Peter Fritz AO is Chairman of GAP and Group Managing Director of TCG – a diverse group of companies which over the last five decades has produced many breakthrough discoveries in computer and communication technologies. In 1993, some of the 65 companies in the Group were publicly floated on the Australian Stock Exchange as TechComm Group Limited (now part of DXC), with great success. Another former TCG company floated on the New York Stock Exchange in November 1997 for US$600m (AU$1 billion), making it the largest technology company to be established in Australia until that time. By 2010, the TCG companies, and entities with TCG roots, employed well over 6,000 people with a turnover of more than $1.3 billion annually. Today, the TCG Group encompasses some 50 companies with assets in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
In 1997, together with Catherine Fritz-Kalish, Peter established Global Access Partners (GAP) – a not-for-profit institute for active policy which initiates high-level discussions on the most pressing social, economic and structural challenges facing Australia and the world today. Through its pioneering ‘Second Track’ process, GAP seeks to foster links between community, business, government and academia to streamline the process of ‘fast-tracking’ solutions to key issues, acting as a catalyst for policy implementation and new economic opportunities. It has a global network of over 4,000 members, with more than 1,000 people actively engaged in its various projects at any one time. In 2022, GAP signed a landmark joint venture agreement with Nobel Prize Outreach AB to stage a series of Nobel Prize Dialogues in Sydney – the first time the acclaimed events are to be held in Australia.
Peter also chairs several influential government and private enterprise boards and is active in the international arena, including having represented Australia on the OECD Small and Medium Size Enterprise Committee. He continues to be active in the OECD. As Chair of the Australian Government Small and Medium Sized Business Council, together with Prof Jennifer Davis, Peter was instrumental in the introduction of mediation into the Australian legal system.
Peter’s innovative management style and corporate structuring has led to the creation of a business model which is being copied by many successful entrepreneurs and has become part of university undergraduate and masters’ programs in business management in Australia and around the world.
He is the holder of seven degrees and professional qualifications, is a recipient of the Order of Australia, and has received many other honors.