The rock solid base of a great partnership

For more than 60 years, from a single taxi to some of Australia’s largest highway service centres, AA Petroleum has been constantly growing and transforming itself. And for almost all that time, ANZ has put faith in the vision and diligence of AA founder Andreas Andrianopoulos and his family.

From one taxi to three taxis to a workshop to a thriving service station and now an empire of modern, multi-retail BP service centres, it’s a story of persistence and ambition.

On ANZ’s new Customer Conversations podcast, AA Petroleum’s George Andrianopoulos – Andreas’ son – and ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott discuss the role strong partnerships play in a successful business.

“When I see my brothers and my father obviously I see them as family and I work a certain way,” George says. “When I see an ANZ manager, a BP manager, in a way I think the same way. My interaction is like interacting with my brothers and my father, that's how I see us working in our business.”

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This podcast is also avaliable on Apple iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Breaker, Overcast, PocketCasts and RadioPublic. 

It’s a sense of the power of partnerships Shayne appreciates.

“One of the great strengths we (ANZ) have is we've been fortunate to have customer relationships that have really stood the test of time,” he says.

AA Petroleum is one of those customers. At over 80 years old now, Andreas still has a hand in the business now run day to day by his sons.

George and his brothers have a strong sense of family and he says they strive to build longstanding relationships with their partners, be they petrol station or bank managers.

Partnerships are a key aspect of the Andrianopoulos family. George remembers his father sharing an analogy passed down to him from his father, George’s grandfather, likening partnerships to moss covering rocks in nature.

“Moss grows over a rock which is set,’” George remembered. “Wherever you go make sure you don't move (the rock) around. Create relationships which are long term.”

The conversation also touched on innovation, the changes to the industry and assuring quality.

Listen to the podcast above to find out more.