In episode 28, Luke sits down with Simone Carroll, one of Australia's leading Chief People Officer's and the current Executive Director of People and Culture at Alinta Energy. With over 25 years of experience in HR and 15 years in C-suite positions, Simone has successfully led high-performing teams and contributed to market leadership at prominent organisations such as REA Group, Vicinity, and Wesfarmers. Tune in for an inspiring conversation that delves into leadership, transformation, and how to create enduring success with both strategic foresight and emotional intelligence.
Deep dive into the sharp, creative and curious mind of Blaise Witnish, CEO USA & Chief Growth Officer of Funlab the market leading Entertainment company head quartered in Melbourne, Australia and a footprint across NZ and the now the USA. Hosted by Luke Marshall, the conversation unpacks the state of the hospitality and entertainment industry, what it's like staying fun and innovating even though you are owned by a global Private Equity company and how radically authentic, passionate and above all human leadership can transform your organisation. Blaise doesnât shy away from discussing the gritty realities of leadership. Highlighting the importance of empowering your team to think big and take risks, even if it means facing failure head-on.
In this episode, host Luke Marshall engages in a deep conversation with Adam Pay, a CEO who began his career as an auto technician and worked his way up to leading Mycar. The discussion covers Adamâs unique journey, which is becoming increasingly rare in todayâs business landscape. Adam shares the challenges he faced, including taking steps backward to move forward, and how this experience helped him gain a deep understanding of the business from the ground up. The podcast delves into leadership insights, balancing operational and strategic roles, and the importance of staying close to the front line. The episode is a compelling narrative about resilience, growth, and leading with a customer-centric mindset in a rapidly changing industry.
On this episode we delve deep into the world of 'culture'. The elusive topic that has CEOs and HR practitioners both mystified and clear in equal measure. Is it back to the office, Hybrid or Remote and does any of that really matter? In a world where screens are more common place and everything looks ubiquitous, how do companies build tangible differentiators that employees can quantify. To unpack these very topics we are joined by renowned social scientist Nigel Dalton, Co-Founder of Culture Amp Douglas English and Partner at transformation consultancy Neu21 Bia Affonso. This is one not to be missed!
Interviewing Australia's #1 CEO as voted by The The CEO Magazine Global didn't disappoint. John Winning's story has been well documented but I'm not sure anyone has gone into the why behind the business. I delve deep into the evolution of Winning Group from a Retail business that uses neuroscience to make decisions to an 'experience business' that focusses on people, communities and the planet. After meeting John, I was in little doubt as to why he won the award and many other awards. His story is extraordinary but what has stuck with me is his relentless pursuit of using data to inform decision making in all aspects of his business and life. His success is the result of compounding decisions deeply based on factual evidence, overlayed wi
In today special episode for International Women's Day, Managing Partner, Luke Marshall explores the extraordinary story of Kerri Wane, CEO of San Churro, as she shares her dynamic career spanning hospitality, fashion, and franchise. Kerri's career has been defined by taking calculated risks and getting out of her comfort zone, no better example of this than her experience in India as a 23 year old HR Director for Dominos as they expanded in the region. Kerri shares her leadership principles, driven by vision, purpose, care, authenticity, passion, and integrity and guiding San Churro to become Australia's beloved sweet treat experience as they look to double their footprint in Australia and New Zealand. With a background in psychology, a
On this episode Luke sits down with the CEO of David Jones, Scott Fyfe and explore his career journey where we dive deep into arguably the biggest challenge of his incredible career as CEO of the iconic Australian department store. Under new ownership and renewed investment, Scott paints the vision for the future, takes us through the road map to success and is candid about just how much time, effort and energy it's going to take. You will get an authentic look at being a CEO, what steps he took to get there and view on new revenue streams DJs are exploring in Media and Digital.
Retail is an industry made up of personalities, people leaders and change makers. In this episode we meet someone who embodies all that Retail means and offers, the Divisional CEO at Accent Group, Armando Pedruco. Starting his career on the shop floor and rising quickly to become an AFR Executive of the Year, Armando has delivered outcomes wherever he has led teams. Known for his engaging style, passion and energy, Armando takes us on his career journey that has found him arriving at the C-Suite in a time when disruption and ambiguity is at it's peak. For all aspiring and arriving Retail executives this is a passion fuelled episode not to be missed.
Success at the C-suite level isnât just about experience, itâs about how leaders think, act, and inspire. After placing hundreds of executive leaders, one pattern is clear, the most effective leaders consistently demonstrate five critical traits. While technical expertise and industry knowledge matter, what truly sets apart high-impact executives is their ability to lead with clarity, decisiveness, adaptability, talent magnetism, and resilience. Hereâs what the best C-suite leaders have in common:
Ever worked under a manager who was great at their job, but not great at leading people? Or watched as a technically brilliant manager got promoted, only for their gaps in leadership and commercial acumen to become painfully obvious? It happens all the time!
For many executives, the decision to change roles is driven by title and compensation. A bigger title, a step up in prestige, or a lucrative compensation package can be tempting. But focusing solely on these factors is the wrong approach. The real question should be: "Will this role expand my strategic impact?"
Succession planning isnât just about preparing for the inevitable, itâs about creating a competitive advantage. Companies that treat leadership continuity as a strategic priority, rather than a reactive necessity, consistently outperform their peers. As an executive search consultant specialising in talent mapping and intelligence, Iâve seen how integrating external market insights into succession planning ensures companies arenât just ready for change, theyâre ahead of it.
Private equity-backed businesses operate in a high-stakes, high-velocity environment. They are built for growth, value creation, and, ultimately, a strategic exit. The leaders who thrive in this ecosystem arenât just experienced operators - they are transformational executives with a unique blend of skills and mindset.
In private equity, a successful acquisition is about more than just financials, it's about the leadership team that will drive growth and create long-term value. One often-overlooked aspect of the due diligence process is assessing whether the leadership team can execute on the vision. This is where external talent mapping and benchmarking come in.
If youâre an executive looking for your next leadership role, relying on job boards or LinkedIn postings wonât get you far. The reality is that 80% of executive roles are never publicly advertised.
Over the past 5 years Emu Search has had the privilege of working with some truly great CEOs, whoâve distinguished themselves by not just achieving financial targets or managing operations superbly (although this helpsâŠ) but by engaging expertly and effectively with their stakeholder groups. This engagement helps align everyone with the company's vision and strategic goals. Here's why it's so important.
A study by Harvard Business Review found that between 50-70% of executives fail within 18 months of their appointment. Further research from the Corporate Executive Board states that âof those, about 3% fail spectacularly, while nearly 50% quietly struggleâ. These stats are concerning and should prompt business leaders and Boards to re-evaluate their executive recruitment process. This is particularly important in todayâs challenging macroeconomic context where a key executive hire can mean the difference between business success and failure.
Me: âWhen do you need to hire this person?â Client: âYesterday!â Sound familiar? Over more than ten years of recruiting across the US and APAC, I've heard the same response 9 times out of 10. The struggle is real! Vacancies at any level can mess up business operations and stress out employees. But when those vacancies are in senior leadership or executive positions, it can seriously disrupt business continuity and achievement of key strategic goals.
In the first of our âmarket analysisâ series, Managing Partner, Luke Marshall, looks at how to better align your hiring process with the evolving expectations of top-tier executives, to ensure you get the hire you want. Donât leave it to chance, listen, evolve and go the extra mileâŠ
This week we sat down with Ed Michelsberg, Managing Partner and Private Equity Lead at Emu. In this interview he shares his insights into whatâs needed for a successful search in the PE industry - from both a client and candidate perspective. We explore the current interest in PE/VC leadership roles, the qualities required to succeed in a leadership role and predictions for the industry over the next 12 months.
In this monthâs quick-fire Partner check in, we sit down with the man who steers our Emu ship and keeps us on track and accountable every day. Dom Cara. Dom is one of our Managing Partners and COO, and with over 25 yearsâ experience in the Search industry, he knows a thing or two about people, executive search and how to find that perfect business/individual match when hiring. Dom knows how to stay cool, calm and collected and is always the first to check in to see how you are going. He also doesnât mind a dress up, which we love.
Will Kinkead may have only just joined the Emu team, but he is already bringing his passion and knowledge on executive research and Talent Intelligence, and opening doors for innovation and growth. He gives us his top three reasons every executive search will benefit from investing in a research and talent mapping.
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Establishing a successful customer-first strategy is not as easy as you may think. Â Many organisations purport to be focused on the customer journey and customer outcomes, while more often than not it's more of an after-thought.
Weâre currently experiencing a seismic shift in the way we work. Leaders now have an extraordinary opportunity to reconsider, redefine and reinvent how teams work, how they engage with them and how businesses operate.
Throughout last year, we saw a number of significant growth industries across the tech sector, particularly around companies developing new business models and revenue streams as a direct response to the challenges of COVID-19.
There are many companies that regard Diversity & Inclusion as a source of competitive advantage, a way to expand beyond the narrow realms and perspectives the company has operated, create untapped market potential by embracing new ideas and change.
Itâs been well documented that the role of the CMO and even the term âmarketingâ might not encompass all that is expected of a Marketing executive in the digital age. In just one recent example of the evolution of Marketing, we see ex-Uber CMO Steve Brennen switch to Fintech disruptors Zip Co in a newly created role of CCO (Chief Customer Officer).
