Veteran policy advisor and advocate Luke Achterstraat appointed new COSBOA CEO

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) has appointed Luke Achterstraat as its new CEO, bringing the former federal government advisor and property industry figurehead into the small business realm.

COSBOA announced Achterstraat’s appointment Friday morning, with the experienced policy consultant and advisor formally commencing his role on May 30.

He will fill a role left vacant by his predecessor Alexi Boyd, who stepped down from the position in January.

Achterstraat served as the NSW executive director of the Property Council of Australia through late 2021 and 2022, guiding its activities as small businesses and their corporate landlords adjusted to easing pandemic conditions.

He is the chair of the NSW Department of Planning and Environment’s expert housing advisory panel.

Earlier, he operated as advisor to former Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb, and former Minister for Tourism and International Education Richard Colbeck.

Speaking to SmartCompany, Achterstraat said he is excited to represent a sector of great importance both to local communities and the national economy.

“The exciting opportunity for COSBOA and for the small business sector at the moment, is to really highlight and emphasise the role that the small business community and the small business sector can play in helping solve some of the big economic and social challenges facing us at the moment,” he said.

“Challenges around productivity, about finding sustainable growth, about driving innovation, and driving the future of the economy.”

“Every community in Australia is impacted or supported by small business and small business touches every part of society, every part of our lives,” he continued.

“So I’m really excited to represent the only national peak body that exclusively represents small business.”

His grandparents launched a small business after migrating to Australia in the 1950s, he added, giving him a sense of the “joys and challenges of running a small business.”

Achterstraat said his first order of business will be listening to today’s small businesses, their constituency groups, and board members to understand the challenges and opportunities of greatest importance.

Taking a “few weeks or months to really spend time listening and engaging” will help him “work with the team to act on their behalf,” he said.

Among roughly 30 applicants for the position, Achterstraat was a “standout with his combination of experience in both advocacy, working with associations, and a background in small business,” said Matthew Addison, chair of COSBOA.

“He just stands up as a person with a real sense of being a good voice for small business going forward.”