Charles Canning-Smith

Charles is an experienced CEO and successful start-up entrepreneur, currently based in Sydney. In 2003 aged just 26, Charles founded Consumer First, a direct to consumer mobile (D2C) content company. Under Charles leadership Consumer First grew to become the a multi-million dollar enterprise with operations in over 10 countries. In 2007 Charles founded Chocolate Mobile a multinational m-commerce company focusing on apps and services tailored specifically to mobile devices and tablets. The company currently has offices in the UK, Chile and Australia. In addition to starting successful companies of his own, Charles also invests in and advises an ever growing number of mobile and tech companies. Notable successes include Ring Ring Media with whom Charles was a director and investor, that sold to Amobee in 2010 and then to SingTel in 2012 for $320 million. Charles passions are technology, cooking, travel, people, electronic music and most important of all spending time with his wife and gorgeous three kids. Finally, in 2012 Charles became a managing Partner in Ballpark Ventures, a boutique venture capital enterprise with a focus on finding talent and nurturing disruptive mobile and early-stage technology businesses.