Nick Stone and Stuart Crow have come a long way from the neighbouring four-hectare (10-acre) blocks on Howards Lane in Kyabram where they grew up.
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Neither has forgotten where they came from, or their friends, remaining in touch despite holding Asia Pacific chief executive officer roles with two giants of the business world.
Mr Stone, 49, was last week appointed the chief executive officer Asia Pacific of health insurance giant Bupa.
Mr Crow was among the first to post a message of congratulations on social media and no doubt acknowledged the moment in a more personal fashion.
For the past 20 years, Mr Crow, 51, has been based in Singapore, where he now holds the position of capital markets chief executive officer with global real estate company Jones Lang LaSalle.
The friends spent their formative years in Kyabram. Mr Stone and his siblings initially attended Ky Valley Primary School and later were among the first students to attend Goulburn Valley Grammar School.
Mr Stone is the son of former Kyabram pharmacist Ron and Jenni Stone, who are now living in Melbourne. His sister Gabby runs her own recruitment business in Melbourne and brother Cameron owns renowned Daylesford tourist destination the Royal Hotel.
Mr Crow was a Dawes Road student and is the son of former Kyabram local government leader and realtor Doug Crow and his wife Glenys. His sister Tonya is married to the developer of Kyabram’s The Edge estate, Simon Eishold.
The two global businessmen played tennis together in Kyabram and, along with neighbour Matt Tisdall, son of former Kyabram doctor Peter, were almost inseparable as children.
Mr Tisdall has made waves of his own on the international scene and last week was in Mongolia riding motorbikes. He has previously competed in the Dakar Rally and owns a Melbourne construction company.
He is planning a motorcycle riding trip to the Himalayas with Mr Stone next year.
“They all stay in touch,” Jenni Stone said.
“In fact, Nick was going to the UK on business a couple of weeks ago and met up with Stuart in Hamburg for the Bruce Springsteen concert.”
Mr Stone’s wife Emma is group financial controller for BHP and they have twin sons, Alex and Sebastian, who turn 17 this month.
Mr Stone has been serving as the acting chief executive officer for Bupa Asia Pacific since the end of March, when Hisham El-Ansary stepped down from the role.
He will now spearhead the company’s strategic delivery with an enhanced focus on Bupa’s customers, residents and people.
Mr Stone joined Bupa Australia and New Zealand in September 2018 as group financial controller, before becoming chief financial officer in April 2019.
Before joining Bupa, he was chief financial officer at leading Australian homewares company Marlin Brands and commercial finance general manager at Medibank. He also worked for 10 years at Energy Australia in several senior roles and has international experience from time spent working in the UK and Kazakhstan, predominantly in the oil and gas sectors.
“I am deeply honoured and humbled to be appointed as Bupa Asia Pacific CEO,” Mr Stone said.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the talented people at Bupa APAC, Iñaki Ereño and my colleagues at Bupa Group, our local executive leadership team and board and many external stakeholders for their support and confidence in my leadership.
“I am looking forward to delivering on our strategy and ensuring exceptional value for our customers and residents.”
Bupa Australia and New Zealand chairman Bryan Mogridge said Mr Stone was a proven leader who knew the business and consistently delivered strong results.
“He has also helped our members through some challenging health and economic conditions in recent times,” he said.
“I know that under his leadership, Bupa will continue to grow as a healthcare leader in the APAC region.”
Mr Crow is a key player in the Jones Lang LaSalle organisation, which has 40,000 employees worldwide. He has been in his current role for three years.
When he completed his Dawes Road schooling, he attended Kyabram High School and Girton Grammar at Bendigo.
He achieved his business degree with RMIT, valuing business in Middle Park and started with JLL in the mid-1990s
He and his wife Georgina, who is also a property valuer, have three children aged 16, 14 and 12.
Doug Crow said the Stones built their house in Howards Lane first and the Crow family bought the former property of Dr John Sanderson when he moved away.
“The boys became neighbours at the start of high school,” he said.
His son still plays a pretty good standard of tennis in Singapore, having played senior football with Kyabram before leaving to further his career.
The Crows, Stones and Tisdalls were close and the boys had a lot of fun with bikes and whatever else they could find.
Doug said his son returned for the recent 80th birthday celebrations of Glenys Crow and was regularly back in Australia, where he spent time at his holiday home at Noosa.
The family has a strong connection to Kyabram history. Doug was a commissioner from 1994-97 during the amalgamation of shire councils.
He was quite interested in last week’s Free Press article regarding the promotion of Kyabram from a borough to a town.
“I believe there are only two living councillors from 1973, myself and Kevin Andrews,” he said.
He is proud of the efforts of his son and Mr Stone.
“It is quite fascinating that two kids who lived side by side now both hold Asia Pacific CEO positions,” he said.
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