Your Career Journey

What makes someone a great communicator? Is it having the right words, or is it really about our ability to understand and connect with each other? In this episode, I’m joined by Maaya Konishi to explore how language and culture shape the way we communicate, work and lead. Maaya’s own career has taken her from studying linguistics to investment banking at Morgan Stanley in Japan, before she change...

What does it actually mean to have purpose at work? And is purpose something we need to go out and find, or could it already be within us? In this episode of Your Career Journey , I’m joined by Jen Margolis to explore the difference between meaning and purpose, and how both can shape the way we think about our careers. Jen challenges the idea that our purpose has to be a particular job, role or ca...

What does great leadership actually look like? And how do you create a culture where people can perform, grow and flourish? Today, I’m joined by Lara Bezerra, whose career has taken her from Brazil to senior leadership roles around the world, including becoming a General Manager at just 30 and later holding CEO and President positions at some of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies. One of...

Can a career in marketing lead to becoming a CEO? And if that’s your ambition, what skills do you need to develop beyond marketing? In this episode of Your Career Journey , I’m joined by Natalie Mactier, whose own route to CEO started with an unexpected detour. After struggling to land the FMCG marketing roles she wanted, she spent a decade in sales, an experience that ultimately gave her a much s...

What happens when the career you’ve spent decades building suddenly ends, and you realise just how much of your identity was tied to it? Geoff Curtis spent nearly 30 years building a successful career in communications, including reaching Chief Communications Officer level. But when an acquisition led to redundancy, he didn’t just lose his job. He lost the title, structure and sense of relevance t...

Isabel Thomson-Officer didn't follow a carefully mapped-out career plan. She built her career by creating opportunities that didn't exist, asking for chances others wouldn't, and backing herself long before she felt completely ready. What stands out throughout this conversation isn't just the career moves, it's the mindset behind them. Isabel talks honestly about persisten...

What do Barbie, The Body Shop, pharmaceuticals, fintech and AI have in common? For Andrea Roberts, they've all been part of her fascinating marketing career. In this episode of Your Career Journey, I sit down with Andrea Roberts to explore how a career built on curiosity, adaptability and saying "yes" to opportunities can take you into industries you never imagined. Andrea shares ho...

How do you stay resilient when change feels constant? In this episode, I'm joined by learning and development specialist Russell Harvey to explore what resilience really means, why it's becoming one of the most important skills we can develop, and how it can help us navigate uncertainty both at work and in life. After a career spanning more than 20 years in leadership and organisational...

Careers rarely follow the path we expect. In this episode, I'm joined by Rachel Abad to talk about the twists, turns, and unexpected experiences that ultimately led her to founding her own communications consultancy. Growing up in regional North Queensland, Rachel always knew she wanted to leave her hometown and build a career beyond its boundaries. While law was her original plan, missing th...

In this episode, I’m joined by HR leader and author Teri Chilcoat to talk about the realities of toxic workplace cultures, why so many people stay longer than they should, and what you can do to protect yourself when you find yourself in one. Teri shares her own career journey, unexpectedly finding her way into HR through a temp role, to experiencing severe workplace bullying as the sole HR person...

What if the opportunity you wanted didn’t exist yet and you had to create it yourself? In this episode, I’m joined by social media and content agency founder Kim James to talk about the power of initiative, visibility, and backing yourself before you feel fully ready. Kim shares how she went from growing up on a macadamia farm and starting out in operations at Reece, to pitching her way into the f...

What does it really take to build a long, successful leadership career? In this episode, I’m joined by Barry Moline, who shares the story behind his 29-year career as a CEO and the experiences that shaped his approach to leadership. Barry didn’t follow a conventional path. He started as a high school teacher, where he developed the foundations of clear communication and patience, before leaving th...

What does burnout actually look like, and how do you move through it? In this episode, Emma sits down with Isabelle Tremblay, a senior Marketer with 25 years of experience in corporate Canada. Discover how a once thriving workplace culture transformed into a hustle driven environment after multiple mergers. Isabelle shares her experience of managing two executive-level roles at the same time with...

Feeling overwhelmed, stretched, and constantly thinking about everything you haven’t done yet? You’re not alone, and a lot of it comes down to the invisible mental load we carry every day. In this episode, I’m joined by productivity and organisation expert Lisa Woodruff to talk about how to move from overwhelm to clarity, reduce mental clutter, and build systems that genuinely make life easier. Li...

What does it really take to grow from a solo marketer into a strategic leader and eventually step out on your own? In this episode, Laura Zahariou shares her career journey from being the only marketer in mid-sized businesses to building a career as a fractional marketing leader. Early in her career, Laura found herself as a solo marketer reporting directly to CEOs and founders, sitting in convers...

How do you position and promote the most important brand you’ll ever work on,  yourself? In this episode, I’m joined by Nina Christian to explore the realities of personal branding, visibility, and building a professional reputation that actually feels authentic. After more than 20 years of building an award-winning marketing agency and working closely with both organisations and individuals, Nina...

Moving countries in your 30s is often portrayed as exciting and full of opportunity, but what does the reality actually look like? In this episode, I'm joined by Ana Asanovic to share her journey from Serbia to Australia as a mature age student, to further her education in Communications and take her career in a new direction Driven by her award-winning travel blog, passion for storytelling,...

In this episode, I sit down with digital marketer and SEO consultant Briony Cullin to explore how trusting her intuition led her through a series of bold career and life changes, and ultimately helped her build a business and lifestyle she genuinely loves. Briony shares her journey from studying and practising law to realising it wasn’t the right fit, a chance trip to Japan that unexpectedly chang...

Today I'm joined by Michelle Michaux, who shares how her unconventional career journey (from banking operations to marketing) gave her a front row seat to how large complex organisations can bridge the gaps between marketing, sales, and delivery. Michelle brings a refreshingly honest perspective on what marketing should be doing inside organisations, why alignment with sales is still one of t...

Ever wondered what it really takes to build a global marketing career? How do you go from working in a local market to leading marketing for global brands? In this episode, Adam Lavrentiadis shares his journey from Australia to the global stage, breaking down the mindset, skills, and strategic moves required to build a successful international marketing career. 🎯 What You’ll Learn in This Episode...

Today, I’m joined by Caroline Patrick for a thoughtful, honest conversation about how our definition of success shifts over time, often in ways we don’t expect. Caroline shares her career story, which starts with dreams of becoming a police officer, moves into marketing, and eventually leads her into senior leadership roles focused on stakeholder engagement. Along the way, life throws some huge cu...

It’s been an incredible year of conversations on Your Career Journey, and I wanted to wrap things up by taking you through the standout moments, themes, and lessons from every guest who joined me. From navigating redundancy… to changing career paths… to leading with purpose… to building confidence… each episode this year brought something special and genuinely useful for anyone building a career w...

In this episode, I’m joined by Keith Abraham, a globally recognised speaker, author, and one of the most passionate voices on goal setting you’ll ever come across. Keith shares his unconventional path from leaving school early to building a successful career helping leaders and teams achieve clarity, focus, and meaningful momentum. So what really sits behind effective goal setting?  ✨ Creating em...

What do you do when the career path you’ve been on since university no longer feels right? In this episode, I’m joined by Kate Greenwood , who shares her incredibly honest journey from a traditional career in family law to a leadership role in legal tech and innovation. Kate talks about the reality of stepping away from a clearly defined path, including the identity shift that comes with saying “I...

What does authentic leadership really look like, and how do we bring more of ourselves to the way we lead? In this episode of Your Career Journey, I’m joined by Ann Pocock, founder of Kinetic Effect and former Corporate Marketing Communications Director, who shares her powerful transition from the corporate world to leadership coaching. Ann and I talk about what it means to lead with emotional int...