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Sam Sicilia, Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus
Episode description
Show notes
Published 20th December, 2023.
Episode #151 features a rare public interview with Sam Sicilia — Chief Investment Officer of $100b Hostplus and one of the key architects behind Australia’s modern venture capital ecosystem.
Born in Melbourne to Sicilian parents, Sam grew up “economically poor but culturally rich”. He studied theoretical physics, completed a PhD, and unexpectedly transitioned from academia into investing after a chance phone call changed his career path.
In this conversation with Vidit Agarwal, Sam reflects on stepping into the CIO role during the 2008 GFC, why he believes deeply in venture capital, how he would redesign the VC model today, and what supers look for in private equity — from fees to portfolio construction to the value of illiquidity.
Sam also shares the personal lessons from his 42-day walk across Spain, what he’s learning next, and the person who inspires him most.
It’s time to explore your curiosity — please enjoy.
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Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.
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Timestamps
About us
The High Flyers Podcast is a "meticulously researched biography" that uncovers the untold stories of remarkable people and companies—redefining what it means to be a high flyer. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past two years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200 episodes released. A flagship product of the Curiosity Center, it has been featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW, offering raw, relatable insights from childhood to career, helping listeners become 1% better every day.
Some of the notable guests on the show include: Malcolm Turnbull (Prime Minister of Australia), Anil Sabharwal (VP, Product for Google Chrome, Photos and Drive), Andy Penn (CEO, Telstra), Stevie Case (Chief Revenue Officer, Vanta), Brad Banducci (CEO, Woolworths), Jean-Michel Lemieux (CTO, Shopify + Atlassian), Jillian Broadbent (Board Member, Macquarie Capital), Sweta Mehra (EGM, NAB; ex CMO, ANZ), Bowen Pan (Creator, Facebook Marketplace), Sam Sicilia (Chief Investment Officer, Hostplus), Craig Tiley (CEO, Tennis Australia), Niki Scevak (Co-Founder, Blackbird Ventures), Mike Schneider (CEO, Bunnings), Trent Cotchin (3x Premiership Winning Captain, Richmond FC), Jason Collins (Head of Australasia, BlackRock), Peter Varghese (Chief, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs), Jack Zhang (CEO, Airwallex), Matteo Franceschetti (CEO, Eight Sleep), Andrey Kushid (CEO, Miro) and more.
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