010 -Al Keating: Not Your Typical Chief Executive

The Transformationist with Tash McGill

Meet Al Keating. You might say he’s not your typical chief executive, and that his path to this role has not included the standard succession of swivel chairs and over-priced fountain pens. With the exception of an 18-month hiatus during which he had the title ‘Intangible Value’, Al has been CE at Supreme since 2012. In this episode, we explore the path and lessons about leadership, culture and creativity.

An easily-distracted creative and team player, Al has loved building a solid team and, together with them, has helped lead Supreme from being a loved Wellington coffee roaster to being an internationally regarded brand. With roasters and offices in 7 cities across 3 countries including Melbourne Brisbane and Tokyo. Supreme has made their mark on the World - it was recently named in Gear Patrol’s ‘Top 10 Coffee Roasters of the World’.

Acknowledging that they still have a ways to go before they can tick off the company mission: ‘To be the greatest little coffee company in the world’, Al loves learning and discovering, and is committed to developing talent and leadership - not taking themselves too seriously along the way.

He lives in Avondale, Auckland with his wife and 3 kids, eats his toast straight from breadboard and never touches smooth peanut butter.