Paul Dodd, founder, majority owner and Executive Director of Geared Up Culcha, is a proud Bundjalung man with traditional kinship ties to Wirri and Birriah First Nations.
Before establishing Geared Up Culcha in 2013, Paul worked for both State and Federal Governments in senior management positions, and travelled extensively for OxFam, engaging in community development programs in Guatemala, Mexico, the United States, Canada and New Zealand. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Aboriginal Community Management and Development from Curtin University.
Moving the business into a new 850m2 warehouse facility in late 2022 gave Paul cause to reflect on Geared Up Culcha’s growth from fairly humble beginnings:
“At the start, we were shipping boxes of stock out of my garage at home. In the eleven years since, we’ve outgrown three different locations to be where we are today.”
A strong advocate for Indigenous enterprise, Paul is active in fostering greater engagement between First Nations businesses, the public sector and private industry, delivering cultural awareness programs and reconciliation planning for corporate and government agencies via Corporate Culcha, another Indigenous business that he owns.
At a team level, Paul has focused on the value of creating opportunities for First Nations people, recognised by the fact that 30% of Geared Up Culcha’s team identifies as Indigenous, and over 20 First Nations interns and trainees have been through the business since 2013.
“It’s very important to us that First Nations peoples have a pathway into the workforce.”
Paul lives with his wife and family on the Tweed Coast of New South Wales. When he is not hard at work, he can be found cheering on his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs on the weekends during footy season.