Our Thought Leaders & Speakers

Hear experts and experienced EAs from Australia share their thought leadership and experiences.

Both Sydney and Melbourne Sessions:

Lizzie Wagner

Managing Director

Lizzie Wagner Group

Company principal and director Lizzie Wagner is a highly sought-after corporate trainer and keynote speaker. She is also a successful businesswoman, fashion and modeling consultant, author and events and promotions manager/presenter in the fashion, image and branding and media industries. A former international model herself, Lizzie is highly revered as an expert in her industry, having written for and featured in numerous publications discussing fashion, beauty, homeware and image. She is also regularly interviewed by the media and has published a book in 2011 titled “Business and Social Etiquette” with Ralph Bain, senior political commentator with the ABC at Parliament House.

Tammy Tantschev

Executive Assistant to Managing Director

Red Bull

Tammy has worked an Executive Assistant in various companies in different industries for over a decade. She is currently based in Sydney and is the Executive Assistant to the Managing Director of Red Bull Australia and New Zealand. She began her career as an office junior in her hometown of Adelaide and has since worked as an Executive Assistant in energy drinks companies and talk back radio and she had also worked in Saudi Arabia for the Senior Vice President at the world's largest oil company. Tammy believes in taking a progressive view when defining senior assistants and their responsibilities.

Roger La Salle

Director

La Salle Matrix Thinking

Roger La Salle is a challenging, dynamic and sought after speaker and facilitator who brings with him a lifetime of experience and successful business creation. He is the author of several books on Matrix Thinking and was appointed as Chair of Innovation at the prestigious “The Queens University” in Belfast in 2004. Roger does not just talk about innovation, business building and opportunity as a concept or theory; he has been doing this all his working life andspeaks with authority from real life experience. He has also taken up the role of Director of a number of local and international companies and was a former expert panelist on the Australian television program, the New Inventors.

Chandra Clements

Managing Director

One Legacy

Chandra is an experienced global executive with work experience in Australia, the Middle East, Asia, New Zealand, America, South Africa, Europe and the UK. Her efforts to create profitable, sustainable and conducive places to workhave resulted in increasing global innovation, higher levels of empowerment within the workforce and have helped people and organizations exceed their expectations. She is a 2014 Inductee into the Australian Businesswomen's Hall of Fame, the 2013 Gold Medal Female Entrepreneur for Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the 2013 Newcastle University Young Alumni Medalist and the 2013 Bronze Medalist International Executive of the Year for Business Services. Chandra is passionate about socially responsible and sustainable businesses and believes that most leadership and business hurdles stem from the limitations we place on ourselves and others.

Louise Brown

Executive Personal Assistant to the Director and CEO

Accuteque

Originally from Scotland and now based in Melbourne, Louise is an Executive Personal Assistant with Accuteque and winner of "Executive Personal Assistant of the Year 2013" award. Louise's main objective is to make the busy lives of executives easier and more productive. How? She swears by her key competencies: Be proactive - every EA/PA must be at least 5 steps ahead of their Executive. Confidentiality – you're in a position of trust so make sure you sign that invisible Secrecy Act! Adaptability – Embrace Change! Judgment is huge. You have to exhibit sound judgment and the ability to make reasonable decisions in the absence of direction.

Anthony Bonnici

Director

Brain Blinkers

Anthony is a charismatic, dynamic and energetic presenter who has over 13 years of corporate experience in Australia in sales, marketing & people management roles. In addition to face-to-face selling for 4 years, Anthony turned “middle of the road” sales teams into high performing teams as well as guided marketing teams with brands worth over $150 million. In 2005, Anthony left the corporate life to follow his dream of creating his own company to inspire and motivate others, having a wide audience ranging from truck drivers to CEOs. He is a certified Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) Master Practitioner and has been speaking and performing on stage since the age of 10. Anthony's use of real life examples which all audience levels can identify with makes his sessions incredibly powerful and memorable.

Malcolm Dawes

Managing Director

dtaWORLDWIDE

Malcolm Dawes is a highly respected and sought after organisational performance consultant with a keen interest in leadership development. He has facilitated development workshops in China, Korea, USA, South Africa, UK, India, Australia and New Zealand on numerous sales and leadership topics. He has appeared on the internet TV channel “The Profitability Channel” where he was interviewed on the topic of leadership.

Sarah Laurie

Best-Selling Author

Sarah Laurie Lifestyles

Sarah's passion to encourage and inspire others began as she made a u-turn in her career, leaving advertising to become a life-coach when her children were young. Sarah works with clients in her coaching practice. She delivers Lifestyle & Wellbeing programmes to teenagers within high schools, is a sought after international presenter in the corporate sector and runs public seminars annually throughout New Zealand. Sarah is a best-selling author and shares her inspiration across several media channels in both New Zealand and Australia. Sarah continues to expand her learning in the arena of happiness and wellbeing, yet some of her most valuable insights are as a result of raising their four children. She understands first hand that today's fast paced world, and the responsibilities of managing a home, a family and a career can contribute to some of life's most challenging issues. Armed with a valuable mix of knowledge, insight, energy and compassion, Sarah changes the way people look at their lives and they become happier, healthier and inspired.

Marion Fox

Marion Fox

Marion Fox and Associates

Marion is a training and development consultant with 29 years of practical experience in large organizations and the education sector, with executive and personal assistant development being a key area of her work. In addition, Marion has worked as an online tutor in communication skills. She prides herself in delivering fun and practical training workshops based on practical experience, adult learning principles, behaviour and skills relevant to the participants. Marion has also trained as a psychologist and conducts one-to-one coaching.

Mark McPherson

Professional Trainer & Coach

Best Practice Behaviour

For over a decade, Mark has been helping staff at all levels of organizations across various industries on issues such as handling tough conversations, dealing with bad behaviour and difficult people. Mark is a speaker, educator, trainer, mentor and coach who has presented at conferences and various professional development events. He has also worked with small groups and individuals and enjoys using interesting presentation styles and unorthodox hands-on sessions for skill development and confidence building. Mark possesses professional qualifications in science, health, education and psychology – MEd, BSc, GradDipEd, GradDipHealth, GradDipPsych&DipHypn.

Meghan Beattie

Executive Assistant

Jones Lang LaSalle partnering with ANZ Group Property

Meghan Beattie is an Executive Assistant to the Regional Account Director at Jones Lang LaSalle’s Integrated Facilities Management (IFM) partnership with ANZ Group Property, who is responsible for IFM services across Australia and Southeast Asia.

She is a trusted advisor who provides comprehensive, strategic support as well as high-level administrative support to her boss. She also manages critical communication and relationships with various stakeholders, including the management team and entire account team of over 120 employees across the Asia Pacific region.

Shaun Kenny

Professional Trainer & Coach

People of Influence

Shaun is one of Australia's best event facilitators who enjoys bringing a unique blend of energy, humour and intellectual rigour to events. His passion is creating experiences that light people up with laughter and learning. He has directly worked with tens of thousands of people from various industries across the world and has trained executives from companies such as Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Shell, Qantas and Westpac.

Aloisie Krasny

Executive Assistant to Chief Financial Officer

Sydney Water Corporation

Currently an EA at Sydney Water Corporation, Aloisie is equipped with extensive experience as a PA who has worked in various industries. She has assisted the Czech Director for the Rothschilds and the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, with major achievements including coordinating a Czech delegation in Budapest, acting as PA to the Czech Prime Minister as well as managing and assisting a delegation of 14 ministers. She believes that EAs are important and affective to business and has conducted programs in confidence building, protocol, business presentation, working with difficult personalities, style and personal branding. She has also recently spoken on the topic of "Creating Opportunities from Change". She was also a finalist in the Executive PA Magazine 2014 Awards.

Tessa Curtain

Executive Assistant to Andrew Hagger, Group Executive

NAB Wealth

Tessa Curtain is the Executive Assistant to Andrew Hagger, Group Executive, at NAB Wealth. Her duties include conference organization, HR, recruitment, mentoring, counseling and troubleshooting. Early in her career, Tessa identified the need to understand and work with the personality and work style of her boss. Most importantly, Tessa has discovered that the cornerstone of her role is to develop a successful partnership with her boss.

Emma Witte

Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive

Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Currently based in Melbourne, Emma is the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive of the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI). She has extensive background in executive support, human resources, administration and customer service across various industries including employer associations, family welfare and professional sporting clubs and venues. Always striving to expand her knowledge base, she is now in her final year of a Bachelor of Business majoring in Management.

Svetlana Gates

Senior Executive Assistant to Executive Director of Information Services

Australian Red Cross Blood Service

Svet is a Melbourne-based Senior Executive Assistant to Executive Director of Information Services at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service with 13 years of experience partnering with executives in both public and private organizations. Svet thinks that working for the blood service is an honour as they are in the business of saving and improving lives with a product that the best scientists have not found a real substitute for.

Sydney Session Only:

Jon Burgess

CEO

Kwan Pty Ltd

Jon is an international leader in the field of people networks and advocacy. His passion to help organisations gain and maintain their competitive advantage through developing and leveraging their people networks led to the launch of Kwan in 2002. He is recognised as one of the most innovative minds, renowned for his development of The Three Minds™ philosophy.

For more than a decade, Jon has worked with some of the world’s most admired organisations and business schools, helping their people develop a greater understanding of how to connect and collaborate with their people networks to remain relevant and top of mind. Prior to this, Jon had a successful career for more than twenty years in communications and sports management. In 2000, he became the official Melbourne Partner for GSI – the agency that managed many Olympic and world champion athletes.

Maureen Bell

Owner

Speak with Presence

Maureen is a Certified World Class Speaking Coach with more than 18 years of experience in facilitating, training and mentoring leaders. She helps high-performing individuals overcome their fears and stresses in the public arena. Her passion is to enable clients to master their voice, heart and communication skills so they can influence and inspire others to make a difference.

Tania Rizoski

PA to CFO/Company Secretary

Arup

Tania is currently the PA to the Chief Financial Officer, Don Stewart at Arup. A result-driven Personal Assistant equipped with over 12 years’ experience and 6 years of accounts payable experience, she has also previously worked at globally recognized organizations. A highly-motivated, adaptable and friendly individual, Tania strives to perform her duties reliably with professionalism and passion.

Tania recognizes the importance for EAs and PAs to pick up a plethora of skills to cope with their expanding job scopes and has actively picked up skills in presentation, verbal and written communication skills to aid her in performing her role more efficiently. She has a strong work ethic and enjoys new challenges coupled with the fact that she works well under pressure and unsupervised.

Tanya Smith

Personal Assistant

Telstra

Tanya is an experienced and motivated assistant with corporate experience in both national and multinational corporations. Positive by nature and collaborative in personality, her passion in life is partnering with the management and businesses she is employed with to achieve results. Tanya is proud to be representing Telstra in the Executive Services Group as a Personal Assistant.

Melbourne Session Only:

Cris Massis

Chief Executive Officer

Australian Physiotherapy Association

Cris has been with Australian Physiotherapy Association as their Chief Executive Officer since February 2011, with key responsibilities including the operational management of the APA and the implementation of the 2015 - 2017 strategic plan. Throughout his career, he has developed skills in relationship management, communication, conflict management, change management and cultural transformation.

Prior to joining the APA, he has had a diverse career in membership associations across the disciplines of marketing, business development and management. He has held positions at Calder Park Motorsport, St Kilda Football Club and was the former Victorian General Manager of CPA Australia, where he was tasked with responsibilities such as membership growth, employer relationships and the sale of educational products.

Jennifer Burrows

Director

Value for L!fe

As a Director of Value for L!fe, Jennifer (Jen) is responsible for the development and delivery of “on message” development programs primarily across Blue Chip, multicultural organisations ensuring measurable performance impacts. she has advised blue chip organizations and government bodies on their internal and external communications, facilitating transformational training events and deconstructing thousands of corporate pitches and presentations.

Caryn Walsh

Director

Pure Magic International Training Solutions (Pty) Ltd

Caryn Walsh is a much sought after trainer, facilitator, psychologist, public speaker, lecturer, educator and organizational change agent.

Well known for her animated and lively delivery style, Caryn is a regular keynote speaker at conferences, forums and seminars around Australia and she has worked in various countries around the world in this capacity. Over an impressive 25 year career, Caryn has worked as a psychologist in private practice, lectured at two leading Sydney based psychology/counseling universities for over a decade and has consulted to countless organizations in Australia and overseas in the areas of leadership, organizational development and change management.

Amy Chapman

Personal Assistant to Craig Smith & Leisa Fielding

Telstra

Amy is a capable and highly organized Personal Assistant to two Directors within the Defence Engagement Team at Telstra. She has significant experience in challenging roles such a Personal Assistant, Senior Project Coordinator, Business Innovation Officer and Client Manager with national organizations, that have required a high level of time management skills and customer focus. Having a proven ability to organize and manage both large and small scale projects, she has a natural flair for events and has completed a Diploma in Event Management. Amy has been the primary organizer of a number of events within the Defence Engagement Team in her short time with Telstra and has quickly become the “go to girl” for event organization.

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