Peter Arbery

At the age of 21 Peter gained the position of Manager of a pharmacy in Nuriootpa. Peter thinks back and says “The reason I was given this position was based on relieving for a chain of pharmacies for a couple of weeks, showing passion for developing businesses, and talking to clients. I had little or no preparation to become a good leader. I cringe when I remember how I managed many situations. I must have done some things right as they grew rapidly in sales and profits… I was lucky that the team members I had were forgiving and able to forgive a young, enthusiastic, misguided manager”

From 1991, at the tender age of 23, to 2007, Peter owned and managed five pharmacy businesses. To his credit, each achieved outstanding growth and high performance against industry benchmarks. As Peter developed his leadership skills and combined with his strong ethics, each business was both highly profitable and socially responsible. His passion for helping others meant significant contributions to local communities and had a strong focus on the learning and development of his team.

In 1995, Peter was celebrated as South Australian Pharmacy Manager of the year. His Darlington pharmacy had increased its turnover by over 600% over a 4 year period. His strategic thinking, membership based marketing, and sense of fun had built a growing client base.

Between 1999 and 2007 Peter oversaw three businesses through the process of attaining the Quality Care Pharmacy Accreditation. This rigorous quality framework administered by the Federal Government set a template for systems and procedures which is still relevant today.

In 1998, Peter was the founding President of the Yorketown Progress Association. Achieving successful grants of over $180,000 in year one, the association became the hub of technology for the Lower Yorke Peninsula and was critical in meeting community needs as it remained relevant in a fast growing IT world.

Peter, throughout his adult life, has continued to serve on management boards. These included the Steering Committee for Bendigo Bank Cummins, Lower Eyre Peninsula Health Services, the Elanora Retirement Village, Cummins Community Hotel, Yorketown Progress Association, Cummins Enterprise Committee, Southern Eagles Football Club, Lions International, United Yeelanna Football Club (Pres), SA Pharmacy Students Association, Tea Tree Gully Golf Club House Committee, SA Council for Australian Institute of Training and Development (VP), Pedare Christian College, and PHOS Camden Football Director, Committee Member, and fill-in Coach. Many of these boards he represented at an executive level.

Peter enjoyed over a decade of service to the United Yeelanna Football Club. He played over 100 games and was active in the recruitment and development of new players. He was also heavily involved in the leadership of the club, first as a committee member, then as President. His desire to create growth and success at the club through developing family values meant in 2001, Peter was awarded the clubs highest honour (The PJR Martin Award) in recognition of his vision, hard work, and leadership.

In 2007, with five successful businesses to his credit, Peter no longer felt passion to remain a pharmacist. A key point to be made here is that if he knew what he knows today, he could easily have made it work. All he knew was that he needed a new challenge and left the comfort of Cummins and moved to Adelaide. Initially, he spent time working for international drug manufacturer Servier. His role included drug education and medical sales. This taught him about large corporations, although opportunities in Adelaide were eventually limited.

Peter was ready for his next mountain. After significant self-discovery, Peter saw that the patterns in his life centred on developing people and organisations, and on his journey, he had learnt that this was achieved by a very strong passion deep inside himself. Forming his training company “The Training Guru” was the perfect fit. “It really doesn’t seem like work when you are doing what you were made to do. I have tougher weeks, even tougher participants, but I am always learning and finding new ways to take people forward to a better future.”

Kathleen and Peter are married. They have worked together since 1991. Their two daughters Sarah and Belle also have at times really helped in the business. Peter often says that his training is about “Putting older heads on younger shoulders” and for this he is grateful of his children’s help in understanding how that can happen.

In summary, Peter strengthens organisations by helping Leaders, Teams, and Sales/Customer Service.