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MODERN LEADERSHIP
Women constitute 42% of all employees in Australia but they make up only 25% of executive roles and 10 % of CEOs in large, for profit companies.
We've curated a list of trail-blazers who have demonstrated great leadership skills that allowed them to rise to the top of their fields and industries. Each woman can provide their own pragmatic advice for you to foster leadership skills in your teams and help improve diversity and gender equality among leaders.
If you'd like a Speaker that will leave a lasting impression at your next event contact our expert team on 1300 799 823 or enquire here.
Ita Buttrose AC, OBE is an Australian media icon, businesswoman, best-selling author, health advocate, committed community and welfare contributor as well as the current Chair of the ABC.
Ita is consistently regarded as one of the most trusted public figures in Australia and presents on topics including resilience, reputation, managing change, authentic leadership, and investing in your personal brand.
Julia Banks served as a Member of the House of Representatives from 2016 - 2019. Prior to this, she held Senior Executive Director, Company Secretary and General Counsel roles for some of the world’s most successful blue chip companies.
Julia is known for her advocacy and policy support on workplace culture and women in leadership, governance and ethics, marriage, gender and cultural diversity.
Dr Kirstin Ferguson is a business leader, Deputy Chair of the ABC, award-winning leadership expert and author. Kirstin combines her unique expertise as a highly experienced leader with her leadership research and deep understanding of trust and emotional intelligence to inspire, motivate and educate audiences around the world.
Kirstin is well known for her advocacy for women, gender diversity and inclusion. She is the creator of the widely acclaimed social media campaign #CelebratingWomen and is the co-author of Women Kind : Unlocking the Power of Women Supporting Women.
Nicola Hazell is one of Australia's leading voices on women’s leadership and social innovation.
With a career spanning journalism, politics, public affairs, and tech, Nicola is a sought-after international speaker and advisor on inclusion, diversity and the future of work. She works with a wide range of companies – from global tech giants to emerging startups and social enterprises – to design and accelerate programs and campaigns to drive the empowerment of women.
Fabian Dattner is a well-known leadership expert, author and women’s advocate. In December 2016, at age 63, she climbed aboard a ship bound for Antartica and in doing so stepped on to a global leadership platform. On board that ship were the first 76 women to participate in Homeward Bound - a now 1,000 strong collaboration of women who will help change the face of leadership on our planet.
Fabian's vision for a new wave of leadership is founded in pragmatism and it puts collaboration, compassion and the legacy of our planet front of mind.
The Honourable Pru Goward is a former Cabinet minister, Sex Discrimination Commissioner and was a pioneering television reporter with the ABC. Pru has a long history of promoting women’s rights, driving reform and getting things done and has frequently challenged institutional bullying and harassment.
Pru speaks across a range of subjects that reflect her decades of experience; women and leadership, leadership, trust and values, ageing and age discrimination, domestic violence, paid parental leave, workplace bullying and harassment and the implementation of reform. She also comments on current political challenges that affect us all.
Anoushka Gungadin is an experienced CEO, Board Director and best-selling author with a career across four continents in the last 20 years. She works at the intersection of Cultural Intelligence and Leadership to educate and empower.
With an increasingly diverse workforce and marketplace, Anoushka guides organisations on how to build inclusive growth in the modern economy.
Dr Bronwyn King is a social entrepreneur, movement maker, medical specialist and globally renowned humanitarian on a mission to inspire and transform organisations into purpose driven, sustainable businesses. Her engagement across the global corporate, finance, health and diplomatic sectors has provided unique insights into universal power structures – what works, what doesn’t and how to sidestep ‘the impossible’.
Bronwyn has a compelling message that embodies the power of one to spark change for the better. She has been recognised with countless awards, most notably an Order of Australia (AO) in 2019 for distinguished service to community health.
Kate Swaffer is shifting the way we view dementia, changing the narrative of in Australia and around the world. Her focus over the last few years has been implementing a human rights-based approach to dementia including ensuring disability support and rehabilitation, reducing stigma and discrimination, and improving the quality of life for the more than 50 million people currently living with dementia. Kate is a retired nurse, and has a Bachelor of Arts, a Bachelor of Psychology and a Master of Science in Dementia; she is a current PhD Candidate at the University of South Australia, and is a highly published academic and author. Kate is also living beyond a rare form of younger onset dementia, diagnosed in 2008 aged 49.
In her global work, Kate has learned that women and girls are disproportionately affected by dementia. More women than men live with the condition, and they provide the majority of care support and they also face the greatest stigma. Dementia is listed by the WHO as the fifth highest cause of death for women worldwide and is the leading cause of death in some countries, including in Australia.
Annabelle Chauncy OAM is a dynamic leader and social entrepreneur who started a multi-national NGO from scratch at the age of 21, with operations in both Australia and Uganda. Over the past 10 years, through her Foundation, School for Life, she has built a team of more than 120 staff, built 3 schools in rural Uganda that provide quality education to 1000 students and outreach to more than 2000 people.
Annabelle knows how to drive effective change in Australia and Uganda, navigating fast growth (50-100% year on year since inception), developing a national brand and engaging thousands of supporters to raise more than $6M in 5 years.
Margie is a bestselling author who is passionate advocate for gender equity and empowering women to back themselves more and doubt themselves less. Founder of Global Courage, a Women’s Economic Forum honouree and Ambassador for Google’s Womenwill, Margie has spent much of the last 25 years living and working around the world emboldening braver leadership more inclusive organisations.
Currently based in Singapore, Margie will be back in Australia in March launching her 5th book You’ve Got This! (Wiley) and sharing her insights on how women (and men!) can conquer the inner road blocks to fulfil their boldest ambitions with greater clarity, confidence and courage. A mother of four who sits on the advisory board of Forbes Business School, Margie has walked the talk when it comes to living bravely and defying norms since growing up on a dairy farm in rural Victoria.
Nova Peris OAM OLY MAICD was Australia's first Aboriginal woman elected to Federal Parliament and the first Aboriginal Australian and Northern Territorian to win an Olympic Gold Medal.
Pride in her Aboriginal identity is a vital ingredient to Nova's story and she works hard to inspire other Aboriginal people as well as to change attitudes throughout the Australian community. She has been appointed International Indigenous Human Rights Ambassador and a National Ambassador for Reconciliation Australia.
Rachael Robertson (CSP, MBA) is a former Antarctic expedition leader, Chief Ranger and leader with 20 years of ‘extreme’ leadership experience.
Rachael was only the second female to lead a team to Davis Station in Antarctica where she managed a diverse group of up to 120 people, through total isolation, months of darkness, and with no way in or out. It was a leadership laboratory in the most extreme and hostile environment on Earth, where most of the theory doesn’t apply.
Rachael's next book Respect Trumps Harmony, which includes the game changing No Triangles tool, will be released in March 2020 to coincide with International Women's Day.
Janine has often been called the Queen of Reinvention.
She was the first in her family to break the mould and leave home at 18 to attend university before starting a corporate career in London, where she quickly rose through the ranks. At 30 she made the decision to move to Australia with nothing but a backpack and over the next 10 years built a successful corporate marketing career putting together award-winning campaigns and strategies for high-profile brands like Ralph Lauren, Oroton, and Citizen Watches.
At the age of 40 Janine decided to start all over again, leaving the corporate world behind to begin her entrepreneurial venture before selling her business in March 2019 to focus on writing, training and speaking.
Janine’s personal stories of success and failure as a businessperson, mother and woman tie into leadership lessons that everyone can take in to their own life and work.
