• Created a PowerPoint presentation to support a $5 million capital raising.
• Created a strategy map to explain a client CEO’s strategic vision to her board.
• Wrote a tender response to provide financial services to 27,000 accountants.
• Created a PowerPoint presentation to support a pitch for that tender.
• Wrote and designed an offer document for a business creating state franchises.
• Developed charts to depict a client’s business model for use in pitches to the client’s potential white label partners.
• Edited and designed a financial services firm’s annual report.
• Created information graphics for a public relations firm’s strategy report.
• Captured the value propositions of a variety of new financial planning products in print and online.
• Designed a PowerPoint presentation for an investor relations firm.
• Conducted on-camera interviews with investment managers.
• Presented to 70 accountants on improving their internal and external communications.
• Delivered a presentation to editorial staff on how to use graphics to attract readers to their stories.
• Created an email and advertising campaign to launch a breakthrough product developed by a real estate agency.

• Ensure that graphics effectively illustrate news events by understanding the aims and needs of both journalists and artists.
• Effectively manage conflicting priorities to maximise both the number and quality of graphics.

• Promoted to inaugural graphics editor after demonstrating innovative use of information graphics while working as a design sub-editor.
• Increased graphics by 75% over six years to about 300 a week, which now includes graphics for the AFR website and four Fairfax business magazines.
• Increased the number of artists from four to 12 full-time equivalents.
• Reduced the error rate from 20% to 3% by building on team members’ strengths in reviews of each other’s work.
• Applied technical understanding to increase the efficiency of the department with automated processes that allow the graphic artists to apply high-value skills more effectively.
• Utilised compelling combinations of charts, tables, images and text to explain what’s happening and why, and then summarise it with a snappy headline. An example includes a graphic about high unemployment headlined “Labour pains”.
• Maximised the impact of both news reports and graphics by understanding page layout and how news reports and graphics complement each other on the page.
• Educated the artists about news events to improve their ability to depict current affairs accurately.
• Judged a firm of quant analysts’ annual plain-English and report-design contest, which the firm uses to hone the communications skills of its analysts.
• Gave the inaugural keynote address when a regional business network was established in my hometown, Grafton.
• Delivered a presentation to editorial staff on how to use graphics to attract readers to their stories.
• Created a comprehensive guide for staff to generate and interpret market charts.
• Coached reporters to make the most efficient use of Bloomberg and Excel.

• Joined the editor’s team reviewing editorial processes to increase the productivity of AFR reporters and sub-editors.

• Publishing editor (contract position)
• To redesign and create research publications that increased the ability of sales staff to sell shares to fund managers. This meant making sure reports stood out from rival brokers’ reports both visually and in their usability.

• After restructuring research reports and sharpening their presentation, Australia’s biggest investors voted Macquarie’s daily update the 4th most-used bulletin and its comprehensive research reports the 3rd best-written. These were up from 7th the year before.
• Introduced a single-page flyer called 2 Minute Briefing that captured succinctly the compelling reasons why clients should buy particular stocks.
• Designed and managed a survey of clients’ information requirements to ensure research reports met their needs.
• This was the fourth extension of my contract.

• To produce equities research for retail clients

Ord Minnett

• Group publications manager
• To manage Ord Minnett’s retail website.
• To create electronic and print templates for reports, brochures, corporate profile, and contract notes.
• To write news releases.

• Revamped the staff magazine and called it All Ords.

• Ensure Ord Minnett’s company research for fund managers was reader-friendly.

• Made reports more effective as sales tools by co-ordinating changes to their design, production and editorial standards. This included polling sales staff on the fundamental data they wanted included – such as $US market caps and free cash flow –  that enabled them to sell more effectively to international clients.
• Moved the printing of research reports to Singapore, which gave us substantial savings in cost and turnaround time. We doubled the number of reports – and our sales efforts –  for the same cost as printing in Sydney. This was an effective saving of $600,000 pa.

Used email (new technology at the time) to have reports printed overnight and returned by air at a price and speed that gave us a competitive advantage over other brokers.

• Set up Word and Excel documents to print cost effectively in two colours and make graphs and charts more understandable than if printed only in black.

1992-1996

1991-1992

1989 – 1990

1984 – 1989

1984

1982 – 1984

1979 – 1982

David Coe

The Australian, Sydney NSW
Chief sub-editor, business section, with staff of 23
Design sub-editor, business section
National Publishing Group, Sydney NSW
Production manager
Robert Holmes à Court, Perth WA
Design and publishing consultant
The West Australian, Perth WA
Finance layout sub-editor, Reflex editor, utility sub-editor
The Times and The Sun, London
Casual sub-editor

English provincial papers
Layout sub-editor
The Evening Post, Wellington NZ
Features editor & deputy sports editor