Tributes flow for Adelaide’s ‘incredible business mind’
The well-known founding director of an SA-based business growth program has died, with Adelaide business leaders remembering her as a “force of energy”.
Dr Jana Matthews, an international expert on entrepreneurial leadership and the founding director of SA-based Australian Centre for Business Growth, has died.
In an online tribute, Matthews was remembered as a “leading advocate for entrepreneurial leadership and business growth”.
In her adopted home of Adelaide, Matthews was the founding director of Adelaide University’s Australian Centre for Business Growth.
While she wrote eight books, had “countless published articles” and saw her research into business growth go global via her work at the Kauffman Foundation’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Leadership in the United States, it was the ACBG that delivered significant influence on South Australian businesses.
There, more than 1500 growing businesses have graduated from programs she developed.
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Matthews was first lured to Adelaide to launch the ANZ Innovyz Start program, which mentored tech-savvy new businesses to turn ideas into reality.
“Jana was a person of rare calibre, who worked tirelessly to unlock the potential of business leaders and the people around her,” an online tribute reads.
“Those who spent time with Jana speak not just of her professional excellence, but of her kindness, dedication, and willingness to mentor and encourage. She had the ability to connect people, to elevate standards without ego, and drive positive change in those around her.
“She understood that business success was measured not only in milestones reached, but in lives influenced and communities strengthened.”
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She was remembered by local business leaders like RAA CEO Nick Reade, who said Matthews was “such a beautiful soul and incredible business mind”.
Peter Piliouras, currently the co-founder of FDBK and formerly the chief commercial officer at Peregrine Corporation, said she was a “wise and generous soul”.
“I’m grateful for her time over lunch where she offered her listening ear and wise counsel,” he said.
REDARC technical analyst Ben Smith said Matthews “inspired so many people”.
“She was such a brilliant and positive influence on me during INNOVYZ Start,” he said.
“She most definitely spread local and encouragement far and wide.”
Matthews’ family and friends are planning a celebration of her life to take place in Adelaide in early August.
She is survived by her daughter, Carolyn; stepdaughters, Lisa and Ann; their husbands, Mark and Rubin; and grandchildren, Matthew, Melissa, Anna, Max, and Skye.
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