KINDNESS GOES A LONG WAY

Ask Andrew Griffioen where he would rather be at any given moment and he will tell you either a sleepy beachside town with a good surf club nearby on holiday with his family, shouting at the top of his lungs on the sidelines of his daughter's netball game, or at the office, leading his team.

- Matthew Wai writes.

It's the simple pleasures for Griffioen, who is constantly travelling due to the nature of his job. When he's not on the road or in the sky, he is spending as much time as possible with the reason he hustles this much: his family. He also refuses to bring any work home so he can ensure he's maximising that time.

"Weekends are all about the kids' sport, I'm a proud netball dad," Griffioen, who prefers running himself, quips.

"Whether it's touch football or netball, I love being on the sidelines. Family time is my way to recharge. They're the reason I do what I do."

And what he does is lead Apex Group's superannuation business in Australia, a role he took on in 2022 after establishing himself as somewhat of a tech guru.

Growing up in the regional New South Wales city of Grafton, Griffioen was extremely interested in innovation. After leaving high school, he quickly developed an entrepreneurial instinct, kicking off a technology business born from a school project.

"That experience really sparked my interest in business and set the stage for my career," he says.

"I then worked through different tech landscapes and ended up moving across to more growth and strategy focussed roles, but I've been involved in superannuation on and off throughout my career.

"[Technology] has always been something that I've come back to."

After overseeing business development for Powernet IT Solutions and working in its operations team, Griffioen was called upon to review the IT capabilities of Independent Fund Administrators and Advisers (IFAA) in 2017. What was supposed to be a contract role turned into a full-time gig when he was appointed head of technology, then head of strategy, and finally chief executive.