Published on: 18 July 2024



At Christ Church, we offer our students a broad range of experiences that support and guide their passions and decisions during their time at Christ Church and beyond. This Wednesday morning, Year 10 and 11 students attended a Building Good Men Leadership Breakfast, where they were given the opportunity to engage with four highly successful individuals in our Christ Church community and hear how they have pushed the boundaries in their fields of expertise. Our guest panel included:

    • David Simpson (current Parent)
      David has been Managing Director of Summit Homes Group since 2000. Summit Homes has been recognised for its excellence in leadership in employee programs, extensive training, open-door management, new facilities and commitment to local charities.
    • Tom Streitberg (’93)
      Tom is an Executive Director of C2E Capital and previously Head of Strategy and Business Development at Buru Energy. Prior to that, Tom served as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary at the oil and gas explorer. Tom was a recipient of a 2013 Business News 40under40 award.
    • Callum Lindsay (’17)
      Callum is a Strategy Consultant at IBM, working with clients from various sectors, including government, healthcare, financial services, mining, oil and gas, utilities, and not-for-profit, to help them achieve their strategic goals and objectives. In addition to a full-time consulting role, Callum is pursuing a Juris Doctor full-time at The University of Western Australia, where he completed his Bachelor of Commerce.
    • Conor Coleman (’19)
      In May this year, Conor became the youngest Australian man to summit Mount Everest adding to his previous records, notably becoming the first Australian to summit the 8th tallest mountain, Mt Manaslu. Conor holds degrees in Commerce and Property from Curtin University.

The speakers shared how they overcame failures, celebrated successes, and achieved their life goals. Following their presentations, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and gain valuable insights during a lively Q&A session. Questions from the floor included:

  • How do you figure out the right career for you?
  • What was a beneficial experience you had in your time at school?
  • Who supported you the most during your hardest times?
The 160 students left the event with some meaningful information that is highly relevant to what they are going through now, and will also help in shaping their future decisions.
  • “The standard that you walk past is the standard that you accept. If you walk passed someone doing the wrong thing, or rubbish on the floor and you act on this, you are showing that you live by a high standard. Use the discipline that you learn at school and apply it to the workplace.” – David Simpson
  • “Use your time at the school to build your network. You are going to get a great education, you will be physically fit, probably fitter than you ever will be again, but you only get one shot to built those friendship networks and they are critical moving forward.” – Tom Streitberg
  • “Looking back at my time at Christ Church it was a holistic experience, sports, Kooringal, it is the most fulfilling that you will have anywhere. That’s what made me develop the most. My advice is give your best, pick subjects that you are interested in and go easy on yourself and try your best.” – Callum Lindsay
  • “The greatest part about Christ Church is the extent of how much you can do. I was involved in drama, public speaking, cadets. It is so beneficial and can be transferred in to the workplace. In your next step every employer who sees that level of engagement on your resume can see that you are different. Also take risks and you will find that the result of that is a more enriched life. If there is someone that you are nervous to talk to, do it, why not? You will discover you are far happier doing something and failing than not doing it at all.” – Conor Coleman