepreneur who cares about issues beyond his own wealth creation. His passion for genuine hospitality, tourism, events, the arts and retaining the heart and soul of a community, is commendable.

David has always been a strong supporter, mover and shaker of the local arts scene and has never ceased to sponsor me or support me in what ever way he can in my Arts Projects.
His passion is never-ending!