The driving force behind the establishment of The Equity Trustees Executors and Agency Company Limited was Joel Fox. Born on Australian soil in Fitzroy, Victoria in 1855, he attended the old Model School in Spring Street before taking his first job aged 13, working with several firms as a law clerk before assuming the position of common law manager with Eggleston, Derham & Martin, a leading firm of solicitors.

But it was Equity Trustees where he left his mark in the corporate sector. As the annual report published 100 years later in 1988 notes, he prepared its Memorandum and Articles of Association, and, upon incorporation, was appointed Manager, a position he held for 45 years before retiring and being appointed to the Board.

In this period the company grew to an organisation with more than 150 employees, and had business interests in every state. In sporting circles, Joel was a passionate lacrosse player with the Albert Park Club, as well as president of the Lacrosse Association of Victoria for many years. He passed way in 1936, aged 80.