Business futurist packer turns dead at 82
“Phil Ruthven has a big vision for the future of Australian business based on facts and research,” he said. “We will miss his advice and advice.” Ruthven was everywhere in the 1980s, when she was for a time Australia’s highest-paid professional speaker, partly because she used her understanding of statistics and macroeconomic trends to tailor every address. When Packer had $805 million to play with after selling his television interests to Alan Bond in 1987, it was Ruthven and IBISWorld that he turned to for advice. The fortune teller was instrumental in Packer’s decision to expand his pastoral holdings with an emphasis on cotton, cattle and wool, to the point that he became Australia’s second largest landowner. “Agriculture is going through an interesting watershed that will see the industry reborn,” said Ruthven Australian Financial Overview reporter Martin Peers at the time. “This is one of the most underrated industries in Australia.” The asset sale of Packer’s Consolidated Pasto