CASE STUDIES FROM FUTURE DIRECTORS ALUMNI
Alan Jones: Becoming more than an average director
On the face of it, Alan Jones might not seem like the type of person who would need help in landing a board role. A successful and widely influential Angel Investor, Alan Jones might not seem like the type of person who would need help in landing a board role.
Alan was already on the boards of three different organisations before he started Future Directors’ Kickstarter Programme. But there was something missing from his repertoire that Alan was determined to set straight…
Ben Frederiksen: Building better boards
Ben was always interested in joining a board, but, like so many others, he just wasn’t sure how to start down the path to achieving it. He knew that with the skills he’d gained through his ten-years of FMCG industry experience (across sales, strategy, commercial finance and general management roles) and now from Consulting, that he had something highly valuable he could offer a board. But bridging the gap between knowing and doing seemed difficult.
That is, at least, until Ben found Future Directors and their Make Me A Board Director program…
Danielle Beemsterboer: The importance of due diligence
Danielle had wanted to join a board for a long time. She’d always seen it as a great way to be involved with, and give back to, her local community. Given that her passions lie in the disability and women’s rights sectors, she knew that with her dedication and skill set, she’d be able to make meaningful contributions to both those areas.
The only hurdle that stood in her way was the inability to know where to begin. Luckily, the Future Director’s Make Me A Board Director program aims to provide the clarity and direction required to do just that…
Danielle Lehrer: Commercialising the change-makers
After working in the financial and technology industries for so long, Danielle was pretty clued on to the changes and issues the industry was facing. But more than that, she was able to see how those issues could be solved. The only problem?
The rapid pace of change was at odds with the ethos of the industry, where larger, well-established companies were only too happy to remain stagnant and unwilling to accept any disruption or change to their status quo…
Gaya Raghavan Byrne: Diversity advocate and change-agent
Gaya Raghavan Byrne has a strong belief in diversity, and she recognises that it’s a necessity in all organisations, especially at the decision-making levels.
Gaya currently works as a consultant alongside Australian businesses that export or invest in Asia, and she’s all too aware that it’s important to have strong voices and leaders at the helm of any organisation…
Hannah Stenning: Five years later
We caught up with FD Alumni, Hannah Stenning, five years into her board journey. Her pathway to the boardroom has been impressive, and it was fantastic to revisit to see her amazing progress.
Make sure you check out her first case study to get a better sense of where she started from, before you give this one a read.
Hannah Stenning: Setting her sights on the boardroom
Like many of the highly talented alumni from the Future Directors Institute, Hannah Stenning is someone who’s proving to the world that you don’t have to be cut in the traditional director mould to make it as a successful non-executive.
Hannah is a trailblazer in the media industry, having become the first commissioning editor for Australia’s biggest news website, News.com.au, where she spearheaded the organisation’s first Facebook live leaders debate ahead of the 2016 federal election. And since turning her sights to the boardroom, she’s landed a major role with Delta Society Australia…
Huw Thomas: How I found the path to boardroom success
Huw Thomas was enjoying a pretty successful career as a consultant for various companies and organisations, but after spending years devoting himself to building that career, he was starting to feel restless.
Huw had reached a place in his career where his vision had grown bigger than his role in a company. And having always done some form of charity work on the side, he wanted to take that to the next level and offer his strategic skills to an organisation…
Jacquie Fegent-McGeachie: Finding confidence in herself
Jacquie Fegent-McGeachie has an impressive resume. Having been a non-executive director of the Forestry Stewardship Council for three years, and standing as an executive of Kimberly-Clark, some might wonder why such a professional would feel the need to attend a board accelerator program such as the one offered by Future Directors, (now called ‘Make Me A Board Director’). But that’s the beauty of the Future Directors program…
Jeff Kerr-Bell: Gaining the tools to be a better director
Jeff Kerr-Bell wanted to give back to his community and industry in some way, but he wasn’t sure how. After being invited to take the position of Non-Executive Chair of an Australian Scout Group, Jeff realised that with his background and skills, he could be an effective board director. The biggest positive impact Jeff could have was to put forth his passion and drive to a board which would, in turn, allow him to help people…
Jennifer Nobbs: A journey to boardroom success
Jennifer Nobbs is an Executive Director for the Independent Hospital Pricing Authority, as well as presiding on the board of Central Coast Primary Care. She’s also an alumna of the Future Directors program.
After graduating from the program, Jennifer landed her first board role in January of this year, and now she’s eyeing up a successful boardroom future where she can use her positions to make the changes she wants to see. But before we look at where Jennifer’s boardroom career is going, let’s see how she got to where she is now, and the role that the Kickstarter Program played in helping her to get there…
Jeremy Urbach: Positioning himself for boardroom success
Jeremy Urbach could be considered a Future Director’s veteran, after completing one of the very first Make Me A Board Director programs. At the time, Jeremy had just started up his own company and recognised the need to discover more about the boardroom.
Now, he is the director of his company – a boutique funds management and finance firm – as well as director and recently-appointed Treasurer of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) Victoria…
Judy Andrews: Why you should just say YES!
No matter how much you love your job, eventually you might find you tire of it. The same thing day in, day out can grow quite dull, yet making the choice to change trajectory and try something new can be too nerve-wracking to do. Judy Andrews knew this feeling, but unlike so many of us, she decided to take the plunge and switch things up.
Judy was working as an accountant, and while she was happy enough in the role, she didn’t feel it was her true calling. She wanted to find a way to replace a high stress job with something closer to her heart, and she was ready for a challenge…
Kartik Madhira: Taking the steps to become an influencer
Kartik Madhira thought his greatest passion was the issue of environmental sustainability. He currently works at the local government level as a sustainability officer for the City of Parramatta, and his role allows him the opportunity to educate households, businesses and the city council on the importance of energy efficiency, renewables and sustainable operations.
Through the Future Directors Kickstarter Programme, Kartik realised that his ultimate goal was to be a board director so he could use his voice and vision for a sustainable future to create better communities, better societies and better people…
Lauren Osbich: Learning the ropes of the boardroom
Lauren has been working in the legal publishing industry for some time, but in 2016, she felt that she had reached the end of the line, in that space. She wanted to move forward and expand her horizons, but wasn’t sure which direction to take.
Her focus was on finding opportunities in new job titles and/or industries, but it wasn’t until a close friend suggested she take a look at Future Directors did she think about the idea of a board role – something she hadn’t even thought of before…
Meline Nazloomian: Want to reach your goals? Believe in yourself!
Meline has an aptitude for business and a very sharp mind that has always had her keen for a leadership position. However, working within the investment banking field, Meline had started to see that teams were beginning to grow smaller, and the smaller they were getting, the fewer management opportunities would arise.
Meline’s passion and energy for leadership – especially in areas she was passionate about – meant that she wasn’t able to sit and hope for an opportunity to come past. So she decided to go looking. also wanted to make a difference with her positive energy and push for influential change, and the best way to do that was through a board role…
Nick Crowther
How he got his appetite for the boardroom back
Nick is the MD of Freerange Future -a creative marketing agency and certified B Corp that focuses on furthering progressive causes and cultivating positive changes. The company has been well-aligned with Nick’s personal values and beliefs, especially that of the importance of giving back to the community…
Parrys Raines
22-year old board member shaping a sustainable future
Parrys Raines is a young woman who is already sitting on her first board, the Future Business Council. From an early age, she knew that she wanted to be in the position to make decisions at a high level to enact change in an organisation, so she thought the Future Directors Institute looked fantastic right from the start. She signed up straight away to do it once she received the email promoting the course…