A bit about my consulting career
My interest in human behaviour started with a degree in Behavioural Sciences. I later went on to take Post Graduate studies including PR, Research, Finance, Marketing, and Advertising. The rest of my learning has been ‘real world’ having spent 16 years in a boutique business consulting firm - Growth Solutions Group (GSG). Being in a small firm provided a unique opportunity to develop both client facing and business management skills. Through this work I developed the following suite of expertise:
- market and brand assessment
…. to identify growth options and strengths to leverage
- customer and consumer behavioural research
…. to uncover drivers of brand preference
- actionable recommendations
…. to capture sustainable, profitable growth
My time at GSG led to a true passion to help businesses realise sustainable profitable growth through customer led strategies.
Key Clients:
- ALM, ANZ, Asahi, Brown Forman, Caltex Australia, Constellation Wines, Hamilton Island, Integria, La Trobe University, Luxottica, Myer, Pacific Brands, Primo Smallgoods, Samuel Smith & Son, University of New England, Victoria University, Yalumba
Additionally, as a member of the GSG management team for over eight years, I was responsible for operational areas including:
Portfolio for People:
Design and oversight of the personal and professional development of the consulting team
Design and delivery of internal training programs, and coordination of external suppliers to fill skill gaps where evident
Assignment of consulting team members to client engagements to ensure best outcome for project delivery and for team member development
Tracking and reporting of team productivity to ensure project and business goals are achieved
Forecasting of resource requirements for budget planning purposes
Recruitment of new staff: design and management of the recruitment process, interviewing prospective team members, on-boarding new staff
Innovation Portfolio
Design and documentation of innovation processes for implementation within client projects
Integration of world best practice theories and processes
Successful application on various client engagements across several industries: Food & Beverage, Healthcare, Route and Convenience channels
IP Development & Documentation
Management of intellectual property developed by the firm
Development of frameworks and tools to ensure productivity in the application of IP
Documentation and creation of ‘play books’ to enable efficient and effective replication of core processes
More recently…
More recently I have accepted two shorter term contracts to work with interesting people on interesting projects.
2018 - 2020
Yalumba Wine Company
Having previously consulted to Yalumba, the opportunity arose to take an in house role to deliver strategic projects across the brand and business teams. 12 months turned into two years – which was not too hard to take being based in the Barossa Valley! A range of projects touched all areas of the business including marketing, production, sales and the corporate entity.
2016 - 2018
GOLDOC - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games
The 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to apply both business and design skills to a major international event. The role included the planning and delivery of both the Artistic Gymnastics and Rhythmic Gymnastics competitions, and the relevant Test Events. With a games time team of over 200, and working within the GOLDOC structure of 40+ functional areas, I was able to hone my skills in governance, leadership, influence and negotiation.
and the other stuff…
Sport has played a large part in my life. Perhaps it is from my mother – a keen cricketer and tennis player, and a professional tennis umpire. It is most likely not from my father – a mathematician (but full credit to him for my business nous!). Through sport I have been fortunate to travel extensively and to experience many and varied opportunities from dancing with the Australian Ballet, to representing Australia in gymnastics… with a Moscow Circus performance thrown in for good measure!
In the year 2000 I received the Australian Sports Medal* in recognition of services to gymnastics.
*The Australian Sports Medal acknowledges a range of Australians who, in different ways, contributed to the nation’s sporting success. Recipients include former competitors, coaches, sports scientists, office holders, and people who maintain sporting facilities and services
Design is another area of passion which often finds me with CAD drawings and/or a paint brush in my hand on the weekends! More than a make-over, I delight in employing the concept of place-making to create memorable spaces. I have been fortunate to have renovated several unique properties over the last few years including transforming a fishing trawler into a ‘floating apartment’ (…mostly floating - apart from the time that it sank - but that’s a story for another day!), and more recently, a 160 year old train station into luxury accommodation. thestationkapunda.com
Charity and community also feature heavily in my ‘down time’. By leveraging both business and creative skills I have focused on developing social cohesion through community events and fund raising initiatives.
I am also passionate about ensuring that the next generation realise their individual success and as such I mentor several young entrepreneurs.