Women on Boards - Leaders and Directors in conversation with Claire Braund
Women on Boards (WOB) co-founder and Executive Director, Claire Brand in conversation with inspirational leaders and directors about their board and leadership journey. WOB is dedicated to supporting women on their board and leadership journey through our quality network, programs and events. We actively advocate for gender balance and cultural diversity in board and leadership roles.
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Gorana Saula: International woman of innovation
03/06/2023
Gorana Saula: International woman of innovation
Bosnian-born Gorana Saula speaks three languages, has three passports, four drivers’ licenses and loves to travel. And with her passion for gadgets and all things tech it’s no wonder friends of the former CEO and electronics engineer call her James Bond. The Non Executive Director has had a wide range of executive leadership roles in defense, telecommunications, and electronics manufacturing. Attending university in Croatia she holds two master's degrees in electronics and business and is known as a woman who loves innovation - her first job out of uni was leading a project to develop tech for self-guided missiles. Gorana has experience working in many countries - from Germany and California to New Zealand and Brisbane - and brings a different perspective and international mindset and cultural sensitivity to all her organisations. In this podcast she talks to Claire Braund about making the dangerous journey from war-torn former Yugoslavia with her husband and two children, leaving behind her mother and disabled brother without knowing if she would ever see them again and how she went from arriving in New Zealand speaking very little English to becoming Director of Engineering in a microwave networking solutions provider, eventually leading it to become the only private New Zealand company listed on the NASDAQ. She also reflects on the challenges of attracting top talent, particularly during the dot.com era and mining boom, pointing to the importance of offering employees a good work-life balance to pursue their passions. A self-described ‘champion for product innovation’ Gorana now chairs three boards and brings her deep expertise to organisations that create and innovate. LinkedIn (host) Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for just for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Fair game: Dr Catherine Ordway on gender equity, integrity and anti-corruption in sport
01/30/2023
Fair game: Dr Catherine Ordway on gender equity, integrity and anti-corruption in sport
Dr Catherine Ordway is an academic in sports management, and a sports lawyer, who specialises in anti corruption and integrity.She's a sought after tribunal member, media commentator and consultant who's assisted sports including AFL, archery athletics, basketball, combat sports cricket, cycling, football, golf, handball, rowing, rugby, softball, swimming, and triathlon in governance, selection and anti-doping and code of conduct disputes.What is less well known is that Catherine played a central role in the establishment of Women on Boards shortly after the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. In this podcast Catherine talks about that first meeting with Ruth Medd and the growth of Women on Boards and the push to have better and skills represented on state and national sports boards. As she says, it was all about moving away from “Oh, he kicked the winning goal in 1978 - he’d make a good board member,” to professionalising sports boards and setting gender targets. Claire and Catherine also discuss the push for parity for female athletes “starting with broadcasting and sponsorship rights, pay parity, and access to facilities,” and the complex issues around trans women in sport. About Dr Catherine Ordway: Sport Integrity Research Lead & Associate Professor at University of Canberra; Chair, Vetting Panel, Badminton World Federation; Independent Review Board, International Cricket Council; Head Anti-Doping Hearing Panel, World Curling Federation. LinkedIn: (host) Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for full access to our Board Vacancies, support, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Fostering culturally diverse leadership - with Karen Loon
12/22/2022
Fostering culturally diverse leadership - with Karen Loon
Karen Loon is a Non-Executive Director, and a former senior Big 4 partner. She has worked with the world’s leading banks and is a recognised thought leader and speaker on workplace diversity and inclusion - inspired partly by her own experiences in Australia. “What really struck me was that I was sitting in boardrooms or sitting in meetings, where there was pretty much I was the only Asian in the room, let alone an Asian Australian woman in the room,” Karen tells Claire in this episode. She was formerly PwC’s Singapore and Asia-Pacific Diversity Leader and a member of its award-winning Global Diversity Leadership Team. A fourth generation Asian Australian who grew up in country music mecca Tamworth in northern NSW, has qualifications in system psychodynamics and governance from INSEAD, and research interests in identity work and organisational change. Her book , features case studies or lessons from those who smashed the bamboo ceiling. In this interview with Claire Karen talks about what we can learn from leaders who smashed the bamboo ceiling and how critical C Suite and other leaders are in creating, changing and challenging culture within an organisation and why board chairs and directors need to think more openly about the benefits of diversity on their boards. As she says: “To create the most effective boards or organisations you also need environments that encourage innovation, courage, agility, and those things may not happen if people are scared”.
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Managing a portfolio career and leading the charge in Adelaide - with Wendy Teasdale Smith
11/07/2022
Managing a portfolio career and leading the charge in Adelaide - with Wendy Teasdale Smith
Wendy Teasdale Smith is a woman full of surprises. As well as being the owner of possibly one of the largest collections of hairclips for anyone over 40, WOB’s quirky and energetic South Australian representative also recently won a Toastmasters humorous speaking award with her speech on having an RBF (resting bitch face), which she presented over Zoom during COVID. Born and brought up in Elizabeth, South Australia (the inspiration for Jimmy Barnes’ song Working Class Man) she is also in a book called Elizabeth Champions celebrating people from the region. As she tells Claire in this podcast, growing up in the working class suburbs, Wendy was a teenager when she discovered the power of hard work. “While I had a challenging childhood, one of the things that was really good about it was a strong belief from my father in education, and that it could change your life. And it certainly changed mine.” Wendy went on to pursue a productive career in education, as a CEO, school principal, college director, as well as serving on ministerial committees and lecturing before biting the bullet and heading out into the business world. “I enjoyed my time [in education] but wanted to be brave enough to leave and try something else.” It was after Googling ‘women organisations’ that Wendy found WOB, and met Claire at a conference in Sydney. Now a pioneering state rep who has led the charge for WOB in Adelaide for many years, Wendy manages a portfolio career focused on non-profit and government board and is also an experienced public speaking and presence coach, and says never underestimate the power of a strong woman. “Like Eleanor Roosevelt said: A woman is like a teabag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” LinkedIn: (host) Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for full access to our Board Vacancies, support, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Security Risks for Boards. Are you asking the right questions? - with Matt Fehon AM
09/29/2022
Security Risks for Boards. Are you asking the right questions? - with Matt Fehon AM
In the wake of the Optus cyber-attack, in this special update we talk to Matt Fehon AM, partner at McGrathNicol. Matt has led some of the largest and highest profile fraud, corruption, and regulatory investigations in Australia. He is one of the key presenters in our new 5-part program Security Risks and Risk Management for boards. The program starts on the 20 October and consists of 4 one hour webinars plus a fifth panel session in Sydney at the end (also via livestream). Here Matt provides an overview of what will be covered in the program, including: - His view on the key risks boards are currently facing and his perspective what boards should be taking from the Optus cyber-attack . Why security is so important for Boards at the moment. The focus of Module 1 (which Matt presents) on Risk Management Programs. The key takeaways you can expect from the series. The 5 part series is availabe On Demand Module 1 | Risk Management Program with Matt Fehon AM & Caroline Mackinnon Module 2 | Cyber Security Risk with Joss Howard & Stephanie Lo Module 3 | Supply Chain Risk with Rhyan Stephens & Joanne Bermingham Module 4 | National Security Risk with Sam Boarder Module 5 | Panel Session including networking and lunch with Zorana Bull, Abigail Goldberg and Dr Sarah Morrison. FOLLOW US ONLINE WOMEN ON BOARDS provides the personal networks, tools and resource to support your board and leadership journey at any career stage.
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Leading Equal Opportunity for Women - with Helen Conway
09/05/2022
Leading Equal Opportunity for Women - with Helen Conway
Helen Conway has, by her own admission, always been an agitator. As the experienced lawyer, senior executive, NED and workplace gender equality expert tells Claire Braund in this podcast, it was her “contrary nature” which compelled her to get involved when she saw something that was not right. “I may have made a few enemies along the way, but you have to be courageous enough to stand up for what is right, and ultimately you get a return on that investment.” Helen spent 10 years in private legal practice, including seven years as a partner in a major law firm in Sydney before moving into the corporate sector, where she worked as a senior executive in the insurance transport, energy, retail and construction industries for 18 years. “I love the cut and thrust of the commercial environment”. At the same time, she undertook various directorships and the health transport and superannuation sectors. But she's probably most famous for her next role, leading the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency through its transition into the Workplace Gender Equality Agency. Helen has a long track record of supporting women. She was a member of the New South Wales Equal Opportunity Tribunal for a decade, including three years as its Senior Judicial Member, was involved with a halfway house for released women prisoners and helped set up the Women’s Legal Centre. She is now Chair of YWCA Australia and YWCA Housing as well as Chair of Women for Election Australia. In this podcast Helen talks about the pivotal role of the WGEA and why there is still a need to not just talk about gender equality, but to act. As she puts it: “A lot of people TALK about gender equality…I’m more interested in the doing.”
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Cyber warfare expert Dr Sarah Morrison: Getting into the mind of a threat actor
08/22/2022
Cyber warfare expert Dr Sarah Morrison: Getting into the mind of a threat actor
To be good at cyber security you need to be able to think like a threat actor. That’s according to state-based cyber warfare expert Dr Sarah Morrison, who has herself embedded herself for the last 20 years in the technology and cybersecurity industry. No surprise then that Sarah is always the one at dinner parties reminding people to use secure passwords and update their anti-malware. What is more of a surprise is that Sarah - who has no less than seven qualifications in the area of criminology, investigation & intelligence and cyber security including a PhD in Russian Information Operations - left school in Year 10 to get an office job. As she tells Claire Braund in this podcast, “I fell in love with computers around five when my brother won one and brought it home. At school we didn’t get to really use computers, but getting an admin job I got to use one!” A few years later a book on criminology piqued Sarah’s interest so she went back to school and on to study the subject at University of Western Sydney. Sarah works across the government, banking and higher education sector. More recently she has stepped into the cyber consulting and advisory arena in ASX and other organisations. She was recently appointed to a WOB Advertised advisory committee in the higher education sector because of her very specific cyber skills. In this podcast Sarah talks about how she keeps in with the fast-moving space of cyber security and intelligence, the threat of large-scale disinformation campaigns and the role of AI and why boards need to put cybersecurity “front and centre”. LinkedIn (host) Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for just for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Claire Braund in Conversation with Miriam Silva AM - Faith, resilience and my board journey
08/08/2022
Claire Braund in Conversation with Miriam Silva AM - Faith, resilience and my board journey
Miriam Silva is an experienced board member and senior corporate roles across multiple industries including pharmaceuticals, banking and agriculture. Her influence extends across business, Government, media, Muslim and broader Australian communities. Educated at The Wilderness School, a non-denominational school for girls in Adelaide, Miriam went on to read mathematics at Adelaide University before launching into the corporate world where she took on roles with ANZ & Elders before becoming COO for FleetPartners. In 2022 Miriam was made an AM for significant service to the multicultural community of South Australia, and to women. She is also on the South Australian Women's Honour roll, one of the inaugural AFR 100 Women of Influence, winner of the Governor's Multicultural Award for the Private Sector in 2012, Patron and Life Member of the International Women's Day Association (SA) and is the Multicultural Patron for the SA Police Academy. In this podcast, Miriam talks to Claire Braund about how a diminutive hijab wearing Muslim woman conquered corporate Australia, her rescue mission on the board of the Malek Fahd Islamic School and setting up the Young Directors program. A cancer survivor, Miriam also discusses the role her faith and resilience have played in her board and career journey. Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for just for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Ready for lift off: How Amanda Mark nailed her elevator pitch
07/26/2022
Ready for lift off: How Amanda Mark nailed her elevator pitch
From avoiding fisticuffs on the trading floor to conquering Wall Street and running her own financial market regulation consultancy, Sydneysider Amanda Mark is known for her fearless determination and big picture thinking. It was always Amanda’s dream to work in financial services overseas, so after landing a job in Sydney for a money market broker as a chalky in the early 90s - one of four women on a trading floor of more than 250 men - Amanda secured a role in Morgan Stanley’s Sydney office before getting a transfer to the New York head office. It was in Manhattan that Amanda was to make her biggest impact, and it all started with her elevator pitch. In this interview, long-time WOB member Amanda tells Claire Braund how she made a lasting impression in the New York office, and - never one to let an opportunity slip - caught the attention of the CEO after literally bumping into him in a lift early one Monday morning. In this insightful and entertaining conversation, Amanda also discusses the evolving challenges of being a woman working in the financial markets, the devastating experience of being in New York during 9/11 and losing much-loved colleagues in the attacks, working through the GFC and clean-up and moving from the ‘sell and buy side’ to the ‘dark side’ of financial regulation in Australia. Watch this interview on YouTube LinkedIn (host) Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for just for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Corruption, whistleblowing and disclosure in the boardroom - with Dr Kath Hall
07/25/2022
Corruption, whistleblowing and disclosure in the boardroom - with Dr Kath Hall
Dr Kath Hall is an internationally recognised expert on transnational corporate corruption and foreign bribery regulation. Her career as a legal academic and writer has led to her advising a number of leading international organisations including the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit and Safra Centre for Ethics at Harvard University. Dr Hall has advised the International Standards Organisation on the introduction of a global standard on best practice whistleblower policies and processes and between 2016-2020 was the lead researcher on a global project investigating positive organisational responses to whistleblowing in the public, private and not for profit sectors. Dr Hall has a PhD in Law and Psychology from the Australian National University and brings a unique understanding of human behaviour into all her work. In this podcast Dr Hall talks to Claire Braund about how the landscape has changed in Australia and globally in relation to misconduct and corporate corruption and bribery and about the need for transparency and full disclosure in the boardroom - from appointing board members to disclosing potential conflicts of interest. She also discusses whistleblower regulations, the implications for small to large organisations and why we need to take the issue seriously: ‘It is important for all organisations. We've seen it in Australia from sporting to church organisations, no one is immune from misconduct potentially occurring. We have to take it seriously putting these processes and practices in place." LinkedIn (host) Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for just for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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What steps can First Nations allies take towards reconciliation? - with Claire Beattie
07/04/2022
What steps can First Nations allies take towards reconciliation? - with Claire Beattie
As Australia celebrates NAIDOC week - an historically important celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and connection to Country - WOB Cultural Diversity Member and proud Yorta Yorta woman Claire Beattie discusses what steps First Nations allies can take towards reconciliation - from helping more Indigenous women into leadership positions to buying from Aboriginal businesses. “Now it is time for individuals and organisations to think about procurement, employment, how you walk with First Nations people, your acknowledgement of country, how you create cultural and psychologically safe environments for your First Nations employees and how you work with Aboriginal businesses.” Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for just for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Cultural Diversity and Inclusion - Panel discussion with Shirley Chowdhary, Claire Beattie and Claire Braund
05/19/2022
Cultural Diversity and Inclusion - Panel discussion with Shirley Chowdhary, Claire Beattie and Claire Braund
Women on Boards marks UN World Day for Cultural Diversity with a panel discussion about cultural diversity and inclusion in board and leadership roles, with guests Shirley Chowdhary, AAP Board Member; and Women on Boards' Cultural Diversity Committee member and proud Yorta Yorta woman, Claire Beattie. Tune in to listen to this insightful and real conversation, as the panel discusses: The backgrounds and lived experiences of our guest Why cultural diversity in board and leadership roles matters What is cultural inclusion and psychological and cultural safety - How we can support culture & inclusion Recognition that cultural diversity is challenging for many of us, and that we can be reluctant to ask questions because we feel ignorant....but that's okay if its done in a respectful way. Shirley Chowdhary “The most important word that I think of when I think of cultural safety is authenticity. Because the truth is that at the end of the day, every single one of us, regardless of where we come from or who we are or what our background is, we want to be able to take our authentic selves into the workplace. And we don't want to have to change that according to who we are in a room with or who we're in a meeting with, or who's there that day.” Claire Beattie "I think that everyone comes to work expecting to leave work either feeling the same way they started. So hopefully they start happy and they finish happy or even more enriched as the day goes on. Now, WHS is something that's treated very,very seriously, particularly on work sites and in infrastructure where I work. But people don't understand that psychological damage and emotional damage and trauma is just as hurtful and if not ongoing, as if you fall down a pothole and you twist your ankle or something more serious. So psychological safety and cultural safety go hand in hand. It's very important as leaders and as team members and workmates, that we understand that diversity inclusion is not a bumper sticker. It's not something that you just throw around and you think you've got it. There's a big difference between equity and equality as well. And I invite you to have a think about what those things mean.” Non-Executive Director, Advisory board member and Indigenous consultant. Shirley is an internationally experienced board director with a diverse set of credentials across law, financial services, funds management, the NFP sector and journalism. Admitted as a lawyer in Australia and the State of New York, she has extensive cross-border experience across Asia. She is a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion, and has invested throughout her career to address these issues. This work was recognized when she was selected as one of the 2019 AFR 100 Women of Influence. One of Shirley’s most recent executive roles includes being Chief Executive Officer for the GO Foundation, an Australian Indigenous organisation founded by Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin, providing holistic support and pathways for Indigenous students in Australia. Shirley now has a portfolio that supports organisations to build collaborative ecosystems connecting shareholder value with a deeper connection to impact and purpose. She believes fiercely in diversity and inclusion as tools for innovation. Shirley is currently a non-executive director on the board of the Australian Associated Press, Chair of the Advisory Board of Octadoc, a health tech startup, and is consulting with a number of diverse organisations including the Criterion Institute and Australia’s largest NFP endowment, the Paul Ramsay Foundation. Shirley is a keynote speaker and presenter for Saxton Speakers and her portfolio includes an extensive array of mentoring and volunteering. Executive Director Asset Activations School Infrastructure NSW, Department of Education NSW & Board member of PCYC NSW and WAGEC. Claire is a proud Yorta Yorta woman and prominent senior NSW Public Servant with over 21 years of experience in government across agencies such as Transport, Treasury and Education. Claire has been a three-time finalist in the Premier’s Awards, a Finalist in the Australian of the Year, Young Australian of the Year Awards and Finalist in the Women’s Agenda Awards. Claire is an advocate for young people and the community who believes in making a difference and being the difference. She embodies the spirit of inclusivity and diversity and wants every community and every young person to feel known, valued and cared for. Panel Host - Executive Director and Co-founder Women on Boards WOMEN ON BOARDS' VISION is to have gender balance and cultural diversity within board and leadership roles. If you share our vision we invite you to j. FOLLOW US ONLINE: ABOUT WOMEN ON BOARDS We provide the personal networks, tools and resource to support your board and leadership journey at any career stage. Are you board ready? Find out with this fun
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Turning diversity into a superpower - with Anita Kumar
05/16/2022
Turning diversity into a superpower - with Anita Kumar
Turning diversity into a superpower Born in Tamil-speaking southern India, Anita Kumar was the first girl in her family to leave home at 17 to go to university. Today Anita lives in Sydney and is an experienced CEO, social entrepreneur and passionate advocate for the rights of children and families, especially those dealing with complex life issues or living in vulnerable circumstances. But her decision in 1990 to study engineering eight hours from home was less about following in the footsteps of her father - an early adopter of technology who worked at the University of Madras- and more about putting off marriage. “It was just a way to get some time. I can’t tell you what a great opportunity that was for four years,” Anita tells Claire in this podcast. After her final exam, her parents were there straight away. “I knew what was coming.” And so it was that Anita and her then husband arrived in Australia in the late 90s. In this podcast, Anita describes the isolation and difficulty negotiating a new life as a young mother in a strange country, the discrimination she faced applying for jobs in her early career and how she turned diversity into her superpower. “I spoke fluent English and I had never faced discrimination before that but now it was hitting me from all directions. But all I can say is I wouldn't be who I am today, if not for those six years.” From volunteering with Burwood Community Welfare services, helping domestic violence survivors, Anita then worked her way from an admin role at The Infant’s Home Child and Family Services in Ashfield to become CEO. In 2012 she joined 150 other CEOs from around the world on the Executive Education program at Harvard Business School looking at non-profit management. Since 2017 she has been the CEO of Early Start, a collaborative initiative between the Commonwealth Government, The Abbott Foundation and the University of Wollongong to positively impact on the life trajectories of children growing up in regional and remote Australia. LinkedIn (guest) (host) Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for just for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Lab notes: Why science, leadership (and music) is in Marguerite Evans-Galea's DNA
04/04/2022
Lab notes: Why science, leadership (and music) is in Marguerite Evans-Galea's DNA
Growing up in Tropical North Queensland, clarinet-playing, science-loving Marguerite Evans-Galea felt like a “square peg in a round hole”. But thanks to her supportive family and a lifelong mentor - who also happened to be a university professor - Marguerite was inspired to pursue a career in STEM. As she tells Claire in this podcast: “He really did inspire me to thrive. He said, ‘think outside the box, go have a future, believe in yourself’. Those words stuck like glue and were a real inspiration.” Today Dr Evans-Galea is a leading research scientist, neurogenetic disease specialist and Non-Executive Director who has had a long and distinguished career in Australia and the USA. She is Director of STEM Careers Strategy with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, co-founder and co-chair of Women in STEMM Australia and Honorary Fellow at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and has been a member of Women on Boards since 2012. In this podcast, Dr Evans-Galea talks about how she studied classical music at university before switching to science and falling in love with molecular biology. “I loved the concept of exploring something I couldn't see and DNA was my favorite thing in the world. I'd read a book in grade 11 about the pursuit of the double helix and found it fascinating.” She also discusses the challenges facing many women in science and shares her own experience when she was let go from her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Utah in 2000 when she got pregnant. As she says: “I felt like I’d been hit with a wet fish”. Claire and Dr Evans-Galea also talk about the importance of mentors and role models for women in STEM, what scientists and ‘boffins’ can bring to the boardroom and why we all need to take time to connect. LinkedIn (host) Further Information: WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for just for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Building a franchising empire, family business and cultural diversity - with Sara Pantaleo
03/11/2022
Building a franchising empire, family business and cultural diversity - with Sara Pantaleo
Building a franchising empire, family business and cultural diversity Sara Pantaleo is a businesswoman who has always loved working and mentoring people. Migrating to Melbourne from Italy with her family as a teenager, Sara went on to work with mainframe systems in IT operations at NAB. In 1996 she joined La Porchetta as Distribution and Administration Manager – taking a major shift from the corporate environment into family business. Appointed as CEO in 2005 and to the board in 2010, after her brother was tragically killed in a road accident, Sara was instrumental in driving La Porchetta’s growth to become the largest, licensed, a-la-carte restaurant franchise in Australasia. Her passion for franchising as a business model has been reflected in service on the boards of the Franchise Council of Australia and Family Business Australia - the peak body for a sector that accounts for almost half a million businesses and 50% of the Australian workforce. Sara is an inaugural member of WOB’s Cultural Diversity Committee and in this podcast she talks to Claire about growing up in Italy, making the move from the corporate world into running a hugely-successful family business and dealing with systemic gender and cultural discrimination along the way. Find out more (host) Women on Boards (WOB) Membership, events & services, please visit our . To receive our weekly newsletter, to WOB as a Basic Member (free). as a Full Member for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Power move: What sparked energy expert Sarah Fairhurst's portfolio career?
02/28/2022
Power move: What sparked energy expert Sarah Fairhurst's portfolio career?
Growing up in 1980s Britain, it's no surprise Sarah Fairhurst’s biggest role model was Margaret Thatcher. “I was at school when she was in power and she made me realise women could do anything,” says Sarah, a WOB member with significant expertise in the energy sector, including advising governments and industry on commercialization and issues relating to the power and energy sector. Like Britain’s first female Prime Minister, Sarah grew up in a modest, hardworking family in a small English town before heading down the Oxbridge route and graduating from Cambridge with an MA in Natural Science. “We weren’t posh,” she tells Claire in this podcast. Now based in Hong Kong, where she lives on a boat, Sarah pivoted to a portfolio career on governance and advisory boards in 2019 after more than 30 years working in the Australian and Asian power industries. She now mentors startups, helping small companies overcome obstacles to growth, as well as working with larger companies and multinationals through strategic change, as they navigate the energy transition, invest in power generation, M&A, or enter Asian markets in any industry. In this podcast, Sarah talks to Claire about living and working as an expat in Hong Kong post the 2020 crackdown imposed by Beijing, the differences between working on Asian and Australian boards, how she has navigated workplace bias in the energy sector and how she dealt with ‘imposter syndrome’. “It can be very easy to underestimate your abilities.” A testament to seizing opportunities with both hands, and moving where life takes you, Sarah’s biggest piece of advice is “Just say yes - figure it out later.” Find out more about what sparks Sarah Fairhurst's interests in this podcast. LinkedIn (host) For further information about WOB membership, events & services, please visit our . to receive our weekly newsletter (free). as a Full Member for full access to our Board Vacancies, WOBShare (our online member platform) and more.
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Diversity is half the circle. Culture, equity and inclusion are the other half
02/07/2022
Diversity is half the circle. Culture, equity and inclusion are the other half
As a special episode we have reproduced a webinar that Women on Boards co-hosted with the Governance Institute of Australia titled Diversity is half the circle. Culture, equity and inclusion are the other half. Moderated by Catherine Fox, Journalist and Author Panel Members: Megan Motto FGIA, Chief Executive, Governance Institute of Australia Dr Marlene Kanga AM, Non-executive director, Sydney Water Corporation Claire Braund, Executive Director, Women on Boards Introduced by: Catherine Maxwell FGIA FCG, General Manager, Policy & Advocacy, Governance Institute of Australia
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On target: From banks to guns, Cheryl Dixon takes aim at Boards.
01/17/2022
On target: From banks to guns, Cheryl Dixon takes aim at Boards.
When Cheryl Dixon is asked what Board she is on, her answer is met with raised eyebrows. With almost three decades with NAB, Cheryl’s first Board role with the Queensland Rifle Association came as a surprise to her and those around her. But six years ago she became the Board’s first woman and independent NED in the organisations’ 160-year history.
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Fiona David: Why we need a humane response to migration
11/29/2021
Fiona David: Why we need a humane response to migration
Fiona David has worked at the intersection of crime, law reform and human rights and in 2018 was appointed inaugural Research Chair of Minderoo Foundation. Fiona's career has seen her travel to some of the most dangerous corners of the globe while listening to the personal stories of human trafficking. As she says: “I am an adventurer deep in my heart. I feel compelled to do what I can to help others and to try and understand why people would put themselves in these incredibly risky situations.
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Building a Portfolio Career, Mustering Cattle and Surviving the witness box in the Banking Royal Commission
11/14/2021
Building a Portfolio Career, Mustering Cattle and Surviving the witness box in the Banking Royal Commission
In this episode Claire talks to highly accomplished board director Victoria Weekes about her board journey to an enviable portfolio career. She talks openly to Claire about her period of renewal, surviving the witness box in the Banking Role Commission, the importance of establishing and consistently following your values, humility and how we really haven’t come as far as we think with the gender pay gap.
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Turf love: How horse lover and Australian Turf Club Chair Trish Egan harnessed her passion
10/29/2021
Turf love: How horse lover and Australian Turf Club Chair Trish Egan harnessed her passion
Trish Egan is a born and bred Sydney girl, but she has had a lifelong love of horses from a young age. Looking back, 12-year-old Trish - who secretly penned a letter to the Chairman of the Australian Jockey Club asking how to become a strapper - would never have thought she’d be taking the reins as Australian Turf Club Chair decades later. Despite being told “stables were not the place for young ladies” Trish never gave up on her racehorse dream.
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Taking charge: Engineering’s first lady Dr Bronwyn Evans PhD AM
10/25/2021
Taking charge: Engineering’s first lady Dr Bronwyn Evans PhD AM
It’s no surprise Dr Bronwyn Evans AM sticks by the mantra ‘everyone’s an engineer’. As CEO of Engineers Australia she can’t understand why everyone doesn’t want to work in her chosen field. It's Dr Evans belief that all children have the potential to become engineers. In this podcast, Dr Evans talks about why it’s time to get the gender balance right in STEM, how COVID has paved the way for more technology reforms and why problem-solving engineers are the perfect fit for the boardroom.
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Bringing the Tech perspective to Boards with Lil Bianchi
10/18/2021
Bringing the Tech perspective to Boards with Lil Bianchi
Lil Bianchi is not your box-ticking director. As a highly-experienced NED, Chair Audit & Risk Committee, former CEO and tech entrepreneur working across data analytics, fintech, risk and customer value Lil thrives on innovation and loves being around curious people. In this podcast, Lil says there’s space in every boardroom for “weird and whacky ideas” and talks about the importance of Boards to have a tech perspective. As she puts it: “Don’t get bamboozled or sidetracked - just dig, dig, dig.”
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Fashion to financial markets: How Mahjabeen Zaman found her voice
10/08/2021
Fashion to financial markets: How Mahjabeen Zaman found her voice
Fashion designer, newsreader, banker, lecturer: Mahjabeen Zaman has had all these careers in her sights since growing up in Singapore with her Pakistani-born parents. Now living in Australia, Mahjabeen can add three of those four jobs to her resume. Currently working as a senior investments specialist and part-time lecturer, after also running her own fashion label in Asia, Mahjabeen talks to Claire about her passion for finance and why having a culturally diverse Board should never be ignored.
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Leesa Chesser: From Politics to the Boardroom
10/04/2021
Leesa Chesser: From Politics to the Boardroom
If anything can prepare you for battle in the boardroom, it’s being a politician in the middle of a crisis. Former SA Mental Health Minister Leesa Chesser was thrust into the spotlight when allegations of elder abuse of dementia patients at the state-run Oakden nursing home were exposed leading, in part, to the aged care royal commission. In this podcast Leesa talks to Claire about what it was like being at the centre of a political scandal, and how vital lessons learned helped in her boardroom journey.
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Roberta Wright: The day my life turned upside down
09/27/2021
Roberta Wright: The day my life turned upside down
Resilient and tenacious - no two words could better describe long-term Women on Boards member Roberta Wright. Despite being left totally blind after a brain operation then having to fight to keep her adopted baby - on the back of losing her brother to a drug overdose and father to cancer - Roberta is always looking to the future. In this podcast she talks about overcoming adversity, learning to adjust and the challenges of raising a child as a blind single parent.
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Premiership winning material: Gaye Hamilton and her wild ride
09/13/2021
Premiership winning material: Gaye Hamilton and her wild ride
She’s spent years working with children and animals (a combination many of us would steer clear of) and yet Gaye Hamilton says the transferable skills gained in secondary science education and zoo management paved the way for her varied and fascinating career and board journey, including over a decade with the Western Bulldogs AFL club.
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Treading gently: Why mining executive Bobbie Foot is firmly grounded in community
09/06/2021
Treading gently: Why mining executive Bobbie Foot is firmly grounded in community
What impact can I have, and how can I make the world a better place? It’s these questions which have driven Bobbie Foot; from growing up in a large rural Queensland farming family and qualifying as an occupational therapist to becoming head of Health, Safety and Environment at BMA Coal and being named one of the 2020 Global Top 100 Most Inspirational Women in Mining. In this podcast she talks about the importance of community, collaboration and ‘putting yourself out there’.
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Mind the gap: Mary Wooldridge on why we need to be ever vigilant about gender equality in the workforce
08/30/2021
Mind the gap: Mary Wooldridge on why we need to be ever vigilant about gender equality in the workforce
Mary Wooldridge believes if you want change on the big social issues then you get engaged in purposeful action to get policy change and action taken. As Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the issues currently in her sights are gender inequality, including closing the 14.2% gender pay gap. In this podcast, Mary speaks to Claire about why the Liberal Party should implement quotas for women and why we need to be ever vigilant about gender equality in the workplace.
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Helen Croxford's passion for inclusion and goal to become obsolete
08/23/2021
Helen Croxford's passion for inclusion and goal to become obsolete
On the Eve of the Paralympics Claire Braund talks to President of Sport Inclusion Australia, Helen Croxford about her vision for a fully inclusive sporting club system that welcomes athletes with an intellectual impairment with open arms, and why the media training that they’re running extends to training the media how to deal with people with an intellectual disability.
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