About Phillip Kingston
Phillip Kingston is an optimistic technical problem solver who is a blend of a software engineer having been a programmer since he was young, a hardware and software product builder and designer with a strong foundation in mathematics and physics, and a creative entrepreneur across many industries and countries who strives to deliver meaningful progress for society.
Entrepreneurial Projects
Phillip is the Head of Engineering at Galactic Bioware and an Advisor to Internet 2.0.
In 2020, Phillip became a Co-Founder and Partner at HKH Partners which is an investigation, negotiation and counter-intelligence company focused on the corporate sector. He sold his position in the partnership in early 2022. Phillip is a licenced private investigator in Victoria, Australia (Licence #: 989-979-10S). More on that here.
Phillip was the Founder and CEO of Sargon which provided financial institutions and entrepreneurs with the technology and infrastructure they needed to successfully build and grow investment and pension funds. Prior to its sale to private equity, Sargon had over A$50 billion in assets on its platform and A$67 million in annual revenue. The company operated across Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. Sargon differentiated itself with a powerful combination of modern technology, financial licences and industry experts which helped clients navigate regulatory complexity, security and compliance so they could focus on growth and impact. Phillip also founded Good Super in 2013 which was Australia’s first social impact superannuation fund. Good Super was later acquired by Sargon in 2015.
Phillip is the Founder of GrowthOps and was a board member from 2013 to 2020. Phillip transitioned into a Non-Executive Director over 2019 and retired from the board in early 2020. GrowthOps has become one of the largest professional services firms in Asia with over 600 staff and A$80 annual million revenue across its software, design, advertising, management consulting and operations divisions. GrowthOps is differentiated by its focus on driving tangible growth outcomes for clients.
From 2015 to 2017, Phillip was a board member of the State Government of Victoria’s LaunchVic initiative to build the state’s entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem where he oversaw the deployment of an A$60m fund. Its mission is to create tomorrow’s growth and prosperity, today, by accelerating connections between people and ideas across business and society, to create the innovations, technologies, goods, services and jobs of tomorrow. LaunchVic works in partnership with entrepreneurs, industry, business, the community and educational institutions to strengthen Victoria’s entrepreneurial and startup ecosystem.
From 2014 to 2016, Phillip was a volunteer board member of the New Palm Court Orchestra in Victoria which was a fresh take on a 20th century jazz tradition. The Orchestra brought together some of Melbourne’s best jazz, classical and improvising musicians, led by pianist & composer Gemma
Turvey.
From 2007 to 2014, Phillip was an early supporter and volunteer board member of the Centre for Sustainability Leadership which is now part of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) at Monash University. The Centre was a not-for-profit dedicated to expanding the capability and influence of people who want to create a sustainable future, by building their knowledge, skills and networks.
Outside of these roles, Phillip has founded and served on boards of many pioneering organisations including as Chairman of an award-winning school in Victoria called Lumineer Academy, a partner of a film and television finance company in Hollywood called Dragonfire and a software and production company based in Bern, Switzerland and Macau, China called Kingston Development. Phillip wrote and published a paperback book called “The War for Eyeballs” in 2010 on digital marketing and web-based entrepreneurship.
Education
Phillip spent the majority of his tertiary education in the fields of mathematical physics, actuarial finance and applied mathematics. Phillip studied a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) for 3 years before transferring to a Bachelor of Science as he became passionate in applied mathematics stemming from the physical world.
- University of Melbourne – Bachelor of Commerce (BCom)
- University of Melbourne – Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) (BSc)
- Deakin University – Graduate Certificate in Psychoanalytic Studies
- University of Adelaide – Graduate Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Australian Institute of Company Directors – Certificate in Company Directorship
- International Security Training Academy – Certificate III in Investigative Services
Phillip attended Canterbury Primary School, Camberwell High School and Carey Baptist Grammar School in Victoria, Australia and completed the International Baccalaureate.
Interests
Phillip is an avid skateboarder, rock climber, chess and DOTA 2 player and occasionally plays golf and tennis. He has played most of the major MMORPGs since Everquest and major RTS games since Starcraft.
Memberships
- Member of the Space Industry Association of Australia (since 2020)
- Member of the National Golf Club (since 2018)
- Member of the Melbourne Cricket Club (since 2004)
- Member of the Australian Information Security Association (since 2019)
- Affiliate Member of the Institute of Engineers Australia (since 2013)
- Member of the Australian Security Industry Association (since 2020)
- Member of the Liston Tennis Club (since 2020)
Phillip is highly engaged in Australia’s bilateral relations with key strategic and trading partners in the Asia Pacific region. He participated in the Australia China Youth Dialogue in 2012 and the Australia Vietnam Young Leadership Dialogue in 2019.
Phillip participated in the World Investment Forums in Doha, Qatar in 2012
and Geneva, Switzerland in 2016 (which ran jointly that year with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) as well as the Rio+20 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2012. Phillip was named a Global Shaper by the World Economic Forum in 2013. Phillip attended the 50th anniversary Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska in 2015.
Phillip has been involved in the sustainability and social justice movements for over 15 years.
Phillip has participated in many endurance events for charity and team-building purposes including Tough Mudder (16km) and the Oxfam Trailwalker (100km).
Photos
Archive
There is now a photo and caption archive of many of the projects I’ve been involved in since 2007. These include businesses, events (including the famous Trimantium Study Tours and Henley Club events), non-governmental and inter-governmental projects. Click here to check it out.
Disclaimer
Please read the disclaimer carefully before using this website.