Mr Grist has extensive experience in the capital markets. He has been involved in the management of publicly listed companies across a range of industries, both in Australia and overseas.

Mr Grist is a former Head of Corporate Finance at an Australian stockbroking company. In 1990 he founded what became Albion Capital Partners. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Western Australia, is an Associate of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Tony has been co-founder or significant early stakeholder and director of 3, plus billion dollar Australian telecom companies.

He was co-founder and Chairman of ASX listed enterprise/business carrier Amcom Telecommunications, ultimately leading the merger with Vocus Communications, helping create a major Trans-Tasman fibre optic carrier business, and served as Deputy Chairman of the merged business. Macquarie Asset Management and Aware Super acquired Vocus for A$4.35 billion in July 2021.

He also led the acquisition of a 28pc stake in pioneering Australian consumer player iiNet, remaining a director for six years. iiNet was taken over by TPG for approximately A$1.6 billion dollars in September 2015.

More recently Albion invested in NBN alternative telco start up Uniti Group Ltd, alongside Vocus founder James Spenceley, after retiring from Vocus. James and Tony arranged subsequent funding rounds, the appointment of management, and its listing on the ASX in February 2019. In August 2022, Brookfield and Morrison & Co acquired Uniti Group for approximately A$3.62 billion. 

Other significant technology projects initiated by Mr Grist and Albion Capital Partners include:

• the private purchase from Mayne Health, and subsequent IPO, of Mayne Pharma Ltd;
• the co-founding and syndicated funding of geo-spatial technology group Spookfish Ltd, its subsequent IPO, and eventual takeover by the world’s largest geo-spatial group, Eagleview.

Mr Grist is a director of the Fremantle Football Club, and a director of The Minderoo Foundation, the umbrella organisation for the philanthropic programmes of Andrew and Nicola Forrest. He has also held directorships in Canada, United Kingdom and Australia in the healthcare, mining and energy industries.

Mr Grist has been Chair of Judging for the Western Region of Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year program, as well as serving on the national judging panel. Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year is the world’s most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. It is the first and only truly global award of its kind with regional, national and global awards programs in more than 135 cities in 50 countries.

Through Vocus, Mr Grist was a major sponsor of UWA’s University Football Club for approximately 15 years. He is a founding partner of Vocus Upstart, one of Australia’s most generous startup accelerator programs which supports a culture of innovation and intelligent risk-taking.