From the Beyond Growth archive. Originally aired 22 October 2025.
Jeremy Crawford became CEO of the Geelong Chamber of Commerce in April 2023. Before that he worked through hospitality and major events, then recruitment, then partnerships. He told me he’d lived in Geelong for years while working for a business based in Melbourne. All his spending and time went into Geelong except his working hours, and he wanted that to change.
What stood out in our conversation was how clearly he sees what it takes to do well here.
Geelong talks. Jeremy lost his voice within his first three days in the job. His point is that in Geelong you can ask almost anyone about almost anything and they’ll have an opinion. For an organisation that advocates for business, that honest, immediate feedback is gold.
Reciprocity is the price of entry. People sometimes describe Geelong as hard to break into. Jeremy doesn’t see it that way. He says the business community will rally around you if you give back first: turn up, learn who people are and help where you can. He’s watched businesses arrive with a “don’t talk to me, I’m going to smash this” attitude, and they’re not here anymore. One newcomer stood out to him by waiting until the end of a 200-person event just to ask how he could help.
“If you want the business community to rally around your business and buy your product or service, you’ve got to show it’s the art of reciprocity.”
Jeremy Crawford
Growth creates its own problems. A Chamber member landed a big order from a major retailer and couldn’t fund the stock to fill it. Jeremy didn’t have the answer himself. A few phone calls found a retail executive, mentors and distribution experts, and the first three people he called all said yes. That’s the kind of help he thinks businesses use least once they’re up and running.
Saying yes to everything burns people out. Jeremy was candid about the Chamber’s own growing pains. In his first couple of years they took on every new event and program people asked for, and the small team burned out. Now the whole team weighs capacity and fit before anything new gets a yes.
From attracting investment to being investable. Jeremy draws a line between bringing investment in and being a place investors choose. He sees a shift already under way, with big recognisable brands following the public sector into central Geelong. He’d like to see a simple, lasting vision for the city that every sector can measure itself against.
This is one leader’s view, from someone who sees across hundreds of local businesses. It’s exactly the kind of perspective that will feed into the Growth Intelligence research on business performance and growth.
Full disclosure: I sit on the Geelong Chamber of Commerce board.
Growth Intelligence is Reyan Fernando’s research practice. Reyan is also a Certified EOS Implementer, working with Geelong leadership teams on vision and execution. That experience shapes the questions he asks, but the research and conclusions are his own.