Greek Australian Mark Bouris has bought a major stake in The Club of United Business (CUB) with an aim to outperform the male-only exclusive clubs, The Australian Financial Review has reported.
CUB, a space for entrepreneurs to network and build relationships with fellow leaders, launched its first club in Sydney’s Potts Point followed by one in Melbourne CBD. It has also added a new venue in Sydney’s CBD with plans for another venue in Parramatta and Brisbane’s CBD.
Mr Bouris, who is also the executive chairman of Yellow Brick Road, is expanding CUB after a famous international private members club designed for celebrities planned to open in Australia.
Mr Bouris said that unlike Sydney’s elite Australian Club – whose members include former prime ministers John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull and which voted to continue its male-only status – CUB is inclusive of women.
“I don’t think those clubs are relevant today, they are cosy, comfortable and a little bit elitist,” Mr Bouris told The Australian Financial Review.
“Women want to be able to talk to men. They want to be able to talk to whoever solves the problem. Women are pretty practical and, by the way, guys are becoming more that way too. They don’t care where they get the advice from, they just want the advice.”
Out of 1000 members in CUB, one third are women and include powerful women such as Showpo founder and CEO Jane Lu.
In CUB, members predominantly run a business in industries such as law, consulting, fashion, marketing with a revenue of between $1 million and $50 million. All members are selected and invited in so long as they meet seven figure revenue. Membership costs $9900 a year.
Source: The Australian Financial Review
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