Jon Tse (05) 

Jon Tse is an entrepreneur who has established some successful businesses since leaving Barker, including his most recent venture which is helping the environment too.

Hi first business was Zookal, which launched the concept of textbook rental to university students around Australia. Fast forward five years and they have over 30 staff, three offices around the world, raised over $25M in capital and most importantly made a big impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of university students. He is still on the Board of Directors, still owns his Zookal shares and continues to advise them.

Earlier this year he decided to go back to doing what he likes best – building companies from the ground up, and launched his second company, Karst Stone Paper. Stone paper is a new type of paper made without one single tree and it was also waterproof. The paper is 100% recyclable and Karst Stone Paper has a 60% smaller carbon footprint than regular paper. Modern day consumers are looking for more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. He is proud of the company's stone paper stationery products.

Adam Roberts (14)

Adam Roberts has always been an entertainer.

This naturally progressed into the world of filmmaking through technology becoming more accessible as he grew up. He was making short films since Middle School, writing sketches and entering Tropfest Jr with his now business partner and fellow Barker student Josh Wyatt (14). They pondered the idea of branching into marketing content as a way to fund their film projects. They were recommended to a company to write and film an online commercial in their first year of university. Since then, they’ve found a business partner, Ben Pietor creating The Signal Box, a creative production agency working on brand creative and end-to-end production across all digital platforms. They’re all passionate filmmakers looking to tell stories, and advertising is one way of doing that and helps to support passion projects.

Adam says having your own business is hard work. It is incredibly rewarding when things pay off, and demoralising when they don’t. It constantly keeps him on his toes, which is an exciting way to live. It requires ambition, endless drive, and sacrifice. It’s a lot of fun if you’re willing to live on the edge at times.

Dana Compton (16)

Dana is currently in her second year of a Bachelor of Education (Birth-12) at Macquarie University. Since beginning her teaching degree, she has gained a very strong passion to become future educator. Dana is currently working as a childcare assistant and assisting with Junior and Senior drama classes as a co-curricular activity for primary students.  These jobs have fostered her strong love of educating others, as well as giving her courage and strength in her ability as a teacher.

Last year, she began volunteering at The Two Wolves Community Cantina. A non-for-profit organisation that raises money for remote communities in various third world countries. She has had the privilege of travelling with The Cardonar Project: Two Wolves Abroad company to Zambia in July last year, as well as Nepal earlier this year in January to teach English at local pre/primary schools.

Philip Forrest (64)

Philip is a successful and highly respected businessman. He is currently Director of ASX - listed TerraCom; Chairman of Readymix International; a member of the Governing Council, Singapore Institute of Directors; a non-Executive Director of Gemstar Technology Asia P/L; and non-Executive Director of Voyager Estate (Singapore) P/L.

Philip's journey started when he joined Citibank, which was shortly to become the world’s largest bank, in 1975. Following stints in Sydney and Melbourne, he moved to Head Office New York, departing Australia on April Fool’s Day 1980. After a couple of years in the USA, he was transferred to the Philippines, then to Indonesia, and then to Thailand. He arrived in Singapore in 1991, and is still there.

Philip believes the success of Asia is perhaps the most astonishing good news story of the last hundred years. In China, more than half a billion people have been taken out of poverty and thrust into the middle class. And that story is being repeated further south, in the ASEAN region. Each year, about 25 million people – roughly the population of Australia – are transitioning from rural poverty to the urban middle class, and these people increasingly want the goods and services that Australia can provide: meat instead of rice, wine instead of local beer, quality consumer goods, education, healthcare, tourist destinations, professional services, infrastructure, and so on. Importantly, this region is friendly towards us, and is right on Australia’s doorstep!