The Caring CEO brought to you by WeCARE365.

Christy Pretzinger, the CEO of WG Content, a company that creates specialized content for the healthcare industry in the U.S., puts emphasis on kindness as a fundamental value of her organisation, which fits perfectly with the theme of The Caring CEO Podcast. She shares some practical ways that she and her team incorporate this value into their daily, weekly, and biannual routines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. John Demartini, a world-leading human behavioral specialist, author, and global educator, has lived an extraordinary life aboard a ship, traveling the world and delivering programs to tens of thousands of people, both in person and remotely. For 37 years, Dr. Demartini has diligently maintained a gratitude journal, showcasing the transformative power of this practice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Passionate about building mental fitness and helping us navigate life's challenges, James Wright, CEO of Havas Creative Group Australia and the Chair of Gus Worland's Gotcha for Life Foundation, encourages all of us to build our mental fitness so we can better cope with life's ups and downs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sandra Martinez's lifelong connection with Nestle began at the age of seven, when she met a man from the company who sparked her passion to work for them, and this encounter shaped her journey and led her to become the CEO of Nestle Oceania.Sandra's diverse career started in her native Ecuador and took her to various countries around the world. Now, her international experiences have shaped her leadership approach and contributed to her success. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Cummings, the Group CEO of Wellbeing at Work, firmly believes that wellbeing goes beyond wellness initiatives. It involves a fundamental rethinking of work, leadership, and culture. Chris and his team are passionate about encouraging organisations to prioritise wellbeing as a strategic initiative — focusing on community, connection, and knowledge.Chris and his team at Wellbeing at Work have been delivering trusted and independent content from global experts. Their aim is to empower clients to create successful initiatives that yield proven results. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda Cattermole is the CEO of Australian Digital Health Agency. She believes that a safe workplace is key in allowing our people to thrive and feel valued. A place that truly cares is fueled by passion and commitment. For Amanda, it's essential to view most things as fixable. Reflecting on her own experiences, she found that the moments that initially felt overwhelming were often retrievable in some way. She shares how this has worked for her in the past, and reflects on the value of a positive mindset even on a bad day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tareef Jafferi is the CEO and Founder of Happily.ai, an organisation that has created a platform to provide real time feedback for managers and employees to learn how to work better together. Tareef discusses his evolving perspective on care, emphasising the importance of allowing individuals to express their true selves and offering support rather than trying to solve every problem. He also underlines the importance of creating psychological safety in nurturing a genuinely caring work environment where employees can contribute effectively. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Martin McNamara takes a very structured approach to building a culture of care across their not-for-profit organisation focussed on using evidence to develop policies to improve health and wellbeing. A recent engagement survey shows they are on the right track with 86% of staff saying they know what they need to do to be successful in their role and 91% say they are proud to work for the Institute. Martin believes that these high scores come from active listening and encouraging all to share their ideas and opinions. Martin shares what they have done to keep those scores high in the new world of hybrid work. Martin is also the Chief Investigator for the 45 and Up Study, one of the largest studies in the world, tracking the health and wellbeing of over 267,000 people in NSW. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kylie Green is the Managing Director APAC for Reward Gateway, who provide technology for organisations to embed a reward and recognition culture. Kylie gives us many examples of how small recognition and rewards lift motivation and productivity. She highlights the findings from the Workplace Engagement Index for 2024, revealing that a staggering 83% of employees feel more motivated and productive when they have a caring manager. It's a testament to the undeniable connection between empathy and efficiency in the workplace. Kylie also offers timeless wisdom on balancing empathy and productivity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Jurcec, Co-founder and CEO, OneKloudX, was kicked out of home when he was 18. He made his way out of this crisis through education, and now celebrates every success and encourages a recognition culture where people describe Robert as kind, thoughtful, and supportive. Now committed to building a culture of trust and wellbeing, Robert attributes his success to asking lots of questions to understand people's individuality. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jason Van Schie, Founder and Managing Director of FlourishDX, which uses technology to measure and assess the psychological health and safety of organisations, is passionate about providing practical tools and information for leadership to better understand this topic and is also the co-host of the Psych Health and Safety Podcast.We had a wide-ranging discussion about the new laws that make psychological health and safety just as important as physical. We delve into Jason's valuable insights on the psychosocial risk of a workplace. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Moir, Founder and CEO of The Moir Group, a recruitment organisation specialising in senior leaders in finance, emphasises that beyond technical finance skills, the ability to exert influence across the company is crucial.Passionate about the environment, Stephen and his wife Carolyn founded the ‘Professionals Advocating for Climate Action' network dedicated to practical actions. Stephen believes that work significantly shapes our lives, and a satisfying job is essential for a good life. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivia Carr, Founder and CEO of Shhh Silk, a global brand that sells silk pillow cases in 50+ countries, shares her remarkable journey, including a marketing coup involving Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner.Despite a very challenging childhood and lacking tertiary qualifications, she built a successful multi-million-dollar business. In her new book "Self-Made." Olivia has now created a blueprint that has helped hundreds of women to develop and build their own businesses. Olivia's resilience and innovative approach have transformed her life, making her a true self-made entrepreneur. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lucas Patchett, the CEO of Orange Sky, co-founded this charity that is dedicated to a simple service, which provides an opportunity for Australians doing it tough to connect through regular laundry and shower services.Although still in his 20's, Lucas has achieved more in life than many 60 year olds.As you will hear – it hasn't always been easy – and they have needed lots of resilience to try – fail – learn and grow. Lucas also outlines a simple thing we can all do when we encounter a homeless person on the street. He has achieved a huge amount after being in the workforce for less than 10 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Darren Black, the CEO of SuperFriend, is an innovative and pragmatic leader who strives every day to create a culture of care.As a former Army Officer, UN Peacekeeper, and now sitting on the Board of Suicide Prevention Australia and The Australian Men's Health Forum, he has worked with a number of NFP that have focused on improving the wellbeing of Australians, as he is passionate about improving mental health and suicide prevention. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Victoria Butt, established the recruitment company Parity Consulting, in 2012 when she was just 29. She is passionate about hiring the best employees who also share Parity's values.As an authentic leader who is prepared to be vulnerable and admit mistakes, she has championed rapidly growing work issues such as mental health and how the workplace can be more understanding and helpful to women going through menopause. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jon Owen, the CEO and Pastor of the Wayside Chapel in Sydney, is proud of their continuing mission of creating a community of no ‘us and them'. In his role as CEO, he leads a team of 110 employees and 800 volunteers.Jon is passionate about how the community can play a role in everyone having a better life. He cares deeply about the people he serves and is a passionate communicator. He is not afraid to take on big challenges.Jon has a great sense of humour and has a real spirit for service. His story is inspiring, however he is very humble. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charlotte Lockhart, is the Co-founder and MD of 4 Day Week Global, advocating for a productivity-focused, reduced-hour workplace.Charlotte is also a Board member of Oxford University's Wellbeing Research Centre and co-founder of the World Wellbeing Movement.Her company has helped oversee 4 Day Week trials in UK, US, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.Charlotte gives us some fascinating insight into the findings of the trials. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy Edmondson, is a Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business school, a chair established to support the study of human interactions that lead to the creation of successful enterprises that contribute to the betterment of society.Her area of expertise is showing leaders how to increase team psychological safety which is a critical foundation of great teams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew O'Keeffee has a fascinating background which has taken him from his origins in Broken Hill to studying indigenous groups in Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Amazon and North America. This was via a career in mining, manufacturing, in industrial relations and senior HR roles.Andrew's shares great insights for leaders into how how we structure organisations, select and appoint leaders, motivate followers, and influence culture based on his research into indigenous cultures which began when he met with Maasai elders on a trip to Kenya. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Simone Allan and Graeme worked together at Morgan and Banks (now Hudson). After leaving Morgan and Banks, Simone went on to establish her own company Mondo Search.She grew that company into one of the top 40 search firms worldwide. Having experienced the benefits of mentoring herself, she then went on to establish Mondo Mentoring.After suffering a career crisis at the age of 43 which left her burnt out and overwhelmed, Simone took some time to undertake deep self-flection. With the covid pandemic devastating the recruitment industry so completely,Simone used her new found sense of purpose to establish the Women's Resilience Centre, a haven for women and children that were experiencing domestic violence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivier Dubuisson has the intriguing title of – Head of Future of Working for the global pharmaceutical company Novartis. He is also the Chairman and Co-Founder of Rythmik, a global consulting firm, based in Switzerland, specialising in the future of working and employee experience. Olivier stresses that when it comes to workplace flexibility, we need to spend less time worrying about when and where our employees work, and more time on how they work. He refers to this as moving from Hybrid 1.0 to Hybrid 2.0.Our discussion also delves into the Metaverse, and using virtual reality goggles and other technology to foster collaboration and belonging in a virtual world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Richard Turner is the ultimate entrepreneur. He is a specialist in market disruption, having founded four successful companies in Australia across four completely different industries. He has multiple awards including EY's South Australian Entrepreneur of the year and 4th fastest growing company by BRW magazine, and is also the entrepreneur in residence for the University of South Australia.Today, Richard is fiercely passionate about helping people successfully start and scale companies – setting out the essential rules to give first time entrepreneurs the best chance of success. He has learnt many lessons in the last 40 years of business and shares some of them here with us. He has also recently published a book called The Essential Entrepreneur" explaining how to start, scale and ultimately sell a business. It is a book that contains all of the wisdom he wishes he had read when he was starting out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bruce Watson, CEO of WorkCover QLD, has always been inspired by the life of Nelson Mandela.He admired his unwavering belief in a better South Africa, fierce focus and determination – coupled with huge empathy and humility – he has been a powerful guide in Bruce's life.One of his life's highlights was meeting him in person whilst on a mission to help improve the safety in South African mines. Not surprisingly he describes the lasting impressions from that meeting.For Bruce, care has been a driving force his whole life. Losing his Dad at the age of 17 taught Bruce the value in making the best of everyday, and making a positive difference, and care is an integral part of that. It became his life's purpose and his work purpose. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Kirstin Ferguson AM, our first guest for 2023, is the author of the newly released book, HEAD & HEART: The Art of Modern Leadership. Pip Marlow, CEO of Salesforce Asia Pacific – said this – “HEAD & HEART will be joining my favourite leadership books on my bedside table.”Leading with your head and your heart is a concept that is very much aligned with our belief that a caring CEO strives for a culture of care and a culture of high performance. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Suzanne (Suz) Steele, was the VP and MD for Adobe's ANZ operations before moving back to the UK to take up the same role for the UK and Ireland operations, which is one of Adobe's largest markets globally.She has risen to this position from humble working class beginnings in Northern Ireland, in which attending university was not an option in her family.In fact, she left school at 16.This worked against her in her early days until she landed a role in a start-up with a manager who saw her "street fighter" and "make it happen" qualities. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivia Jenkins is an absolute dynamo. She has three children under six years of age, her husband is both a farmer and a builder, and she runs her own business empowering female entrepreneurs in the health, beauty, fashion and lifestyle industries to become household names. In just 3 years, she's served over 100+ clients, and boasts $33 million in revenue generated between them. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joel Ramirez has always been an entrepreneur. As a very young boy, he found himself needing to contribute financially to the family after they immigrated to Australia from the Philippines and couldn't find work. At the age of 21 he stated his first IT business, then went on to co-found Wiise, a tech company which he sold to KPMG in 2018. He was also awarded the Young Entrepreneur of Year Award for his region.Joel recognises that while a business has to make money and reach goals, it also needs to look after its employees whole being, and he breaks this down into four pillars for us. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Women's Community Shelters, works with local communities to establish crisis accommodation shelters for women and children who are homeless or leaving domestic and family violence. As the CEO of this organisation, Annabelle Daniel OAM, faces tough challenges daily. For every vacancy they have at a shelter, there are three women in urgent need of care, and Annabelle and her team have to make a very difficult decision on which woman is accepted. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Didier Elzinga is the Founder and CEO of Culture Amp, the world's leading workplace culture analytics platform. Culture Amp's mission is to create a better world of work, and they believe that putting culture first is crucial to that mission.Founded in 2009, they were recently valued at $2b and were named last year as one of the world's most innovative companies. They are currently monitoring 6000 workplaces and 25 million employees. So their culture driven approach is obviously working well for them.Didier embodies a caring CEO, so there's a lot to be learnt here for anyone else who believes in the value of caring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jo Skipper is the Managing Director of The Next Step, one of Australia's leading HR recruitment companies. Her career in recruitment spans over 20 years across the UK, Singapore and Australia.We discuss many things in this episode, including the benefit of identifying your team members' strengths, leading in this modern work environment and tips on the best way to reject someone. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Shein has the amazing achievement of starting and building what is known as Australia's first tech unicorn. David started Com Tech when he first arrived in Australia from South Africa in 1987. Over the next 14 years he grew the company with offices Australia wide and 1400 employees before selling to Dimension Data. Not only was Com Tech profitable since its inception, but it was done without using external debt.David is now a partner at OIF Ventures, a venture capital fund and also mentors CEOs and leadership teams to build a company that is likely to succeed. David is living proof that a culture of care goes hand in hand with a culture of high performance. He believes that care should encompass employees, customers and suppliers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nikki Beaumont is is the Founder and CEO of Beaumont People, which has been operating for 21 years. Beaumont People is a recruitment company which has the tagline 'Placing People First'. It is Nikki's belief in this philosophy that has led to her success.In early 2000, Nikki took on the role of General Manager of recruitment for the Sydney Olympic Games. She arrived in Sydney from the UK in February 2000 and was responsible for the recruitment of all of the paid staff involved in the games, which was, understandably, a massive undertaking. Nikki shares some of her take aways from that role.Other achievements include founding a not-for-profit division of the company and implementing a gender neutral paid parental leave scheme. It's little wonder that Beaumont People were awarded 2nd Best Place to work in 2021 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Derick Borean, co-founded Altius Group 21 years ago, providing rehabilitation services to injured workers. They are a leading integrated HR, and workplace rehabilitation and health organisation with a clear purpose of elevating the physical and psychological well-being of individuals and organisations. Graeme and Derick have collaborated on a number of times since they first met at a conference a number of years ago. Derick immediately impressed Graeme and they have since become good friends.Derick is a true champion of a culture of care and high performance, and he offers many valuable tips in this episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Founder and Managing Director of Employee Matters, Natasha Hawker knows all about the issues that keep the CEOs of SMEs up at night. Having worked in HR roles in corporations, and now running her own business, she offers an interesting perspective in this week's episode of The Caring CEO. Natasha runs Employee Matters with her husband, which is something that many of us could never contemplate doing, and shares how they make that work. In addition Natasha is also the author of From Hire to Fire & Everything in Between, and volunteers for Dress for Success, a NFP that helps women in need get back into the workforce. In her line of work, Natasha has to have a lot of difficult conversations. She shares with us the tried and tested way that she approaches these conversations. This is a skill that is not only used in the workplace, but in our personal lives as well. Anyone with teenagers, will want to hear this. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've changed things up a little on the podcast this week, with two guests, Co-Founders of Bellroy, Lina Calabria and Andy Fallshaw. Bellroy design and manufacture innovative Wallets, Bags, and phone cases for today's workers and tourists. They are an accredited B Corp, were awarded #1 in the small business category in 2021's Australia's 50 Best Workplaces 2021, and are committed to using environmentally sustainable fabrics including recycled and plant based materials. They have also recently raised $12 million from venture capitalists. Not bad for a company that was founded in 2010 around a kitchen table in Bells Beach Victoria. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rich Hirst, CEO & Founder of Tenfold spends his days talking with local CEOs and Leadership teams of global companies including Nestle, DHL and Amazon Web Services. Tenfold provide a trusted environment for these leaders to share their biggest challenges. This puts Rich in a good position to know what works and what doesn't when it comes to leadership.In this week's episode, Rich shares some key factors for successful leadership and what is required to achieve exponential growth. We discussed the balance between caring for our team and yet still holding them accountable. This can be a tricky enough concept without the added challenge of hybrid workplaces. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Great Place to Work certify companies by surveying their employees and is the global authority on workplace culture. So, as GM for Australia and New Zealand, Samantha Huddle, know's a thing or two about building psychologically safe and caring cultures.Samantha has worked with Great Place to Work in multiple countries and provides valuable insights on organisations of all sizes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shayne Elliott had only been in the role of CEO of ANZ for a year when the Royal Commission into banking was announced, and he was called to respond to complaints from many years before. Looking back now, he can recognise that although it was a very stressful time, he decided to turn it into a brilliant learning opportunity. Not only was Shayne able to learn from what had gone wrong in the past, but he was also able to use these mistakes to build a very strong case for a purpose-led organisation which is something that he is passionate about. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Never one to be a passive observer, Jane Caro is known for speaking what's on her mind, and is bound to shake up the Federal Government should she be successful next month.Jane has a low threshold for boredom. This trait has seen her embrace careers including novelist, lecturer, mentor, social commentator, columnist, workshop facilitator, speaker, broadcaster, and award-winning advertising writer. In 2018 she was awarded a Walkley's Women in Leadership Award. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bob Chapman is the CEO of Barry Wehmiller, which, under his leadership, has grown from a turnover of $20 million to $3 billion. His shareholders have had a return of 15% p.a. for 25 years, and the company now employs 12000 employees. Bob believes that leadership is about caring for those you have the privilege of working with. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Vicki became the CEO in 2018, she faced hard decisions in making sure her Executive Team was made up of the right people. This led to a period of transition, and Vicki was adamant that all those affected were treated with respect and care. Employee numbers have now doubled since her appointment with the organisation.Rest Super, has one of the largest membership bases in Australia. Vicki is passionate about simplifying and demystifying superannuation. She is just as driven to address the imbalance of super balances for women, which currently sees women with 42% less super than men. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Co-Founder and GM of MATE Telecommunications, Mark Fazio sits side by side with his identical twin brother David who is also a co-founder and CEO. They have taken a refreshing approach to business which has really paid off for them. In 2021 MATES won Canstar's “Most Satisfied NBN Customers” award, and “Customer Service Team of the Year”. They have an average service rating 4.5 out of 5. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leslie Chong is the MD & CEO of Imugene, an ASX listed immune-oncology company. Since she joined the company in 2015 its valuation has increased from $12 million to $1.8 billion. This is quite an achievement for a company that has less than 10 full time employees. Leslie and her team work in a very stressful environment, so she is aware of the importance of looking after their mental health. Leslie is a big believer in random acts of kindness. From sending gifts to her team, to calling shareholders to answer their questions personally. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephane Grenier, Founder and Lead Innovator at Mental Health Innovations (MHI) Canada is one of the world's leading authorities on mental health peer support programs. He is also our first international guest on The Caring CEO Podcast. MHI are our North American partners for WeCARE365 - simple scalable programs to prevent mental health issues.Stephane started his career in the Canadian Defence Force where he spent 29 years which included deployments to Rwanda and Afghanistan. Returning with PTSD, he then spent 10 years changing the military mental health system from within. This work and his ongoing work with MHI (introducing peer support programs for several large government departments) earned him an Order of Canada in 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Emma Welsh is the CEO and Co-founder of Emma & Toms. She is also the Country Director - Australia for THINK EQUAL; a NFP global educational program designed to explicitly teach social and emotional intelligence to young children starting in kindergarten.Emma talks about the massive impact that COVID has had on their business, and also the silver linings that came from the pandemic. Emma and business partner Tom believe that businesses should contribute positively to the community which has led them to achieve B Corp accreditation. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr Anthony Howard literally wrote the book on Human-Centred Leadership, after traveling the world to interview leaders to determine what is needed to become an influential and empathetic leader.At 17 Anthony joined the merchant navy, and it was here that he unwittingly found himself acting as a confidant to other men on the ship. Men who found that they could talk with him that they couldn't talk about with anyone else. This then ultimately led him to founding The Confidere Group, consisting of a team of former Chief Executives who act as independent sounding boards to current Chief Executives. He is known widely known as "The CEO Whisperer". He has also recently completed a PhD in leadership, where his research examined new models of human-centred leadership, and founded The Socratic Leader Acadamy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Susannah Le Bron, CEO of The Y NSW is living proof that our HSC results do not define us. Susannah started her career with Qantas, working in customer experience and process transformation roles, and she still carried the strong belief that customers should be at the heart of everything we do in the workplace. In her role as Deputy Secretary of Customer Service Division of Sydney trains her team improved satisfaction from 78% to 90% and she was named one of the 50 most influential women in the Public Sector. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Erica Westbury is the Managing Director of Norwest Recruitment, a multi-award-winning business, which has also ranked 47th in the BRW Fast 100. Erica herself has previously won CEO of the Year with The Executive Connection.The recruitment industry was hit very hard in the early stages of the Covid pandemic, so this was a critical time for Erica, who really went to great lengths to protect the mental health of her staff. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steven Worral is Managing Director of Microsoft Australia and New Zealand, a corporation which was rated as a great place to work by 93% of its employees (via an independent agency). We discuss Steve's insights into why this is the case. He also talks about why he took on a leading role in setting up Corporate Mental Health Alliance Australia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Professor Gary Martin started his career as a primary school teacher, before moving onto senior leadership roles at Murdoch University and is now CEO of the Australian Institute of Management, WA. He is a gifted communicator, thought leader and prolific writer of articles on workplace engagement and building great teams. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.