Koch was born on 7 March 1956 in Adelaide, South Australia. He trained as an accountant and started as a cadet on the business pages of The Australian newspaper before joining BRW magazine soon after its launch in the early 1980s. He was one of the founders of consumer finance journalism in Australia and created Personal Investment magazine, which made him the youngest editor in the Fairfax Media group.[citation needed] He then launched Personal Investment magazines in New Zealand and the UK. He produced Britain's first "rich list" which started in Money Magazine which he had bought for Fairfax.[citation needed]
In 1988, he launched trade publishing group Australian Financial Press in a joint venture with Fairfax. AFP went on to create Business Magazine, New Accountant and Money Management magazines.[citation needed]
He provides business and financial commentary for several publications, including Pacific Magazines, Yahoo Finance and the "Your Money" section of News Ltd newspapers.
Koch was a director of the NSW Small Business Development Corporation Ltd for eight years after its inception in 1996. As a former business owner and operator and now director of Pinstripe Media Pty Ltd, he speaks regularly at corporate events about small business, finance and investment issues.
Koch has presented over 100 episodes of a weekly small business program on the Seven Network, Kochie's Business Builders,[4] which helps private business owners improve their business. The program is produced by Koch's company Pinstripe Media.[5]
In 2007, Koch launched Pinstripe Media,[6] a video production and content marketing agency that manages a network of sites including Startup Daily, Flying Solo and Kochie's Business Builders.
In 2013, Koch launched KBB Digital,[7] a digital marketing agency for small business which is an extension of the 'Kochie's Business Builders' brand.
In 2020, in partnership with Kylie Merritt, Koch launched ausbiz,[8] an Australian business and finance streaming platform.
In August 2023, Koch joined Compare the Market Australia as an Economic Director to support families battling the cost of living crisis in the country.[9]
Television career
Sunrise
Koch was co-host of Seven Network's Sunrise breakfast program for 21 years, from 2002 until 2023. He was initially hired to replace Chris Reason who stepped down after a cancer diagnosis towards the end of 2002; however, his position later became permanent. He and his original co-host, Melissa Doyle, hosted the program over a period that saw viewer ratings grow until Sunrise became the leading breakfast television show in Australia.[10]
In August 2022, the Seven Network released a statement declaring Sunrise had won the breakfast TV ratings in its timeslot for the 19th year in a row.[11][12]
Koch announced on 28 May 2023 that he would leave the program to spend time with family and to manage the Port Adelaide Football Club. After a 21-year tenure, he is Australia's longest-serving breakfast television host, having broadcast 16,000 hours of live TV across 5,300 shows, and conducted 50,000 interviews. Matt Shirvington was announced as his replacement on 5 June 2023.[13] His last broadcast was on 9 June 2023.[2][14]
Other
Koch also co-hosted another Seven Network production, Where Are They Now?, also with then-Sunrise co-host Melissa Doyle. He also hosts a show for small businesses, Kochie's Business Builders, which airs on Sundays on the Seven Network.
Koch was nominated for a silver Logie in 2004 and 2005 for Best TV Presenter.
Koch has written several practical books on family and business financial management and published a book of jokes compiled from his daily joke segment on TV. The book was parodied in an episode of The Chaser's War on Everything where reading jokes from "Kochie" was the only thing that got a laugh at a stand-up comedy club. In a survey conducted by Money Management newspaper, his peers recognised him as one of the 10 most influential people of all time in the financial services industry.[citation needed] There may be a conflict of interest in this recognition he received from Money Management newspaper given he set up the publication via his trade publishing group Australian Financial Press (see above).
Koch was frequently parodied on the television show Comedy Inc., in which he was played by Paul McCarthy. Reader's Digest listed him in the top 50 Most Trusted Australians.[16]
In 2007, readers of Banking and Finance Magazine voted Koch Australia's Best Finance Journalist while the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia presented him with the "Small Business Champion award" in recognition of his support of Australian small business.[citation needed]
Koch also played the voice of the News Report in the Australian version of the 2009 DreamWorks film, Monsters vs. Aliens.
He has climbed Mt Kilimanjaro twice to raise money for charity and walked the Kokoda Track.
On 2 October 2012, Koch was announced as the chairman of the Port Adelaide Football Club a position he started at the beginning of 2013, succeeding Brett Duncanson.[19]
In October 2014, Koch launched his website rescue competition (Rescue My Website), to help change the digital lives of 3 Australian small businesses.[20]
Koch was honoured with the Order of Australia (AM) in 2024, with the citation "For significant service to media as a television presenter and to economic journalism".[1]
Through a Sunrise campaign and his involvement in ShareLife, Koch influenced the federal government to establish a national authority (the Organ & Tissue Authority) to oversee Australia's organ transplant system.[citation needed] Previously Australia had the highest level of registered organ donors per head of population in the world but one of the lowest transplant rates. The new national authority aims to bring Australian transplant rates up to world's best practice. Koch was Chairman of the 'Organ and Tissue Authority Advisory Council' but resigned on-air, during a Sunrise broadcast on 27 May 2015, in protest over a government review of organ donation.[25] Assistant Health Minister Fiona Nash had failed to advise him about the review.[26]
In May 2006, Koch and then Sunrise co-host Melissa Doyle were acquitted of contempt of court charges in a Melbourne Local Court after the name of a 14-year-old boy was published in a case in which the boy sought an irreconcilable differences order against his parents. The Seven Network and the show's producer were convicted of the offence.[27]
On 4 December 2006, Koch told a joke on air regarding then prime minister John Howard's wife, Janette Howard, and then Opposition Leader Kim Beazley that resulted in heavy backlash. Koch was required to apologise to John Howard by Seven Chair Kerry Stokes.
On 18 January 2013, Koch attracted criticism after he made comments about breastfeeding, which were condemned by media consultant Mia Freedman.[28]
On 16 October 2018, Koch made a "clumsy" joke in relation to slavery when reviewing a segment about Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt training with the Central Coast Mariners (a soccer team) in Australia's A-League. There was extensive backlash about the incident on social media.[30]
On 18 March 2019, Koch was criticised by viewers for allegedly bullying One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson on the Sunrise program.[31]
Koch's name and image have been falsely used in several online scams in Australia, which Koch warned Sunrise viewers about.[32]
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