Warwick Fairfax

Oxford University
Harvard University

Occupation(s)Business consultant
Executive coachKnown forPrivatisation of John Fairfax Holdings LimitedSpouseGaleChildren3Parents

Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax
Lady (Mary) Fairfax AC, OBE

Relatives

James Fairfax AC (half-brother)
James Oswald Fairfax (grandfather) James Reading Fairfax
great grandfather John Fairfax (great great grandfather)

Websitefairfaxadvisers.com

Warwick Fairfax (born December 1960) is an Australian businessman and consultant based in the United States.^[1] He was well known in the 1990s as the media heir and business tycoon who privatised the publicly listed media company, John Fairfax Holdings Limited in 1987; only for the privatised company to fail three years later in spectacular fashion.^[2]^[3]

Biography

Fairfax is the son of Sir Warwick Oswald Fairfax and his third wife, Mary. Fairfax was educated at both Balliol College at Oxford and Harvard Business School, in the United States.^[1]^{[self-published source?]}^[3]

In 1987, following the death of his father, the 26-year-old "young Warwick" successfully took over the then publicly listed John Fairfax Holdings Limited but on 10 December 1990 the company collapsed and a receiver was appointed. The controversial method of financing and purchasing holdings of the established company from family members and the consequential problems arising in the media group in later years are still cited today in Australian media history.^[2]^[3]^[4]

In 1991, he migrated to the United States and settled in Annapolis, Maryland, where he founded a business consultancy and executive coach business.^[3] In 2016, he founded Crucible Leadership, citing the lessons he learned from the failed takeover of the family media dynasty to offer "compelling insights for anyone who would like to wake up feeling inspired about their work, but doesn't."^[5] A book in part describing the failed takeover and in part offering advice to help readers overcome their own setbacks is scheduled to be published Oct. 19, 2021.^[6]

He is married with three children and serves as an Elder at Bay Area Community Church.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "Fairfax Consulting – Warwick Bio". www.fairfaxadvisers.com. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b Ricketson, Matthew (7 December 2006). "Family affair again after days of young Warwick". The Age. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Smyth, Terry (2 November 2008). "Rising after the fall". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
^ "The story of The Age newspaper". The Age. 22 September 2007. Archived from the original on 21 September 2007. Retrieved 11 April 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ Warrell, Dr Margie. "Off Track? How Faltering On Your Current Path Can Point You To Your Right One". Forbes. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
^ Fairfax, Warwick (19 October 2021). Crucible Leadership: Embrace Your Trials to Lead a Life of Significance. ISBN 978-1631954764.