Minutes by boardcycle: Directors | Executives | Governance

Boardcycle
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The Minutes podcast by Boardcycle brings snappy insights and and bite-sized learnings from the boardroom to you. Our host, Richard Conway, interviews Australia’s most prominent boardroom leaders on: • how they approach making an organisation’s mission-critical decisions • how they forged their boardroom careers • practical tips and advice on working with, and as part of, a board. With each episode less than 20 minutes, directors, executives and governance professionals alike can learn from the best that Australia’s boards have to offer. www.boardcycle.com

  1. Effective Transformation Governance with Julie Coates, Director, Scentre Group & Wesfarmers & Former CEO, CSR

    May 30

    Effective Transformation Governance with Julie Coates, Director, Scentre Group & Wesfarmers & Former CEO, CSR

    "All transformation should come from strategy." - Julie Coates Julie Coates, Director of Wesfarmers and Scentre Group, led the OneCSR transformation programme as CEO and Managing Director of CSR Limited — a programme that contributed directly to CSR's acquisition by Saint-Gobain at a significant premium. In this episode, Julie explains the governance architecture she put in place: the board's oversight role, the management board's accountability for driving change, a steering committee chaired by Julie herself, and the program office that ran all individual projects. Drawing on her current NED experience, she also explains what non-executive directors should be focused on when overseeing a transformation — and why the quality of questions asked in the boardroom matters more than most directors appreciate. _______________ Note: Julie Coates was interviewed in September 2025. Since this interview, Julie has ceased to be a director of the Green Building Council of Australia and been appointed as a director of Scentre Group. ________________ Follow Podcast Host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Conway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle website

    15 min
  2. Practical Board Planning in an Uncertain World with Greg Ridder, Chair, Life Without Barriers & Kogan.com

    May 16

    Practical Board Planning in an Uncertain World with Greg Ridder, Chair, Life Without Barriers & Kogan.com

    "There's an inherent danger that we lapse into just being operational." - Greg Ridder Greg Ridder, Chair of Kogan.com, Life Without Barriers and Bridge It, and Director of the PNG Sustainable Development Program, discusses how to build board forward plans that add real value when the planning environment keeps shifting. Greg explains why the drift from strategic thinking into pure operational focus is a genuine governance risk — and what distinguishes a planning process that keeps the board looking beyond the horizon from one that just manages what's immediately in front of it. He shares what he actually asks company secretaries to put together for the coming 12 months, how he structures the board cycle to ensure major decisions don't arrive as fully-formed proposals, and why the most useful thing a company secretary can do when forward planning feels futile is pay attention to the quality of their relationship with the chair. ________________ Follow Podcast Host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Conway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle website

    12 min
  3. Governing Across Borders and Cultures with Audette Exel AO, Chair & Founder, Adara Group & Former Director, Westpac & Suncorp

    May 2

    Governing Across Borders and Cultures with Audette Exel AO, Chair & Founder, Adara Group & Former Director, Westpac & Suncorp

    "There's a real risk to fall into the trap of believing... 'Oh, that's just how it's done there.'"— Audette Exel AO Governing across borders is not just a compliance exercise — it requires a clear view of where global standards must hold firm, and where local knowledge must lead. Audette Exel AO has been doing this for nearly three decades through Adara Group, which operates across Australia, Nepal, Uganda, and Bermuda, and through board roles at Westpac and Suncorp. In this episode, she talks through the real differences between governing large institutions and small purpose-driven organisations, the practical challenges of oversight in low-infrastructure environments, and why she believes local teams are not just an operational necessity but a governance priority. ________________ Follow Podcast Host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Conway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle website

    15 min
  4. GSE Over ESG with Catherine Livingstone AC, Chair, Pacific National & Director, Saluda Medical & The Australian Ballet

    Apr 18

    GSE Over ESG with Catherine Livingstone AC, Chair, Pacific National & Director, Saluda Medical & The Australian Ballet

    "By starting with governance - defining it as the strategic side of governance, not the control side - you lift everything up." - Catherine Livingstone AC Catherine Livingstone AC, Chancellor of UTS, Chair of Pacific National and former Chair of the Commonwealth Bank, Telstra and CSIRO, explains why the way organisations frame ESG shapes the quality of every conversation that follows. Catherine's argument isn't just about semantics. When governance sits at the end of the acronym, it signals that G is smaller in scope - and in practice, that means E and S get managed through a compliance lens rather than a strategic one. In this episode, she walks through the governance definition she uses (direction, control and people), why compliance requirements for E and S are inherently narrow and backward-looking, and what boards need to do differently - at the agenda level, the resource level and the performance metrics level - to make environmental and social priorities genuinely stick. ________________ Follow Podcast Host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Conway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle website

    9 min
  5. Risk as Currency in Deep Tech with Phil Morle, Partner, Main Sequence Ventures; Chair, v2food, Samsara Eco, Eden Brew & Nourish Ingredients

    Apr 4

    Risk as Currency in Deep Tech with Phil Morle, Partner, Main Sequence Ventures; Chair, v2food, Samsara Eco, Eden Brew & Nourish Ingredients

    "Risk is a currency in these businesses, and we just need to work with it." - Phil Morle Phil Morle, Partner at Main Sequence Ventures and Chair of v2food, Samsara Eco, Eden Brew and Nourish Ingredients, shares how he approaches risk governance across multiple deep tech companies built on scientific breakthroughs. Phil explains why the most valuable venture-backed companies are inherently the riskiest, how boards can use structured risk tolerance exercises to align directors, and why traditional approaches to board decision-making can be dangerously expensive in fast-burning startups. He discusses practical techniques for breaking down large, high-stakes decisions into smaller commitments that allow boards to retire risk progressively rather than facing a single make-or-break moment. ________________ Follow Podcast Host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Conway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle website

    12 min
  6. The Strategic Company Secretary Mindset with Anthony Wright, Former GC & CoSec, Transpacific Industries & Director, CPA Australia

    Mar 21

    The Strategic Company Secretary Mindset with Anthony Wright, Former GC & CoSec, Transpacific Industries & Director, CPA Australia

    "The company secretariat role is fascinating because you get to hear and see so much — you don't just read the outcomes of a meeting." - Anthony Wright Anthony Wright knows the Company Secretary role from the inside. He was General Counsel and Company Secretary at Transpacific Industries before making the move to Head of Strategy, then founded and exited his own legal operations and technology business, Lexvoco, in 2019. He now chairs Hanlon Industries and sits on the board of CPA Australia. In this episode, Anthony shares what it takes for a Company Secretary to be seen as a genuine strategic partner rather than an administrator. He talks about building credibility through technical excellence first, then using that platform to build relationships, ask better questions, and start contributing to — not just recording — the conversations that matter. He also shares a practical mechanism one of his organisations uses to give the CoSec team a formal voice in every meeting review, and explains why the biggest barrier to CoSec career growth is usually the CoSec themselves. ________________ Follow Podcast Host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Conway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle website

    14 min
  7. Balancing Representation & Risk on NFP Boards with Mike Gonski, Chair, ReachOut Australia & Carriageworks

    Mar 7

    Balancing Representation & Risk on NFP Boards with Mike Gonski, Chair, ReachOut Australia & Carriageworks

    "I think dealing with risk is really hard - especially without good experience or mentors around you." - Mike Gonski NFP chair and Herbert Smith Freehills partner Mike Gonski addresses the governance tension at the heart of many not-for-profit boards: how to give voice to the people your organisation exists to serve, while managing the very real risks that come with putting inexperienced directors in governance roles. Mike shares what ReachOut learned from its experiment with mandated youth board membership, what effective observer programs actually look like, and why the "empty chair" concept has genuine merit without the governance complications of a board seat. ________________ Follow Podcast Host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Conway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle website

    16 min
  8. Preparing for and Managing Company Exits with Peter James, former Chair, Nearmap & Ansarada; former Director, iiNet

    Feb 21

    Preparing for and Managing Company Exits with Peter James, former Chair, Nearmap & Ansarada; former Director, iiNet

    "The best way to sell a company is to run it properly." - Peter James Peter James, former Chair of Nearmap and Ansarada and former Director of iiNet, shares what it actually takes to prepare a company for an exit and how to manage the process when one is underway. Drawing from his experience guiding multiple companies through acquisitions and takeovers, Peter explains why the strategic plan is his primary benchmark for evaluating any offer, how to keep management focused on running the business during a transaction, and what he looks for from a Company Secretary when the pressure is on. ________________ Follow Podcast Host ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Conway⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on LinkedIn Visit the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠boardcycle website

    15 min
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About

The Minutes podcast by Boardcycle brings snappy insights and and bite-sized learnings from the boardroom to you. Our host, Richard Conway, interviews Australia’s most prominent boardroom leaders on: • how they approach making an organisation’s mission-critical decisions • how they forged their boardroom careers • practical tips and advice on working with, and as part of, a board. With each episode less than 20 minutes, directors, executives and governance professionals alike can learn from the best that Australia’s boards have to offer. www.boardcycle.com

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