Leadership Odysseys

Si Elliott has spent more than two decades in marketing leadership, and his conclusion is not what most of the industry wants to hear: businesses have become very good at reaching people, and increasingly poor at understanding them. As co-owner of Nottingham creative agency Diversity and founder of behavioural science consultancy Fabricx, Si has built his career at the intersection of human psycho...

Nine months to learn a new language. Eighteen months of knocking on doors before anyone called back. Twenty years building a business with the same business partner, without ever needing to be seen doing it. Ash Ghahramani didn’t learn discipline from a book.  Ash Ghahramani is the co-founder and managing director of Naturally Gluten Free, one of Australia’s first purpose-built, HACCP-approved glu...

A career without a plan can still take you somewhere remarkable. Meg Bonighton walked into an ANZ call centre at twenty-something looking for nine-to-two work so she could finish her university degree. Sixteen years later she was still there, having led the relaunch of internet banking, built a direct banking brand through a global financial crisis, and closed that same brand with every customer a...

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that does not show up on a performance review. It is the exhaustion of being excellent at your job while quietly disappearing inside your own life. Megan Dalla-Camina knows that exhaustion intimately. She built an 18-year career at the highest levels of corporate leadership while doing everything else too -- and it took a phone call to her mother, sitting i...

There is a version of every life that almost happened. The path we were on before we turned, suddenly, toward something we couldn't yet see. Most of us never talk about that fork in the road, or what it cost to walk away from the safe thing. This conversation is about exactly that moment, and what unfolds when you trust it completely. Mike Erlin is the co-founder and CEO of AbilityMap, a company b...

Most of us think reinvention happens in a single, dramatic moment. Jacqui Bloom's story proves otherwise. Hers happened in the kitchen, in hospital corridors, in a car stuck in traffic when she finally admitted she couldn't keep doing what she was doing. Across thirty years and multiple businesses, one question kept finding her: how can I help? This conversation is about what happens when you stop...

David Mann has never had a grand plan. What he has had is a willingness to follow the thread - to say yes to the next opportunity, trust the learning, and keep moving. From auctioneer to NSW Police Officer and court Prosecutor, to commercial lawyer, to 24 years leading billion-dollar consulting operations for Accenture across the UK, Asia Pacific and the Middle East, to CEO of Workplace Giving Aus...

Organisational psychologist Dr Kat Page has spent two decades researching workplace wellbeing and happiness at work. She is a Leadership Partner at ByMany, Adjunct Professor, and author of Good Work a book that makes the case that burnout is a design problem, not a people problem. In this episode of the Leadership Odysseys podcast, Dr Kat Page and Kirsty Ghahramani (Gee) explore what happiness act...

Most leaders are good at filling their calendars. Far fewer are intentional about what goes in them. In this episode of Leadership Odysseys, Kirsty Ghahramani (Gee) sits down with Nashville-based productivity coach, speaker, and bestselling author Mridu Parikh, founder of Life Is Organized, to explore why driven, capable people still end the day feeling like they didn't do enough. Mridu shares the...

Leadership Podcast | Workplace Culture | Play at Work | Intelligent Optimism | Full Stack Human Book There is a question that most leaders are quietly asking but rarely say out loud: if I keep doing more, why does something still feel off? Not broken, not lazy, not wrong. Just stretched past the point where effort alone solves anything. This conversation sits right inside that tension. Two thinker...

What happens when leadership is tested not in theory, but in the moments where everything is on the line? In this conversation, Jeremy Senior takes us inside the reality of leading in high-pressure, high-stakes environments. From early personal loss to navigating corporate hierarchy, retail collapse, global culture clashes, and burnout, his story is not linear. It is shaped by tension, responsibil...

There’s a quiet truth sitting inside many workplaces right now. People are capable. They care. They want to do great work. But something is off. In this episode, Cherie Mylordis takes us deep into that tension. From shaping strategy and workforce for the Sydney Olympic Games to leading transformation across some of Australia’s largest organisations, she has spent decades inside complex systems, wa...

There are moments in life where fear arrives without warning. Not the kind you can ignore. The kind that asks something of you. This episode is not about big waves. It is about leadership when the stakes feel real. Mark Mathews is an Australian big-wave surfer who built his career in some of the most dangerous conditions on the planet. In that world, hesitation costs oxygen. Ego costs lives. And p...

Some leaders build companies. Others build rooms where progress happens. Camilla Bullock is one of those rare connectors. Born in a small working town in Sweden and now CEO and co-founder of the Emerging Payments Association Asia, Camilla sits at the intersection of banks, fintechs, regulators and global innovators shaping how money moves across the Asia-Pacific region. But her story is not about...

In this episode of the Leadership Odysseys leadership podcast, James Rhee, private equity investor, former CEO of Ashley Stewart, Harvard Law graduate and author of red helicopter, shares a powerful redefinition of leadership in business. This is a conversation about kindness in business, corporate leadership, culture transformation and high performance. James challenges traditional finance and ma...

Leadership, Story, and the Power of Owning Your Voice with Tory Archbold Leadership is not built in the spotlight. It is built in the quiet decisions that shape who you become when no one is watching. In this episode of Leadership Odysseys , I sit down with Tory Archbold to explore what real leadership looks like when you stop performing and start leading from truth. This conversation moves beyond...

Lucy Lin on Leadership, Curiosity, and Building a Non-Linear Career in Technology Lucy Lin didn’t follow a straight line. She followed her curiosity. In this episode of Leadership Odysseys, Lucy Lin, award-winning innovation leader, founder of Forestlyn, and host of the Emerging Tech Unpacked podcast, shares her leadership odyssey across technology, STEM, and education. Her path spans startups, co...

This episode contains discussions of suicide, mental health crises, and related topics. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. You can contact [Lifeline: 13 11 14] or your local helpline for help   Burnout does not arrive with a warning. It arrives quietly, after years of carrying pressure, expectation, and identity without pause. In this episode, Kirsty sits down with Mar...

Dean Salakas has built his career around decisions most people avoid, and the discipline to stand by them. From turning down public opportunities to letting go of a legacy family business at the right moment, Dean’s leadership has been shaped by judgment, not noise. He grew up inside retail, questioned how things were done, and learned early that progress comes from clear thinking, not applause. I...

Some conversations stay with you long after the microphones turn off. This is one of them. In this episode of Leadership Odysseys , Kirsty sits down with Raj Nanra, CEO of SLE Worldwide Australia, for a powerful conversation about leadership shaped through lived experience, cultural belonging, resilience, and loss. From growing up as the child of one of Melbourne’s first Sikh families, to leading...

Some stories shimmer at the surface; others reveal their depth only when you listen closely. Kellie Hush’s journey through Australian fashion has been anything but linear – from Canberra schoolgirl to magazine editor, retail founder, and now CEO of Australian Fashion Week 2025. She’s seen the glamour, the grind, and the grit behind an industry built on reinvention. In this episode, Kellie opens up...

Leadership shows up when everything changes. Some leaders build empires. Others build character. Guy Maine has done both, and rebuilt himself along the way. This Leadership Odysseys episode explores leadership through change, resilience, and personal conviction. From launching Australia’s prepaid mobile era at Optus, leading Virgin Mobile’s turnaround, driving Foxtel’s shift from analogue to digit...

After more than five decades leading some of the most complex business transformations across enterprise and government, Ken Garrard has seen it all – from billion-dollar portfolios to local government restructures that changed lives. But what stands out isn’t the scale of his projects, it’s the humanity behind them. In this conversation, Ken shares how a lifetime of systems thinking, resilience,...

Some leaders chase growth. Others build movements that last. In this episode of Leadership Odysseys , Kirsty Gee sits down with Rosy McEvedy, the founder of IV League Drips and Academy by IV League, to unpack how she turned a simple idea into a national model for integrative health. From a single clinic to a network of more than 200 licensees, Rosy shares the clarity, conviction, and discipline it...

Great leaders don’t just run companies. They set the rhythm, shape the culture, and build belief. Sacha Laing has led some of Australia’s most iconic retail brands—CEO of General Pants, Group Executive at David Jones and Country Road Group, and now CEO of Adore Beauty . Beyond the titles is a leader anchored in family, clarity, and conviction. This episode looks beyond strategy. We talk about valu...