A career futurist with a resume that lists building global companies across a myriad of sectors, University of Southern Queensland Alumnus Gerard Barron verbalises his vision with humble yet articulate execution.
Described as ‘Australia’s Elon Musk’, Gerard runs DeepGreen – the world’s largest underdeveloped metals resource company – and aspires to revolutionise the electric vehicle and renewable energy sectors globally.
But he’s equally content to be known as the son of Darling Downs dairy farmers.
The youngest of five children and enduringly inspired by his Mother’s outlook on life, Gerard Barron now lives and works between bases in California and Dubai – a long way from his childhood home of Biddeston near Oakey.
“I was always an entrepreneurial kid and I guess that comes from being the youngest of a big family and also going to a primary school where I was only one of 50 students – you were always looking for a point of difference,” Gerard said.
“I went on to become the school captain at Oakey State High School and when it came time to make some decision at the end of Year 12, moving to Toowoomba and studying at USQ seemed like a logical choice based on proximity,” he said.
“I was accepted into a Bachelor of Business, which wasn’t something I chose based on anything other than a desire to have a good platform to help me make the most of my future.
“Plus, I enjoyed reading the Financial Review as a teenager and I was always looking for an angle or a service gap, so I connected the dots and threw myself into Toowoomba life.”
Majoring in economics and marketing, Gerard worked four jobs in his first year of university.
“I graduated in 1986, yet to this day my time as a university student – both on campus and off campus – shaped how I think about the world, and continues to do so,” he said.
“I think about the core lessons from first year subjects around brand and macro-economics which provided me with such a great grounding for what was to come. Those lessons still drive me, and I remain passionate about them.”
While he professes to never having had a “real” job, Gerard Barron is indeed a seasoned entrepreneur, starting his first company while studying at USQ.
“Interest rates had been really high but were starting to come down and I saw a gap in the market for people to refinance on their loans to save some money,” he said.
“I bought myself a calculator, suit and a tie and made a meeting with a finance company with no real idea of what I was doing but it turned out to be a quite lucrative move.”
Gerard Barron has taken identifying gaps to a whole new level with his most recent impact project, DeepGreen – a company seeking to produce metals from polymetallic rocks on the ocean floor to power electric vehicles.
As part of the initial development of the company a decade ago, Gerard took on the positions of CEO and Chairman in 2017.
“We are on a mission of quite epic proportions, no doubt about it, but at its core I’m on a brand building exercise,” he said.
“I want to build the most respected metals company in the world, and how do you do that? You build trust and transparency, and you establish values to live by inside and outside of the organisation. And as you learn early on in business and marketing at university, great brands attract great followers. I’m proud to say we’re making ground on that at DeepGreen.
“Everything I’ve done, including my degree from the University of Southern Queensland, has prepared me for the role I’m attempting to play in enabling a green transition when it comes to metals.
“A lot of people in my generation are of the opinion that it’s quite hard for kids starting their studies and career journey at the moment because a lot of jobs are disappearing – but I see that as a huge opportunity. It’s an incredibly exciting time because there are no boundaries.
“You don’t need a lot of money to start – all you need in determination and a good idea.”
And for all Gerard Barron has achieved since leaving the family farm, the enduring impact of his formative years in the Toowoomba region is clear.
“I would say to anyone about to embark on their university journey to never underestimate the value of building deep, meaningful relationships and maintaining them. Both in business and in life,” he said.
“My very closest friends and trusted advice-givers are people from my uni days, and I have nothing but fond memories of USQ and what I’ve built in life since.”