Sadly, the family business community in Australia recently lost one of its most ardent ambassadors when Peter Taylor passed away on 10 August after nine months of treatment for an autoimmune disease.
After a highly successful career with engineering-based multinational companies Peter and his wife Gay acquired fledgling building services company Townsend Building Supplies in 2003. It quickly turned into a family business when sons Justin and Brendon joined the firm. Veterinarian daughter Natasha too spent time with the firm.
Peter Leonard Taylor
1 March 1945 - 10 August 2024
Shortly thereafter I met Peter. I was on a flight returning from the Family Firm Institute (FFI) Conference in Chicago and about to become engrossed in my friend Danny Miller’s then new book, Managing for the Long Run when from the seat in front of me Peter appears with “hi, what are you reading?” In the ensuing conversation I quickly learned that he had his family involved in a business and being always on the lookout for new recruits for FBA I struck up a conversation. A conversation that lasted all the way back to Australia and continued for decades.
Peter totally embraced the need to know more and after a few sessions at the university he and his family joined FBA. He was a very active participant in FBA conferences and education activities. He would attend any lectures on family business topics and enjoyed speaking with those that had more experience of the field than he had. Peter’s commitment to education was a standout feature of his modus operandi and not surprisingly his family business won FBA’s National 2nd generation family business of the year award in 2009.
In return for what he had gained from the community Peter generously gave back. He served as FBA’s Queensland chair and on the national Board. In both capacities he could be relied upon to provide insights drawn from his extensive business experience. He was also happy to share his family business insights more broadly and I was proud to jointly present with Peter at the FFI conference in Brussels in 2012 on the topic of A Future for the Family Business Field.
In this he recounted to an international gathering the beginnings, survival, and finally profitability story of his fledgling family business. In keeping with my observations of great family business leaders, Peter offered insights: insights about himself, his family, and their business. I vividly recall Peter sharing how at 58 years of age what had motivated him to buy a business reflected these three levels:
- To have a decent retirement income,
- To set something up for his family, and
- To meld best business practice with people centric management.
These motivations constitute the very essence of one establishing a true family business, namely setting something up for the family and future generations. Not surprisingly Peter’s son Justin became a driving force with FBA’s Next Gen community. In conclusion, Peter highlighted the biggest change had happened in his head and it was that “we have a family business, it’s not just my business”.
On a lighter note, the Brussels Conference offered Tricia and I the opportunity to join Peter and Gay on a river cruise and a later road tour of Belgium.. However, Peter’s skills in successfully navigating businesses did not always translate to navigating the streets of Bruges and Ghent! Despite his insistence that the hire car be fitted with “sat nav” we seemed to be constantly travelling in the dark even just avoiding the gate on exit from the hire car depot. But despite these challenges Peter always remained calm and was an easy travel companion.
In more recent years I had the continued good fortune to serve with Peter on another board and he could always be relied upon to offer inputs that reflected both his business acumen and his caring concern for others. His wisdom will be missed by all and especially by me.
The family business community extend condolences to Gay and the Taylor clan on the passing of their founder and mentor Peter.
Emeritus Professor Ken Moores AM
Life member FBA
16 August 2024
