Jacob Muraca is the COO and CFO at Bondi Sands, an Australian company which sells self tan, skincare and suncare products.
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1) To kick things off, could you tell us a little about your career background and current role?
My first role was as an account graduate and this was the first 4 years of my working life.
I wanted to work in an industry where I could add value, so I followed this up by securing a role in the finance team of a digital media company. After 2 years my partner & made the decision to move to London to work and travel, and it was the best move I ever made!
During my time in the UK, I was fortunate enough to work for companies such as Topshop, Topman and CNN but after 3 amazing years it was time to come home where I was lucky enough to land a role at Bondi Sands as the Financial Controller, this has then evolved to CFO and now as COO.
2) What does a day in the life look like for you? Can you take us through a recent workday?
Morning calls with the US team while they are online, then I attempt to get through the backlog of email which comes in overnight, the perks of working for a global company!
My day is usually back-to-back zoom calls with sales, marketing, finance and the Director. Lunch is usually had at my desk. After lunch I might be lucky enough to get a couple hours to myself where I can start chipping away at my to-do-list before evening the calls start with our UK team.
3) Does your current role allow for flexible or remote working? If so, how does that fit into your life and routine?
Currently we have all been working remotely due to Victoria’s ongoing restrictions, but I think it will change the way we work going forward.
I have already been having discussions with the Directors about utilising our current office space when we go back to the office, despite being at 110% capacity, rather than upgrade our office.
The key to this will be offering staff the options to maintain the work from home balance a couple days a week. For myself, as a recently new father, working from home has been a blessing as I have been around a lot more than expected to help my wife, and watch my son grow up.
4) What does work-life balance mean to you and how do you work to achieve that goal?
Being able to start later or finish early when needed so I don’t miss the important things in my family/social life even though I know I will need to make it up at some point during the week.
5) In the past 12 months, have you started or stopped any routines or habits to change your life?
Funny – the past 12 months all routines have gone out the window as we have had to change the way we live, work and socialise, and amongst that we’ve had our first child!
6) Do you have any favourite books, podcasts or newsletters that you’d like to recommend?
Podcast – The Money Café (it’s the finance in me) but on a lighter note The Howie Games – Mark Howard casually interviews Australian athletes for the past and current and I really enjoy listening to this.
7) Are there any products, gadgets or apps that you can’t live without?
I actually can’t live without my phone, which is a bad thing, I am trying to get into the habit where I put it away at 7:30pm and don’t look at it again until the morning so I can switch off work and spend time with the family.
8) If you could read an interview about work-life balance by anyone, who would that be?
Eddie McGuire, he is everywhere from early morning radio to late night football TV shows. I would love to know how he spends his down time and if he is able to switch off.
9) Do you have any last thoughts on work, life or balance that you’d like to share with our readers?
Finding the balance is key to not only your own happiness but the people around you.
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