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Powering Your Career

Powering Your Career

By: David Smith
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Powering Your Career Podcast 🎙️

Bringing You Insights from Australia’s Energy Leaders
Welcome to the Powering Your Career Podcast, a show dedicated to exploring the energy transition and the professionals shaping its future. Hosted by David Smith, founding partner and director of West Energy and West Recruitment, this podcast delivers authentic conversations with senior leaders from Australia’s energy sector.

Whether you’re an experienced energy professional or considering a career transition into the industry, this podcast will equip you with:
✅ Career development insights from top energy executives
✅ Leadership lessons in a rapidly evolving sector
✅ Perspectives on the energy transition and its challenges
✅ Mental health and wellness strategies for thriving in a high-pressure industry

Why Listen to Powering Your Career?

The energy transition is one of the biggest shifts in Australia’s economy, and it’s being led by people who are navigating new technologies, policies, and challenges. Our goal is to bring you real stories and actionable advice from energy leaders who have built successful careers and are shaping the future of the sector.

Meet Your Host: David Smith
David Smith has over 20 years of experience in executive recruitment and leads a team specializing in placing professionals across the entire energy supply chain. His passion for connecting great talent with transformative opportunities makes him the perfect host to guide you through these conversations.

Copyright 2025 David Smith Career Success Economics
Episodes
  • Episode 13: Powering Your Career - Anna Collyer - Executive Chair AEMC - ep013

    Episode 13: Powering Your Career - Anna Collyer - Executive Chair AEMC - ep013
    Oct 17 2025

    In this episode, Dave chats with Anna Collyer — Executive Chair of the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) and one of Australia’s most respected voices on regulation, leadership, and the energy transition.

    Anna shares her journey from corporate law to shaping the rules that guide Australia’s evolving energy market. We cover:

    ⚡ The moment a chance project during Victoria’s privatisation sparked a lifelong passion for energy
    ⚡ Breaking barriers as a young female partner and driving early diversity and inclusion reform
    ⚡ What the AEMC really does — and how its work shapes Australia’s energy future
    ⚡ The pace, complexity and opportunity of the transition to net zero
    ⚡ Why social licence, equity and innovation are vital to progress
    ⚡ Leadership lessons, family balance, and finding joy through sport and music

    🎧 Episode 013 – out now!
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    51 mins
  • Episode 12: Powering Your Career - Andy McCarthy - CSO - CEP.Energy - ep012

    Episode 12: Powering Your Career - Andy McCarthy - CSO - CEP.Energy - ep012
    Sep 15 2025

    In this episode, Dave chat with Andy McCarthy — author of Here Comes the Sun, founder and former CEO of Gippsland Solar, and a straight-talking advocate for purpose, people, and the energy transition.

    Andy shares a candid journey from leaving school at 15 to building a nationally recognised solar brand in coal country, selling to RACV, and rebuilding after burnout. We cover:

    ⚡ The moment a single solar panel sparked a 25-year mission
    ⚡ Starting up in the Latrobe Valley and winning trust as “Andy from Gippsland Solar”
    ⚡ Scaling fast, selling to RACV, and the cost of carrying it all
    ⚡ Mental health, vulnerability, and building your “wolf pack”
    ⚡ Why jobs, skills and community buy-in matter more than slogans
    ⚡ Networking as a superpower for non-linear careers
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    57 mins
  • Episode 11: Powering Your Career - Jack Curtis - CCO Neara - ep011

    Episode 11: Powering Your Career - Jack Curtis - CCO Neara - ep011
    Aug 15 2025

    ⚡⚡ Episode 011 – Jack Curtis ⚡⚡

    In this episode, David chats with Jack Curtis, Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer of Neara, about navigating high-stakes career moves, building a global energy tech business, and the power of backing yourself. Jack shares his path from law to investment banking, scaling one of the world’s largest solar companies, and now leading an Australian tech startup that solves critical infrastructure challenges.

    In this episode:

    • From corporate law to global clean energy leadership
    • How to manage risk, imposter syndrome and bold career moves
    • The mindset behind scaling a startup in the energy space
    • Thoughts on the future of energy, tech, and AI
    • Spinning the plates—how Jack balances leadership, family, and wellness
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    45 mins
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