Le plus three

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer” ….  Albert Camus

Yep, that’s me. Can do, will do, have done. I love that quote. One of my other favourite quotes is “this too shall pass”, accredited to the Persian Sufi poets. Got me through many a prolonged drama. And just to round off I do adore this one from old man Winston Churchill …

“You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.”

Delivering with a sense of humour, consideration and accountability since the the 90s. Learnt lots along the way …. far better CEO in my 40s than I was in my 30s. Go figure. Experience, combined with attitude, ability, tolerance and some knowledge is a powerfully good thing. Win – win delivery also works for me.

In summary …

• born in Australia, eldest of four, unpaid middle management from age 10
• schooling in Brisbane and Sydney – big yawn until the uni years, then FUN!
• first job baby sitting, second job employed as checkout cashier, demoted myself to shelf stacker as dyslexic with number entry, but a keen eye for labels facing forward.
• tourism and hospitality taught me bucket loads about people, profits and productivity, and I can still carry three plates
• moved to local government to stop working weekends, fell in love with LG and the lack of profit motive
• lived in Australia and New Zealand, good with change and love travel
• found a ying to compliment my yang, married my south island sweetheart, got a dog #realcommitment
• been there, done that, got the ceo tee shirt – in da club!
• first Qld LG CEO pregnant on the job (not because of the job), got confused and had a second child
• directly worked for nine mayors and around 80 elected representatives – heavens, that’s a lot of ego in one lifetime, loved 8 out of 9 of my mayors
• good with people, despite years of engagement with them
• a head for business, with the heart of a stylist and my eye on what’s next

Want a hand with something …. making things happen, getting stuff done, leading change, creating a lasting difference and going the hard yards to make a decent contribution. Since December 2017 I have refocused my energies on short to medium term projects, collaborations and interim roles.

Got a gap in your executive leadership team ….. call me … I’m especially good with cultural change, people development and adding value to what works well already, while exiting the administrative detritus and accumulated junk that doesn’t.

Want to develop something new, refresh something that’s old or add to something that needs a bit of polish …. call me … happy to work solo, with a project team or larger groups.

Why me … well I’m an experienced and energetic GenX self starter, with executive level government and private sector experience. And I am not so expensive that your eyes will water.

My public sector experience across Australia and New Zealand, in a mix of city, urban, rural and remote environs, has provided me with a broad base of exposure to strategic and operational projects, programs, governance, leadership roles and management.

My private sector experience includes tourism and hospitality, both at a senior management level and as an owner operator.

Transferable skills include people leadership, governance, operational management, change management, strategic thinking, HR management, training and development, communications, marketing, community and stakeholder consultation and engagement, facilitation, relationship management, mentoring and more.

Sector employment experience includes:
CEO Local Government in New Zealand, Queensland and New South Wales
CEO Regional Tourism Organisations – Queensland and New Zealand
Private Sector Tourism and Hospitality Management and Business Ownership

Want to know more … pop over to LinkedIn and see me there.