Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
My career has been driven by one simple idea: connecting people through experiences. It’s the thread that ties everything together. It all started in my spare room with a second-hand computer and a big idea called RedBalloon. My mission was to shift the culture of gifting in Australia from "stuff" to experiences. This journey taught me everything about building a brand, the power of a customer-obsessed culture, and the resilience needed to turn a vision into a thriving national business. But one brand wasn't enough. In 2017, I co-founded the Big Red Group (BRG) to serve an even broader audience, acquiring other market-leading brands and creating an industry powerhouse. Today, my work has evolved, but my purpose remains the same. I'm dedicated to sharing the real, hard-won lessons from my journey to empower the next generation of Australian business leaders. ★ On Stage & Screen: As one of Australia's most sought-after keynote speakers and a familiar face on TV, including as a "Shark" on four seasons of Shark Tank Australia, my goal is to demystify business. I deliver practical, down-to-earth insights on leadership, marketing, and wellbeing with energy and humour. ★ In the Boardroom: My corporate career with Apple, IBM, and Ansett gave me a foundation that I now apply as an independent director for respected organisations like Australian Payments Plus and Colonial First State, as well as Weebit-Nano [ASX:WBT]. ★ In the Community: I'm humbled to be Australia's most-followed person on LinkedIn. I don't take this for granted. I see it as a responsibility to continue the conversation, sharing my thoughts through my blog, my "Handpicked" podcast, and my two bestselling books, Live What You Love and Ready to Soar. My passion for business is matched only by my passion for giving back. For me, true leadership is about contributing to the community. I proudly serve on the boards of the Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation and the University of Melbourne's Faculty of Business and Economics. My journey has also included volunteer roles with Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), YPO, Heads Over Heels, Voiceless, and Best Buddies. Serving as a Sydney Swans ambassador, hosting a women's education tour and personally mentoring many young founders, I am deeply committed to using my platform to help build a more innovative, inclusive, and compassionate Australia. My mission is simple: to provide the strategic guidance, inspiration, and moral support needed to help others build a business—and a life—they love. I have the simple motto: If it is to be it is up to me.
Known as entrepreneur and business leader; I started RedBalloon in 2001 RedBalloon which now sits within Big Red Group, which I co-founded in 2017. In addition to offering wholesale services, platforms and technology to experience operators Big Red Group also houses consumer brands; Adrenaline, Experience Oz, Local Agent and EverythingNZ. Australian owned and operated, Big Red Group leads and grows the experience economy through its scale, expert marketing, state-of-the-art tech platforms, industry alliances and partnerships. Through bold leadership and continuous innovation, Big Red Group drives connections to audiences, generates growth opportunities and delivers sustainable outcomes for communities. In 2022, Big Red Group serves an experience circa every 18 seconds.
In 2001, I saw a fundamental shift beginning in how people find meaning. I made a bet on the "experience gifts" long before it was a buzzword, launching RedBalloon from my home with a single-minded vision: to build Australia's #1 marketplace for experiences. My challenge was twofold: create a trusted brand that customers could rely on, and build a world-class technology platform to support thousands of small business providers across the country. We weren't just selling gift vouchers; we were building a complex, two-sided marketplace from scratch. As Founder and CEO (until 2011), I led RedBalloon through exponential growth, navigating recessions, rapid technological change, and fierce competition. We scaled the business to serve millions of Australians and became a household name synonymous with making memories. The key was an unwavering focus on three things: ★ An Obsessive Customer Focus: Building systems to listen, learn, and deliver an exceptional end-to-end experience. ★ A Powerful Brand Narrative: Creating a story that people connected with on an emotional level. ★ A Thriving Team Culture: Fostering an environment where great people could do the best work of their lives. Having built RedBalloon into an iconic Australian success story, I co-founded the Big Red Group to acquire other market-leading brands and create an industry powerhouse. This journey has given me a unique perspective on what it truly takes to innovate, scale, and lead with purpose. The lessons learned in the trenches of Australian business are the bedrock of the practical, down-to-earth insights I now share as a keynote speaker, podcaster, and mentor.
During my speaking engagements, I urge audiences to play a bigger game – whether it is about sustainable socially aware leadership, the future of work, business or personally. My personal motto is “If it is meant to be it is up to me.” and if there is one word I leave audiences with, it is “inspired”. Topics include: 1. Purposeful Leadership Entrepreneurship has a certain romance to it - but it is far more about how you align people purposefully to a sustainable socially aware 'cause'. The world is changing, what is expected of leaders is far greater than it has ever been. In this session I share what we did to evolve and stay focussed using community contribution as our guide. I share our leadership beliefs in this session 2. Customer Obsession In this colourful and inspiring keynote, I explore the challenges faced by many businesses that are ever fearful of disruption. With retail closures being reported daily, I spell out my approach to ‘protection from disruption,’ and speak to the value chain each business must build. 3. Live What You Love Personal Development This keynote is all about fulfilling your true purpose. Knowing what drives you will give you the platform for a rich and wonderful experience of life. I share real and vivid stories from my life and Shark Tank to demonstrate the power of my personal motto, ‘If it is meant to be, it is up to me.’
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I am excited to join the Board of Directors of Weebit Nano. I’m drawn to the Company's relentless commitment to innovation and its reputation as a global leader in the non- volatile memory space, and look forward to helping to accelerate Weebit Nano's next stage of customer growth. I look forward to sharing more about this truly innovative company as it brings its products to market.