CHAIR’S OPENING REMARKS

LORRAINE SALLOUM
CEO, Ability Advocates Australia

In just three years, Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation (SCHF) has grown exponentially, increasing its workforce from 90 to 140 employees and boosting its annual fundraising from $60 million to over $100 million. This remarkable transformation was not just about financial success—it was about building a people-first culture that attracts, retains, and empowers top talent.
In this session, Mariam will share how SCHF developed and implemented a robust Employee Value Proposition (EVP), built an employer brand strategy that shattered industry perceptions, and created sustainable people and culture initiatives that have positioned the organization as a top employer. From navigating the Great Resignation to securing board-level buy-in for long-term investment in talent, Mariam will discuss key challenges, strategic decisions, and the measurable impact of their people-first
approach.
This session will provide actionable insights for HR and People & Culture leaders looking to drive talent attraction and retention in
purpose-driven organizations while balancing cost, impact, and sustainability.

Session Objectives:

• Learn how SCHF built a research-driven EVP that aligns with organizational goals and enhances employer branding.
• Explore strategies to position not-for-profits as competitive employers that attract top talent from corporate sectors.
• Understand how to transition from foundational HR processes to high-impact, strategic people initiatives.
• Gain insights into demonstrating the value of employee experience programs to secure leadership and board buy-in.
• Discover how to continuously adapt and sustain talent programs to meet changing workforce expectations.

SFC: MARIAM HARES
Chief People & Culture Officer, Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation (SCHF)

In today’s fast-evolving workplace, organisations must continuously develop capability to stay competitive while
minimising disruption. This session explores how to remove roadblocks and implement evidence-based change, including
micro-credentials, to empower employees at all levels. Rachel will delve into strategies for strengthening feedback loops and key metrics to enhance Employee Experience (EX) and, in turn, Customer Experience (CX). Additionally, the session will uncover how organisations can harness technology, data, and digital solutions to elevate their strategic impact and build robust internal training programs.

Key Discussion Points:

• Positioning HR as a strategic partner through technology-driven capability building
• Aligning employee experience (EX) with customer experience (CX)
• Enhancing internal training programs with digital solutions
• Practical steps to remove disruption and resistance to change
• Creating meaningful metrics to measure employee growth and engagement
• Using real-time feedback to drive performance and development

RACHEL BANKS
Chief People Officer, FleetPartners

This session focuses on identifying and developing core capabilities that drive sustainable growth and competitiveness.

Objectives:

• Define key organisational capabilities essential for success.
• Unlocking organisational capabilities for growth - Learn methods to assess and address capability gaps.
• Explore strategies for continuous capability development.

Takeaways:

• A capability assessment framework.
• Practical steps for addressing capability deficits.
• Long-term strategies to foster growth.

AMALIA CHILIANIS
People and Change Executive, Lottery Corporation

In today’s fast-paced work environment, employee wellbeing and mental health must be more than just policies—they
should be embedded into the culture of an organisation. This session explores how businesses can take an organic,
people-first approach to mental health by aligning purpose at individual, team, and company levels. It will also cover strategies for continuous people development, implementing meaningful mental health initiatives, and empowering
employees through advisory training.

1) How can organisations foster continuous people development to enhance both individual and organizational
capabilities?
2) How do we assess and align purpose at the individual, team, and company levels to create a supportive and thriving
workplace?
3) What does a truly effective and actionable mental health strategy look like beyond surface-level interventions?
4) How can organizations implement employee advisory training to equip teams with the skills to support mental health
and wellbeing?

Key Takeaways:

• Practical methods for embedding mental health and wellbeing into everyday workplace culture.
• Strategies for aligning employee purpose with team and organisational goals to drive engagement and resilience.
• Steps to implement an effective mental health strategy that moves beyond compliance to genuine impact.
• The role of employee advisory training in creating a psychologically safe and supportive workplace.

PANELLISTS:

MICHAL RYBALOV
Head of People and Culture,
FGB Natural Products 

CAROLINE ATIA
Head of People and Culture, Coloplast

• The role of leaders in reducing resistance and building trust
• Equipping leaders with the mindset and tools to champion
change
• Leader-led communication and engagement strategies
• Creating alignment between business objectives and team
adoption
• Recognising and empowering leaders beyond the C-suite
• Practical examples of successful leader-led change initiatives

LAUREN RYDER
CEO, Leading Edge Global

12.50 Networking Lunch

WORKPLACE DYNAMIC 1.0

In many organisations, employee experience (EX) policies exist informally but lack structure, consistency, and fairness in
application. This session will explore how to formalise EX strategies in a way that enhances retention, supports diverse employee
needs, and ensures leadership buy-in. Kate Byrne will share insights from her experience in structuring EX policies, fostering a
growth mindset among leaders, and successfully driving initiatives that result in a company being listed among the top 100
workplaces for women.

Key discussion points include:

• Formalising the whole employee lifecycle – Turning ad-hoc practices into structured policies that are equitable and sustainable.
• Bridging the gap between policy and practice – Engaging leaders in co-creating policies that align with operational realities.
• Measuring impact and ensuring ROI – Making EX tangible by demonstrating its direct impact on employee retention, satisfaction, and business outcomes.

Three Session Objectives:

• Understand the importance of formalizing EX policies to create a fair and structured approach that benefits all employees.
• Learn how to engage leadership in policy creation to ensure alignment, practicality, and long-term adoption.
• Explore tangible EX strategies that drive measurable improvements in employee retention, well-being, and organizational success.

SFC: KATE BYRNE
Global People & Culture Leader, East West Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd

This session explores what Indigenous leadership truly looks like when shaped by community values, cultural knowledge, and
self-determination. Rachelle Towart shares lessons from the
frontline of leadership development and challenges traditional
models that fail to recognise Indigenous excellence. This is a call to shift from inclusion to transformation—where Indigenous people define success on their own terms.

Three session objectives:

• Reframe Leadership from an Indigenous Perspective - Highlight
relational leadership, community-centred decision-making, and
cultural authority.
• Promote cultural safety and authenticity at the Executive Level - Identify organisational practices that support Indigenous leaders to lead without assimilation.
• Inspire action to embed indigenous excellence in strategy and
structure - Encourage participants to champion Indigenous talent
across all levels and reimagine what culturally responsive
leadership looks like in practice.

RACHELLE TOWART OAM
Managing Director, Pipeline Talent

15.00 AFTERNOON TEA

HR INITIATIVES

This session explores how organisations can move beyond regulatory compliance to create truly inclusive workplaces
where all employees, including LGBTQIA+ individuals, feel a sense of belonging.

Guiding Questions:

1. How can organisations embed belonging and inclusion into their business models rather than treating DEI as a compliance checklist?
2. In what ways can human-centered design be used to co-create employee experiences that support diverse identities, including LGBTQIA+ individuals?
3. How are organisations rethinking leadership and planning to be inclusive of different abilities, age demographics, and gender identities?
4. What are the biggest barriers to fostering meaningful LGBTQIA+ inclusion, and how can they be addressed?
5. How do we measure the impact of DEI initiatives beyond representation—how do we track a true sense of belonging?
6. How are we strategically integrating DEI into the employee value proposition to attract and retain diverse talent?
7. How are we embedding DEI across the entire employee lifecycle—from recruitment to leadership development—and
ensuring organisations recognise it as a valuable investment?

Key Takeaways:

• Practical strategies for embedding DEI into workplace culture, with a focus on belonging.
• Methods to track, measure, and sustain DEI impact beyond surface-level metrics.
• Insights from DEI trailblazers on building inclusive policies that center LGBTQIA+ voices and lived experiences.
• Approaches to aligning DEI with business strategy, talent retention, and long-term organizational success.

Panelists invited:

COURTNEY POND
Group Inclusion & Diversity Manager,
The NRMA

KEARA BYRNE
Senior Manager OD and Change, Novo Nordisk

KYLIE FULLER
Director, Fuller Potential

Opinion Leader:

1) Strategies for managing organisational resistance to change - Discuss and learn practical ways to overcome resistance during change initiatives to ensure success and engagement.

Areas for consideration include:

Understanding the Root Causes of Resistance - Why do employees resist change? (Fear, uncertainty, loss of control,
lack of trust)

• How leaders can build trust and credibility during change
• Strategies for addressing concerns and managing different perspectives
• Change champions: Identifying and empowering internal influencers
• Change communication frameworks (Kotter’s 8 Steps, ADKAR, etc.)
• Training and upskilling strategies to ease transitions
• Creating quick wins to demonstrate progress and value

LEADER: VINOD BHATT, Organisational Design Specialist, Westpac

2)It’s time to support Indigenous people to achieve senior roles
in corporate community and government

Areas to be discussed include:
From tokenism to true inclusion

• Moving beyond symbolic representation to meaningful
participation in leadership.
• Challenging the “one seat” mentality and advocating for
systemic inclusion. Bringing culture to the role
• Valuing and integrating cultural identity in the workplace.
• Encouraging authenticity and cultural pride in senior
leadership. Removing barriers to progression
• Tackling structural and systemic barriers that hinder
Indigenous leadership.
• Addressing unconscious bias, racism, and a lack of cultural
safety.
Pathways to power: building indigenous leadership pipelines
• Developing intentional pathways to executive and board-level
roles.
• Creating culturally safe mentorship, sponsorship, and
leadership development programs.

RACHELLE TOWART OAM
Managing Director, Pipeline Talent

Chair’s closing remarks

17.00-18:00 Networking Drinks Reception