Australia’s Workplace
Culture Conference

Karl Treacher (GAICD) is the CEO of The Culture Institute of Australia, founder of CultureCon™ and The Brand Institute. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Griffith Business School, specialising in corporate brand reputation governance. With 20 years of experience, he is an expert in aligning organisational reputation, brand, culture, and customer experience. Karl has educated leaders through the Australian Institute of Company Directors and guided boards and executives in repositioning many iconic Australian companies. Notably, he led NAB’s retail experience program and contributed to the transformation of brands like Bupa, APRA, PwC, and RACQ.

His expertise stems from a background in human science, creative advertising, and culture and experience development, enabling him to drive brand performance by integrating marketing, culture, and customer experience. A prolific writer, Karl authored over 65 industry articles, served as Marketing Magazine's resident brand and culture expert (2010–2016), and studied organisational leadership at Oxford University.

Heidi K. Gardner, PhD, is the author of the best-selling books “Smarter Collaboration: A New Approach to Breaking Down Barriers and Transforming Work” (2022) and “Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos” (2017, both Harvard Business Press).

A Distinguished Fellow at Harvard Law School and previously a professor at Harvard Business School, she is currently the faculty chair and instructor of multiple executive education programs at both institutions.

Dr. Gardner has lived and worked on four continents, including as a Fulbright Fellow, and for McKinsey & Co. and Procter & Gamble. She co-cofounded the research and advisory firm Gardner & Co.

Michael Bungay Stanier has shaped how organisations around the world make being coach-like an essential leadership competency. His book The Coaching Habit is the best-selling coaching book of this century, with over a million copies sold and more than fifteen thousand five-star reviews on Amazon.

In 2019, he was named the #1 thought leader in coaching, and in 2023, he won the coaching award from Thinkers 50, “the Oscars of management.” Michael was the first Canadian Coach of the Year, has been named a Global Coaching Guru since 2014, and was a Rhodes Scholar.

His most recent book, How to Work with (Almost) Anyone , shows how to create psychological safety by building the Best Possible Relationship with the key people at work. Michael is the host of the Change Signal podcast, which cuts through the blather, the BS, and the noise to find the good stuff that works in change management.

Michael founded Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that had helped hundreds of organizations transform from advice-driven to curiosity-led.

Michael is a compelling speaker and facilitator who combines practicality, humour, and an unprecedented degree of engagement with the audience. He’s spoken on stages and screens around the world in front of crowds of ten to ten thousand, and his TEDx talks have been watched by more than two million people.

Alicia Stephenson is a visionary leader and CEO of Workforce Dynamics, a professional services firm that partners with complex organisations to solve people, culture, and workforce challenges. With a background in workplace psychodynamics, high-stakes corporate intervention, and military service, Alicia brings over 15 years of experience navigating complex stakeholder environments across sectors including infrastructure, corrections, advanced manufacturing, engineering, and government.

At the helm of Workforce Dynamics, she leads a team that supports large-scale, high-pressure projects by improving behavioural dynamics and fostering constructive collaboration. Her firm’s signature offering—Project Guardianship—focuses on the human elements that drive success, such as leadership effectiveness, trust, and conflict resolution. Since 2016, Workforce Dynamics has supported clients across portfolios exceeding $35 billion, helping to build psychosocially safe, high-performing teams in environments where the stakes are high and outcomes matter.

Alicia’s expertise spans executive advisory, strategic workforce planning, organisational psychology, industrial relations, and competency frameworks. She is a Practitioner Member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organisations and is widely recognised for her ability to lift the relational and strategic capability of leadership teams.

Andrea is a Sydney-based work futurist, author, and speaker helping leaders and learners make sense of change and build future-ready mindsets. Through writing, foresight reports, and keynotes, Andrea guides people to engage with signals, anticipate disruption, and shape intentional futures. As part of the team at SOON Futures, she helps brands move fast and think ahead with strategic insights and creative execution. A former foreign correspondent in Washington, D.C., she worked across global news and human rights advocacy before founding Future Fit Learning—a company that helps organisations like Rio Tinto and Austrade adapt through communication and change programs. Her first book Future Fit won the Australian Business Book of the Year; and her latest, Adapt (Simon & Schuster), was released in March 2025.

Let’s talk about:

What is changing, and how to respond
New ways of leading
Managing teams underprepared for change

Barbara Harvey is known for her expertise in the intersection of organisational learning, leadership, and behavioural change. With a background in both academic research and practical implementation, she has spent decades exploring how people learn best, what drives engagement, and how organisations can create cultures of continuous learning. As a speaker and consultant, Barbara challenges traditional learning models, advocating for more experiential, human-centred, and disruptive approaches. She believes that learning should inspire action, not just transfer knowledge, and that it must compete with the fast-paced, attention-driven world of modern media. Her work integrates cutting-edge research with real-world case studies, making complex ideas accessible and actionable for leaders and teams. Barbara’s insights have shaped learning strategies for some of the world’s leading organisations, and she continues to push the boundaries of what’s possible in leadership development and workplace learning.

Jay Weatherill is the Executive Director of Democracy at McKinnon and, together with Mike Baird, seeks to strengthen Australia’s democracy. Jay was Premier of South Australia for over six years and a Minister for 16 years. He holds Law and Economics degrees and is an Industry Professor at the University of South Australia and an Ambassador for Reggio Children. He was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2021 Australia Day Honours list for his work in early childhood development. Most recently, he led the Thrive by Five campaign for early years reform with the Minderoo Foundation.

Mike Baird is the CEO of McKinnon, working to improve Australia’s public administration, supporting effective political leadership, and strengthening the nation’s democratic institutions. Mike has over 30 years’ experience in banking and financial services (including senior roles at NAB, Deutsche Bank and HSBC), was former NSW Treasurer and served as the 44th Premier of NSW. Mike is passionate about family, sport and looking after the community’s most vulnerable. Most recently he was CEO, HammondCare, an independent Christian charity providing health, palliative care, dementia, and aged care services.

Jason Ross is the Co-founder of Time Under Tension, Australia’s first generative-AI experience agency. A 25-year veteran of creative technology and digital strategy, he was previously VP Head of frog AUNZ and a Managing Director at Accenture, where he led a 350-strong global team for one of the world’s largest tech brands. Jason combines board-level P&L acumen with a hands-on love of design and AI, building vibrant, high-performing teams that deliver world-class customer and employee experiences.

Jenelle is the EY Deputy CEO and People & Culture Leader for Oceania, responsible for lifting the capability and accountability for a high performing, inclusive culture where everyone can belong, perform and thrive.

Jenelle led the growth agenda and ‘go to market’ strategy of the firm for 6 years leading client service, industry eminence, business development and marketing and communications. Prior to that she was a client facing lead partner in People Consulting with over 20 years of consulting in the areas of transformational change, talent management, leadership and HR. Jenelle is passionate about changing company cultures and helping people think bigger about what they can achieve and is the host of a podcast series called Change Happens.

Jenelle holds a BA in Economics from the University of Sydney, with an Honors degree in Psychology. She is a Director on the Board of the Champions of Change Coalition, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a 2024 AFR Women in Leadership Award Finalist and a member of Chief Executive Women.

Katherine Boiciuc, also known as KB, is the EY Chief Technology and Innovation Officer for the Oceania region. KB helps clients gain the most from innovative technology like generative AI and advanced computing. She uses her experience as a futurist to lead innovations at EY and guide EY clients on how to adopt new technologies ahead of their competitors. Prior to EY, KB has more than two decades of experience and is one of Australia’s go-to professionals on tech. She’s led global teams to deliver services at Telstra and more recently has been advising Australia’s next generation of CXOs as a Director at Maximus. KB holds a Master of Leadership, Business Administration and Management and several other qualifications from Deakin University. She is a graduate of London Business School where she studied Managing the Company of the Future. The Institute for the Future in California certified her as a Foresight Practitioner.

Kirun equips leaders with practical tools to overcome the real and deeply human challenges of leadership. Over the past 12 years, he’s worked with thousands of leaders through keynotes, workshops and coaching - nudging them to lead themselves and others with greater clarity, intention, and ultimately, impact. He is a Senior HBR Facilitator at Harvard Business School Publishing, and host of BrainTools, a podcast that helps anyone put cognitive science into practice. This tools-based approach is the focus of his upcoming book, The Intentional Leader’s Toolkit - a field guide that pairs universal leadership challenges with the skills and tools to meet them. All grounded in cognitive, behavioural and emotional science.