The Passing of our Founding Chairman – Syd Chesson

As we welcome back everyone to the new 2020 year, and the new decade, we also take this opportunity to advise clients that our Founding Chairman, Syd Chesson, lost his battle with cancer during the Christmas and New Year period. He died peacefully in hospital on the 23rd December 2019, with Jeanette, Simon and his family by his side. We held the funeral to farewell Syd on the 3rd January 2020.

Syd had a very rare form of cancer, and passed away after a nearly 18 month battle. During that time he fought on, displaying his never give up attitude, and had his leg amputated while he trialled new treatments to try to beat the disease.

Syd and Jeanette started our business in 1979, as business brokers, and then added settlements and property services not long after. Simon joined Syd and Jeanette in 1992 and together they continued to build the business into what it is today – a financial services group covering all matters tax, finance, business, legal, investment, superannuation and real estate. We now employ over 50 staff, and have more than 850 active clients.

Having worked together for more than 40 years of the 50 year marriage between Jeanette and Syd is testament to not only their relationship and each other, but also their commitment to their family, the business and to be successful. Syd was a mentor to many, and changed many peoples’ lives over that time.

Syd had many passions outside of the business, including assisting many causes such as schools, not for profits and sporting clubs. His two biggest passions in life were:

• Education, as he returned to university as a mature age student to complete a Masters of Business Administration and a Juris Doctor (which is a post graduate law degree), and
• Role Models and Leaders Australia and the Girls Academy program. He was a founding director of that organisation with Ricky Grace and Simon Chesson, established in July 2004 to address a lack of available programs for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Island girls to finish their schooling. He resigned in October 2019 due to his ill health. (www.girlsacademy.com.au)

Syd’s resilience, patience and his willingness to live and fight were evident to the very end.

AAG’s Core Values were born from Syd’s desire to assist clients, and to put the client in the centre of everything that we do. He often assisted clients to take on matters or situations where other advisers dared not to tread, as he wanted to make sure that clients got what they paid for, and received the right advice.

Syd’s philosophy for AAG, that “We believe we can achieve what we want in life by providing our Clients with what they need and want” will continue to guide us into the future and ensure that we remain a client focussed organisation that never gives up. As Syd used to say, “Look after the client and the rest will look after itself”. We will miss him, but he will always live on in our business.