Stefan Ackerie

His family migrated when he was 15 to Adelaide, South Australia, where he trained as a hairdresser and learned to speak English at nightschool.

[1] He owns a chain of approximately 50 hairdressing salons throughout Queensland and New South Wales as well as the Brisbane restaurant Jo Jo's, a bar and restaurant originally opened above the Queen Street Mall in the 1970s and now on Melbourne Street, South Brisbane.

[2][3] He also owns Stefan's Boating World in Coomera on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

[4] Stefan's Brisbane headquarters is located in South Brisbane, underneath the Skyneedle, a landmark which Stefan bought to prevent it being moved overseas after World Expo '88.

[7] He is also a keen power boat racer and holds the records for the fastest crossing of Bass Strait[8] and the fastest crossing of the Straits of Malacca.