Linfox Founder, Lindsay Fox AC has spent nearly seven decades shaping the Australian transport and logistics industry.
His outstanding contributions were recently honoured with the Personality of the Year Award at the Australian Freight Industry Awards, held at Crown Casino in Melbourne.
Accepting the award, Lindsay reflected on his journey:
“From little acorns, oak trees grow, and in my case, that’s been trucks, people and charitable organisations,” he said.
“I came from living in a boarding house until I was four, and then we lived in a house with three bedrooms. Those experiences were a great educator. You never go broke by giving.”
Born in Sydney and raised in the then working-class Melbourne suburb of Prahran, Lindsay learned the value of hard work early in life.
After realising formal education wasn’t for him, he left school and, at age 16, secured a truck licence and began working for his father as a driver. It was the first step towards building his iconic company.
In 1956, Lindsay founded Linfox with one truck, delivering soft drinks in the summer and charcoal briquettes in winter.
By the time Lindsay was 30, he and wife Paula had six children and owned a fleet of six trucks.
“Without question, the security of the family unit gives you a marvellous foundation from which you can build,” said Lindsay.
With that foundation, Lindsay built Linfox into the largest privately-owned logistics company in the Asia Pacific region, involving more than 24,000 people across Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.
His impact extends beyond boardrooms, with Lindsay earning the respect of his employees, the unions and industry leaders alike.
“Lindsay Fox is an icon,” said former secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions and Linfox Group Board Member, Bill Kelty.
“And I don’t use that word lightly. The business he has built speaks for itself but what isn’t well-known are the hours he willingly gives to people, to the community.
“It could be a chief executive dropping by for friendly advice, a grieving mother who has lost a child, an old acquaintance down on his luck, a country footy team – they all get his time. That’s the measure of a man.”
In 1985 Lindsay stepped back from the daily operations of Linfox and shifted his focus to the broader Fox Group family business. In 1993, his son Peter Fox was appointed Executive Chairman of Linfox Pty Ltd.
Lindsay’s contributions have been recognised at the highest levels. In 1992, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in recognition of service to the transport industry and the community. In 2008, he was advanced to Companion of the Order of Australia for his continued service to transport, logistics, youth traineeships, and philanthropy.
