Inner Chief Podcast

In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, you’ll hear from Dean Salakas, CEO of The Party People, on seeing change as an opportunity, coping with growth, and evolving as a leader. chiefmaker.com/234 REGISTER FOR OUR JULY MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba Dean is the Chief Party Dude of The Party People, a business he and his brother bought from their mother in 2007. Before taking on the ownership, Dean and his brother worked in the business in various positions, from driver to retail assistant to website manager. Dean is now an accomplished speaker, a Board member of both eTail Australia and Online Retail Summit. He has also pitched The Party People to the investment TV show, Shark Tank. In this episode we talk about: The full background to him and his brother buying The Party People from his mother; Being the first Google and Bing customers, and leading the business to triple digit growth, and all the challenges that brought; How he developed a culture that change is an opportunity; and How the bus

In this Best of Series episode, we hear from Greg Steele, Global President of Arcadis Mobility, on the importance of broad experience, bringing people with you and dealing with difficult issues. chiefmaker.com/233 REGISTER FOR OUR JULY MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/miniMBA We interviewed Greg in late 2017 when he was the CEO of the Asia Pacific business of Arcadis, one of the world's largest professional service consultancy firms with over 28,000 people in 70 countries. Greg has nearly 40 years' experience as an engineer and manager, having been involved at a leadership level for some of Australia's largest and most complex infrastructure projects. He is also the Chair of Engineering Aid Australia, a not for profit organisation which strives to inspire indigenous Australians to become engineers. He has also been a Board Member of Roads Australia, and an MD of Hyder Consulting. Greg has a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Queensland and also a PostGrad Diploma in Management from Deakin Unive

In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, you’ll hear from Brigit Esselmont, Founder & CEO of Biddy Tarot on executive intuition, busting the myths of tarot, and from zero to 7 figures. chiefmaker.com/232 REGISTER FOR OUR SEPTEMBER MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba Brigit is the Founder & CEO of Biddy Tarot the world’s leading online learning community for people who read Tarot. She is the best-selling author of Everyday Tarot and is on a mission to bring Tarot out of the closet and into the mainstream. Brigit has been featured in Huffington Post, The Oprah Magazine, and appeared on numerous podcasts including Being Boss and Truth Telling, and has appeared on stage in front of live audiences across the US and Australia. Before diving full-time into Biddy Tarot, Brigit was a management consultant and human resource strategist at organisations such as Telstra and ANZ. In this episode we talk about: Busting the myths around tarot, and what it actually is; Executive intuition and how elite chief

“People overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in 10.” In today’s minisode, we have a question from one of our listeners, Ben, who asks how he can really nail a year and achieve all or most of his goals. chiefmaker.com/231 LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba We’re going to talk about: The visioning process and timing of check-ins; Managing time and energy to fit in with your busy life; The value of structured thinking time. Stay epic, Greg

In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, you’ll hear from Izzy Silva, MD, APAC at Wolters Kluwer, on using EQ to good effect, making the vision visible, and data-led decision-making. chiefmaker.com/230 LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba Izzy was born in Sri Lanka, moved to New Zealand when he was 9 but has called Australia home for the last 25 years. He is currently the MD in the APAC region of Wolters Kluwer, a global information services and solutions provider focusing on health, tax and accounting, risk and compliance, finance and legal sectors. Since graduating from Monash University with a Bachelor of Information Management & Systems, Izzy’s career has seen him take on roles at well-known organisations such as HP, Deloitte Australia, Telstra and Equifax. His first CEO role came at GetCreditScore, a start-up based in Sydney. He has been at Wolters Kluwer APAC for nearly 4 years, having been promoted to MD from Chief Commercial Officer in late 2018. In thi

“Life’s too short for instant coffee and cheap shoes.” In this Best of Series episode, we hear from former CEO of Water Corporation, Sue Murphy, on leading transformation, and how to be honest, fun and make a difference in your work. chiefmaker.com/229 REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/miniMBA We interviewed Sue back in November 2017, when she was the CEO of Water Corporation in Perth, having led the organisation since 2008. Sue finished up there in 2018, having joined Water Corp as the GM of Planning & Infrastructure in 2004. Preceding this was a 25 year stint at Clough Engineering, where she started as a scholarship recipient after completing an Engineering degree from the University of Western Australia, where she was one of only two women out of 300 students. Sue is now an accomplished Director. She has sat on the board of The Fremantle Dockers and the Water Services Association of Australia, and currently is a Director of the West Australian Treasury Corporation and MMA Offshore

In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, you’ll hear from Alison Gaines, MD & Founder of Gaines Advisory, on hiring great executives, becoming an NED, and characteristics of successful boards. chiefmaker.com/228 REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba Alison founded Gaines Advisory in 2020 to provide a unique board search and board advisory service, while also specialising in the provision of strategic support to leaders to develop and implement their corporate strategy. She currently sits on the board of Blackstone Minerals (we had their MD, Scott Williamson on the show in episode 222), Tura New Music Ltd, is the Chair of Hiremii recruitment, and is the Governor of the College of Law Ltd. She is also the independent Chair of the Nominations Committee of Hockey Australia and member of the Nominations Committee of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (WA). Alison was Global CEO and Head of the Board Practice for international boutique search firm, Gerard Daniels, for nea

In today’s minisode, I am going to share my top 10 tips for running an executive retreat or a strategic offsite. chiefmaker.com/227 LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba We’re going to talk about: What to do if you don’t have a budget for bringing in a facilitator or coach; How to define an agenda that measures the success of the event; Ensuring follow-up tasks are absorbed into your operating rhythm.   Stay epic, Greg

In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, you’ll hear from Nickie Scriven, CEO of Zenith Media Australia, on leaning into challenges, responding not reacting, and sonic branding. chiefmaker.com/226 REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba Nickie has had a tremendous career in marketing, advertising and media. Before moving into agency leadership, she spent eight years on the client side, holding marketing and sales leadership roles for the likes of AustralianSuper, NAB and News Corp, as well as running her own consultancy. She joined Zenith Media in Melbourne as Managing Director in October 2014, and within two years was promoted to Australia CEO. She has been instrumental in helping Zenith achieve global account wins like Disney and TikTok, while guiding the agency through the pandemic, achieving consecutive year-on-year double-digit revenue growth. Nickie is also an accomplished triathlete, having competed internationally for Australia. In this episode we talk about: Leaning into c

In this Best of Series episode, we hear from former Wallaby rugby player Daniel Herbert, CEO of SSKB on what executives can learn from elite sport, what made him stand out from the pack and how to be indispensable to an organisation. chiefmaker.com/225 REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/miniMBA Daniel played 67 tests for the Wallabies, Australia’s national rugby union team. He was a part of the glory era of Australian rugby, winning the Rugby World Cup in 1999, the Bledisloe Cup contested between Australia and New Zealand, and also beating the British and Irish Lions in 2001, a series that Wallaby players only contest every 12 years.  He also captained the Queensland Reds and was World Player of the Year in 1999. In short, he is an Australian sporting great. Since retiring from rugby, Daniel has gone onto a successful corporate career, having been involved on the commercial side of sportswear brand Skins and the Queensland Reds, and is now the CEO of property services firm, SSKB. In this e

In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, you’ll hear from Ben Simon, Partner at Rose Partners, on diffusing heated negotiations, identifying red flags during a deal, and managing founders. chiefmaker.com/224 REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba Ben has spent his entire career at Rose Partners, and has worked his way up to become a Partner at the professional services firm. His specialties are in Business Advisory, Mergers & Acquisitions, Business Valuations, Tax and structuring, and Large business transaction and he has performed these duties across many industries. This is critical for all executives to understand strategy and getting ahead. As a testimony to his wealth of knowledge, Ben has also been asked to sit on several clients’ advisory boards. In this episode we talk about: The role of an advisor and bringing transacting parties together; What a good advisory team looks like; Identifying red flags during the deal process; and Managing founders after a sale. Connecti

We have a question from one of our listeners, Charlotte from Liverpool in the UK, and she asks whether work-life balance is actually possible, especially in the top jobs. chiefmaker.com/223 REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba We’re going to talk about: Understanding what work-life balance is and how to measure it; Having a mindset of a life of different chapters; Some tools to get work-life balance. Stay epic, Greg

In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, you’ll hear from Scott Williamson, MD of Blackstone Minerals, on the CEO-Chair relationship, taking career risks, and injecting fun into business. chiefmaker.com/222 REGISTER FOR OUR APRIL MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba Scott has been the Managing Director of Blackstone Minerals for 4 and a half years, and has extensive experience in the mining & metals industry over a 20 year career. He graduated from the West Australian School of Mines and Curtin University of Technology and also holds a WA First Class Mine Manager’s Certificate and is a member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. In this episode we talk about: The cyclical nature of the mining industry and how he was often in and out of jobs; The role of the Chairperson and their relationship with the CEO; Taking risks in your career to get ahead, and then becoming a CEO for the first time; The fun side of business; and What the future holds for the mining industry. Connecting w

In this Best of Series episode, we hear from Nicky Sparshott, CEO of Unilever Australia & New Zealand, on being brave, taking the path less trodden and differentiating yourself. chiefmaker.com/221 REGISTER FOR OUR NEXT MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/miniMBA Nicky has been involved with FMCG firm Unilever since 2006, as a senior manager and executive in various roles and locations around the world. She became the CEO of Unilever Australia & New Zealand in March 2020, but we interviewed Nicky back in October 2017 when she was the Global CEO of T2 Tea, a luxury retailer and Unilever brand. Nicky is also a non-executive director for a number of organisations and has built up quite the impressive resume and expertise across FMCG, Retail, Luxury, and Ecommerce. In this episode, you’re going to hear Nicky talk about: her lessons from a failed product launch; taking the path less travelled, even if others don’t think it’s a good idea for you; being brave and not being scared to fail; and creating a track re

Our topic today is the All-in Mindset. chiefmaker.com/220 REGISTER FOR OUR NEXT MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba We look at how you can elevate yourself to a new level of being through the all-in mindset. We’re going to talk about: Making a conscious decision to shift course; Looking back to plan a way forward; Using small moments to go all in, that compound into massive changes. Stay epic, Greg

In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, you’ll hear from Ian Snape, CEO of Frontline Mind, on resilience by design, leading Antarctic expeditions and relaxing in high stakes environments. chiefmaker.com/219 LAST CHANCE! REGISTER FOR OUR JANUARY MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba Ian has over 30 years of experience leading and managing teams in strategy, innovation, and adventure. His speciality in coaching and training is on the topics of resilience, performance, recovery and wellbeing, especially to people who operate in complex high-risk situations such as Special Forces, police, paramedics, as well as Olympic athletes, company directors and senior executives. He has a PhD in Geochemistry from the University of Edinburgh and also has a Graduate Certificate in Neuro-linguistic Programming. He has led teams on expeditions to the Antarctic to conduct research on pollution issues in cold regions that were crucial to policy and regulatory decisions. He is the co-founder of two related coaching and trai

In this Best of Series episode, we hear from Trevor Matthews on how a leader is a dealer in hope, building a track record and thinking globally, acting locally. chiefmaker.com/218 REGISTER FOR OUR JANUARY MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/miniMBA We interviewed Trevor back in September 2017 when he told us the story of his remarkable career from Actuary to CEO and Chair of some of the world’s biggest insurance companies. He is also the Former MD/CEO of Legal & General Australia, Manulife Canada and Japan, and has since gone on to become a trusted advisor, Chair and Board member at companies like Bupa, CMC Markets APAC, State Insurance Regulatory Authority and Preferred Global Health. In short, Trevor is an elite Chief and we were privileged that he came on the show. In this episode, you’re going to hear Trevor talk about: Why a leader is a dealer in hope; How he got new roles as a result of building a track record of solving problems; How he brought ideas from around the world and implemented them locally;

In this episode of The Inner Chief podcast, you’ll hear from Fiona Crawford OLY, Chief Human Resources Officer of CreditorWatch, on doing extra, celebrating success, and enabling the business. chiefmaker.com/217 REGISTER FOR OUR JANUARY MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba Fiona joined fintech startup, CreditorWatch, in September 2021 as GM of People & Culture. Her career spans almost 20 years in human resources, training and coaching across a range of industries including sport, fitness, finance, hospitality and automotive. Fiona is a dual Olympian softballer, claiming the bronze and silver medals for Australia at the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympic Games respectively. In this episode we talk all about: How she got a place on the team by always doing extra; Why the successful teams are the ones that encourage feedback; Teaching organisations to celebrate success; and Removing the noise and enabling the business. Connecting with Fiona Crawford OLY You can connect with Fiona via LinkedIn Books a

Our topic today is self-belief. For more info check out chiefmaker.com/216 REGISTER FOR THE JANUARY INTAKE OF OUR MINI-MBA: chiefmaker.com/minimba We look at how you can harness self-belief in a constructive way to build your track record. We’re going to talk about: The physical impact of positive and negative mindsets; Myth-busting negative self-belief; and Finding a place where negative self-talk is non-existent. Stay epic, Greg

In this episode of The Inner Chief, you’ll hear from Dr Bronwyn Evans AM, CEO of Engineers Australia, on theory vs practice, empathetic performance management, and advancing society through great engineering. chiefmaker.com/214   REGISTER FOR OUR NEXT MINI-MBA INTAKE: chiefmaker.com/minimba   Bronwyn is the CEO of Engineers Australia, the Chair of Building4.0 CRC, and a Director of the Australia-Japan Foundation. She has previously held positions in innovation initiatives, including as Chair of the Industry Growth Centre for Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals, and previously as the CEO of Standards Australia and VP of Finance of the International Standards Organisation (ISO). She has over 35 years’ experience in various engineering roles and was recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2021. She’s also been recognised as one of Australia’s 100 most influential engineers and is in the list of top 100 Women of Influence. She is also a Member of the Champions of Change STEM Group which aim