SPEAKERS
Mr Bernard Salt
Author and Media Commentator
(Arrangements made through Celebrity Speakers)
Aproperty adviser, business analyst, media commentator, consumer and trends commentator and author, Bernard Salt has been described as the next-generation Hugh Mackay and Phil Ruthven.
Bernard is KPMG Partner Property. He has established an enviable profile within corporate Australia as an adviser and as a commentator on consumer, cultural and demographic trends. He is also author of a best-selling book The Big Shift launched in July 2001.
Bernard’s client list reads like a Who’s Who of Business investment and development. He has worked on a diverse range of projects from advising retailers where and why to position stores, to being instrumental in the launch and expansion of a property trust established in 1995 and which now contains assets of more than $500 million.
Bernard is engaged by Corporations to review market trends and to advise on property acquisitions and
expansions. He is frequently quoted in the Australian media and has appeared on numerous radio and
television programs including the Today Show, Business Sunday, Nightline and Healthy, Wealthy & Wise.
An entertaining and persuasive speaker, Bernard is well used to convincing blue-chip investors about the
merits of a particular course of action. He travels Australia extensively and is equally at home speaking
about suburban growth in Dubbo and Busselton, as he is about the opportunities for business in the hipand-happening empty-nester residential markets of inner Sydney and Melbourne.
Bernard has a detailed understanding of consumer markets and in the cultural changes that underpin these trends. He attributes recent trends, even fashion, to the shifting and shuffling of mass market numbers from one stage of the life-cycle to the other. The Age describes his style as “part stand-up comedian, part number-crunching economist.” A Queensland journalist describes him as “quick witted and dynamic … as a public speaker he is articulate and holds an audience exceptionally well.”
Bernard holds Bachelor of Education and Master of Arts degrees in economic geography, and is a Member
of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In demand as a speaker, Bernard balances an increasing
number of engagements with running a national advisory practise out of Melbourne.
Bernard bases his presentation on hard-edged numbers reflecting the most recent demographic, business and social information available. His research into almost every market in Australia enables him to talk authoritatively about trends in any part of the continent, as well as the cultural differences within regional Australia.
Bernard’s style is informative, witty, incisive and very ‘human’; it is a unique blend of substance and
humour. He has been described as “having the content of Hugh Mackay and the delivery of Phil Ruthven”.
All his presentations are tailored to the client and to the client’s industry.
