Current role: Chair, Non-Executive Director and Panellist
Current organisation: Diversity Council Australia, Various organisations and Gruen, ABC
Last role at PwC: CMO Advisory Director & Advisory Board Director
Time at PwC: 2017 - 2018
What’s the one career achievement you’re most proud of and why?
Coincidentally, the first thing that comes to mind is a moment in 2021 that I shared with another PwC Alumni, Deb Eckersley. At the time she was the Chair of UN Women Australia and I was an advisor to the Board.
Together, with the talents of creative agency The Monkeys, we created the #WhenWillSheBeRight? campaign for UN Women – a poignant reminder of the gender inequality that persists in Australia.
A week after that campaign aired, Deb and I marched alongside each other at the March4Justice in Sydney. We saw not just one, but many women carrying placards on which were written “When Will She Be Right?”.
To see a campaign that was created and shared through industry generosity broadcast on TVs and billboards across the nation, and then resonating with real people in the street is a reminder of the enormous impact the marketing profession can and does have. And how it can be a force for good.
Creativity has an enormous capacity to be a catalyst for change. It can make people think and behave differently at scale, and with that comes great responsibility. There are not many professions that have that level of influence.
What do you remember most fondly about your time at PwC?
It's estimated that the average person spends a third of their life at work – the equivalent of 90,000 hours. The quality of your work life and the people you spend it with has a significant impact on the quality of your life. Although mine was a short time at PwC, I made some lifelong friends.
You recently commenced as Chair of the NFP, Diversity Council Australia. How important is the role played by Diversity Council Australia?
DCA’s rigorous, evidence-led approach enables Australian workplaces to be more courageous, empathetic, and pragmatic to create environments where employees in all their diversity can thrive.
Critically, DCA’s Inclusion@work index which maps the state of inclusion in the Australian workforce, consistently shows that inclusive organisations simply perform better. They’re up to 25 per cent more profitable, nearly 10 times more likely to be innovative, and four times more likely to provide good customer service.
The influence DCA and its members have on shaping an inclusive Australian society that drives Australia’s growth engine is incredibly significant.
It feels like the role of the DCA is even more critical today than ever. What have been your preliminary observations?
As we confront climate change, the wide-reaching impact of AI, geopolitical security concerns, conflicts in human rights and identity, accelerating inequalities, division, and all the challenges they impose on us, our social cohesion, continues to be tested.
An equitable society must start with equitable workplaces. This then spills over into communities in which people live and play.
It’s a critical time for DCA to enable and inspire employees, leaders, decision-makers, and the general public to play their part in contributing to a more diverse and inclusive society. DCA is the courageous voice in that conversation.
Why is cultural diversity, gender equality and inclusion important to you?
Australia is why! Australia has one of the most culturally and racially diverse populations in the world. One in four Australians were born overseas, one in two have one parent who was born overseas, and nearly 20 per cent speak a language other than English at home.
Embracing our diversity, eradicating inequalities, enabling women to participate in the workforce to their full potential, creating equitable workplaces where everyone can thrive, and building a more empathetic, just, cohesive, and resilient society should be important to us all.
You’ve been quoted as saying that “marketing creates change and has the power to improve people’s lives and our planet.” Are we delivering on that?
The answer to that question is always a robust debate that tries to balance purpose and profit, shareholders and stakeholders.
But for context, globally we are talking about a combined advertising and marketing spend of more than one trillion dollars. Through that spend, marketers and brands are capable of being the accelerant for wide-reaching progress on many of society’s challenges.
Not just for the audience their advertising messages can target, but also critically for their influence over the all-powerful technology, media and advertising supply chains that enable and hinge on those budgets.
Unfortunately, we know from the UN Global Compact, the principal sustainability initiative for businesses, that the UN’s Agenda 2030, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are in peril. 85% of the 169 SDG targets are showing either limited or no progress or a reversal in progress. Hence, the UN’s perennial clarion call for the private sector to step up, to leverage its practices and budgets as “corporate citizens”. The SDG agenda has a material impact on the sustainability of business, communities and our livelihoods.
We can do more.
You have been a panellist on ABC TV’s Gruen for many years, what do you think makes the show so popular?
Commenting on and critiquing advertising is a national sport. It’s what makes the profession so potent. Advertising that gets talked about is advertising that has been remembered and noticed, and that’s not easy to achieve. 89% of ads are not noticed or remembered at all.
Gruen brings the ‘why’ to the viewer on the sofa. It’s an educational and entertaining show that offers people fascinating behind-the-scenes insights into why an ad or marketing campaign was created the way it was. It’s always a privilege to be invited onto the panel.
What’s the one piece of advice you’d give aspiring leaders of today?
Challenge your bias. Be hard on your beliefs everyday. Identify your biases, prejudices and your privilege. We all have them.
What’s one thing about you that might surprise people?
I can’t swim.
