John Rothwell

WA’S Henderson shipbuilding region is rivalling leading motor yacht building nations like Holland, Germany and the United States for contracts from billionaire buyers.

“YOU should be able to see Greg Norman’s yacht – no it’s already gone.”

Henderson-based ship builder Austal Ltd has won a $90 million contract to supply two 65 metre aluminium multi-purpose passenger ferries for the Sultanate of Oman.

The setting sun cast a warm glow over the decks of the imposing Osman Gazi, the impressive venue for the sixth annual WA Business News 40under40 awards held last month.

GESB recruits Langoulant, Nance

Five of Perth’s top entrepreneurs sat down with WA Business News to talk about managing change, boosting philanthropy and achieving long-term success.

The leaders of some of WA’s top private businesses say overregulation is stifling the development of an entrepreneurial culture in Australia.

Having a ‘Eureka moment’ was a long way down the list of reasons why some of WA’s best-known entrepreneurs started their businesses.

The combined wealth of WA’s richest public company directors fell by around $3 billion in the past year, but some individuals bucked the trend.

Two Melbourne-based foreign exchange brokerage founders have been named the Ernst & Young 2014 Australian Entrepreneurs of the Year, with Aurora Oil and Gas founder Jonathan Stewart also being named one of six category winners.

The founder and non-executive chairman of Henderson-based shipbuilder Austal has sold down a portion of his shareholding in the company for $7.24 million.

Decmil Group founder and director Denis Criddle has spent another $500,000 buying shares in the contracting company, adding to a string of big trades by company directors includng his son Scott Criddle, Chris Ellison, John Rothwell and Enzo Gullotti over the past month, according to BNiQ data.

SPECIAL REPORT: For the second year running, the value of shares held by company directors in WA has fallen sharply, though some operators defied the trend.

Austal chief executive Andrew Bellamy is quitting after five years in charge of the Henderson-based shipbuilder.

WA business leaders have bemoaned the state government’s failure to plan for life beyond the mining construction boom, but still see opportunities in other sectors.

The chairman and co-chief executive of a Melbourne-based toy company has become the first Australian to be selected as global winner of EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Shipbuilder Austal has successfully completed an export contract to Azerbaijan, delivering a 70-metre catamaran constructed at its Henderson yard, the same facility that will be building a series of vessels for the federal government in two naval contracts.

SPECIAL REPORT: Some of WA’s top company directors have achieved extraordinary gains in their wealth over the past year, and while most held onto their shares, a group of 11 reaped more than $180 million from share sales.

In 40 years’ time, when people look back at the recent crop of winners of the Western Australian of the Year business awards, how will they be remembered relative to the early winners like Ralph Sarich, Sir Laurence Brodie-Hall and Michael Edgley?

ANALYSIS: It seems like a case of right place, right time for shipbuilder Austal, although it has been a success many years in the making.

While innovation is a necessity in every business founder’s toolkit, it seems cutting-edge technology is not always something that plays a critical role in their success.

Perth's top 20 ASX companies hit a big milestone this month, albeit only for one day – for the first time ever, they all had at least one female director. Click through to read about some of the talented women who made this happen.

Today’s board moves wrap includes John Rothwell, Richard Spencer, Lincoln Liu, Mauro Piccini, Troy Flannery, Trevor Raman, Tino Kapfumo, David Rich, Mark Miocevich and Amit Kamlesh Kumar Mehta.