Conference-Speakers-2025
Conference Speakers
We are thrilled to bring you such a great group of speakers from across Australia sharing their journeys toward constructive culture and leadership in TedX style micro shares. Learn from CEOs and leaders from a diverse range of backgrounds, industries, and challenges, as they share their successes, learnings and future focus.
Tayn Pavelic
Vice President, Global Leadership Development, Marriott International
Tayn is the Global Vice President of Leadership Development at Marriott International. With over 20 years of experience across consulting and the private sector, he brings deep expertise in strategic leadership development, transformational change, talent strategy, end-to-end learning and development, and executive coaching.
Based in the Washington, D.C. area, Tayn’s global career has included senior leadership roles in the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Australia—equipping him with rich cross-cultural insight and extensive experience leading global and regional teams.
At Marriott International, Tayn oversees executive and leadership development across the global enterprise. He also leads Marriott’s award-winning early careers programs, nurturing the next generation of hospitality leaders. Marriott International is the world’s largest hospitality company with 37 brands, operations in 144 countries and territories, and more than 9,300 properties.
Driven by a passion for creating impactful developmental experiences, Tayn is committed to empowering individuals and organisations to grow, adapt, and lead effectively in a rapidly evolving world.
Richard Harding
Former icare, Tower Insurance New Zealand and TIO, Northern Territory
Richard Harding has over 35 years of experience leading strategic change, including CEO and Managing Director roles in three organisations over the past 16 years. He specialises in turning around underperforming or crisis-hit businesses.
His focus has been on transforming distressed organisations by restoring performance and clarifying strategy to deliver lasting value. Often, these businesses had neglected culture, strategy, and execution before his leadership.
In 2021, Richard stepped in to lead major reform at NSW public insurer icare, following the high-profile departure of its CEO and Chair.
“Every organisation I’ve led in the past 15 years has needed deep cultural renewal — rebuilding a constructive, empowered environment where people can make a real difference.”
He has worked across financial services in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, with experience spanning private enterprise, ASX/NZX-listed firms, and public sector organisations.
Now, Richard is building a portfolio of board and advisory roles, sharing his leadership philosophy through his business, Forefront Leadership.
Robyn Rodrigues
People & Culture Manager, Lindt & Sprüngli Australia
Robyn Rodrigues is a dynamic People & Culture Manager with a proven track record of leading cultural transformation and elevating leadership impact through evidence-based frameworks. At Lindt & Sprüngli Australia, she led the three-year rollout of the The Life Styles Inventory™ (LSI), embedding constructive leadership behaviours into the fabric of the organisation. This work was instrumental in shifting the culture from passive and aggressive styles to a highly constructive leadership team – driving greater engagement, trust, and performance at all levels.
With over 15 years of experience in human resources, organisational development, and culture strategy, Robyn brings both depth and agility to her work. She is a passionate advocate for self-awareness and personal accountability, partnering closely with senior leaders to challenge outdated mindsets, build leadership capability, and unlock team potential.
Robyn is known for translating bold ideas into practical, business-aligned actions, designing programs and initiatives that genuinely connect with people. Her leadership is grounded in curiosity, courage, and a firm belief that lasting culture change starts from within—and that when leaders grow, so does the business.
Freda Behrens
Human Resources Director, Lindt & Sprüngli
With more than two decades of service in Human Resources, Freda Behrens, has played a pivotal role in shaping the HR landscape at Lindt & Sprüngli (Australia) Pty Ltd. Her journey began with a passion for fostering an inclusive and dynamic workplace where individuals and teams can thrive.
As the Human Resources Director, Freda has led numerous initiates aimed at enhancing the employee engagement and championing organisational culture. By aligning HR practices with broader business goals, she has been an advocate for continuous improvement and has driven transformations that have positively impacted the Lindt team.
In addition to her strategic initiatives, Freda has been instrumental in managing critical events and supporting employees through challenging times. Her empathetic approach and effective crisis management skills have ensured that people are well supported during periods of change and uncertainty.
Dedicated to empowering the next generation of Lindt HR professionals, Freda ensures they are equipped with the knowledge and skills to success in their careers.
Shannon Psaila
Head of People Experience & Transformation, David Jones
Shannon Psaila is a strategic, commercially focused leader in Organisational Development and HR Transformation, with over 20 years of experience driving systemic change across organisations of varying scale and complexity. She brings deep expertise in transforming all aspects of the employee experience – including culture, leadership, performance, and organisational design, with a clear focus on achieving measurable commercial outcomes. Shannon has held senior roles at leading organisations such as Toyota Motor Corporation, Australia Post, and currently serves as Head of People Experience & Transformation at David Jones. In this role, she leads the enterprise-wide people experience strategy, delivering practical, business-aligned solutions that enhance leadership effectiveness and support long-term organisational performance.
Julie Hannah
People Experience Lead – Capability
Julie Hannah is a passionate and experienced Learning & Development leader with over 20 years of experience across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. Known for her energy, strategic mindset, and ability to build strong relationships, she brings a practical approach to designing and delivering high-impact capability programs that drive performance, engagement, and business results. Julie has led major initiatives across retail, beverages, and community sectors, including enterprise-wide learning strategies, leadership development, and capability frameworks aligned to business goals. An accredited Human Synergistics practitioner for over 10 years, she integrates culture and mindset tools to support lasting behavioural change. Currently, she brings her expertise to David Jones as a People Experience Lead – Capability.
David Byrum - HOST
Managing Director, Human Synergistics Australia,
David is a commercially astute, pragmatic leader known for challenging the status quo. He helps clients build capability and align systems for lasting performance improvement.
Before joining Human Synergistics, David was a principal partner at Kepner Tregoe, where he held senior roles including Regional Managing Director (Australasia) and Representative Director (Japan). He began his career with Pilkington PLC in Australia and the UK and brings over 30 years of cross-sector experience — from boardroom to frontline.
David starts with a simple question: what’s driving change, and will it make the organisation stronger? Whether lifting OEE, reducing processing times, or improving service, he enables teams to perform at their best. His data-driven approach aligns roles and responsibilities to foster clarity and collaboration.
He’s led post-merger integrations, due diligence projects, and major initiatives — from capital works and product launches to transformation programs. David also designs coaching and training that embed behavioural change and mentors emerging leaders.
As Managing Director of Human Synergistics Australia, he coaches boards and executive teams to improve effectiveness through constructive behaviours. His sessions combine self-discovery with practical tools that drive real results.
During the pandemic, David helped clients adapt quickly while keeping Human Synergistics responsive and future-focused. His strategic approach has delivered outcomes for clients including ASIC, Red Cross, Telstra, IBM, Cisco, Airbus, Royal Australian Navy, and Rio Tinto.
David holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from the University of Sydney, an MBA from Deakin University, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He also sits on the Human Synergistics Australia board.
Ash Smith
Senior Consultant, Human Synergistics Australia
With a background in global leadership and organisational change, Ash is a strategic thinker known for achieving tangible outcomes. He brings extensive experience from a broad career spanning a number of senior GMHR roles with APT, Carter Holt Harvey, Ansett Air/ New Zealand and the RAA.
Ashleigh has developed his competitive edge in the consulting space over 10 years with LeadHR. After 16 years working in the corporate space with some of Australia’s largest and more complex businesses alongside a number of global consulting firms, he launched LeadHR to develop and deliver targeted solutions and change outcomes. Ashleigh has implemented Cultural, Leadership, Team and Strategic Business solutions to great effect across a wide variety of industries and his approach to work closely with key stakeholders ensures sustainable improvements whilst increasing internal capability. This included supporting many ASX Top 100’s such as NAB, BHP, Westfarmers, Australia Post and Fosters right through to over 100 x SME organisations.
Ashleigh’s areas of expertise at an organisational level includes strategy development, cultural transformation, employee engagement, and change management methodology. His skills at an individual level comprises of executive coaching, leadership development, and professional development.
As well as holding Bachelor of Business degree (Human Resource) and postgraduate qualifications in Organisational Development, Ashleigh is accredited in DISC, MBTI, and the full suite of Human Synergistics tools.
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Our Integrated Approach
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Case Studies
Find out how other organisations are creating change and achieving results.