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.
Richard Harding
Former icare, Tower Insurance New Zealand and TIO, Northern Territory
Richard Harding has been leading strategic change for over 35 years. He has been CEO and Managing Director of 3 different businesses over the past 16 years. Richard has specialised in taking on and leading organisations that need a turnaround, or are in crisis.
Richard’s career has been based on going into distressed underperforming businesses and creating a turn around and transformation both in terms of performance, and strategic clarity on how best to create sustainable value for the stakeholders in the business. In each case he had been the little to no attention paid to ‘culture, strategy and performance of the business’.
In 2021 after significant failure of leadership had led to the public and political sacking of its CEO and the replacement of the Chair of the board, Richard took on the need to revitalise and drive significant change at the NSW public insurer, icare.
“Each organisation I have taken on in the last 15 years has required significant cultural change, the rebuilding of a constructive and growth-oriented way of working that empowers people to make a difference.”
Over his career Richard has worked in financial services sector across Australia, New Zealand and Asia, and has experience in working in the private sector, ASX/NZX listed business as well as in public sector and government organisations.
Now after 35 years working at senior executive levels, Richard is beginning a new phase in life and building a portfolio of Board and advisory work, and seeking to pass on his knowledge and approach to leadership through his business Forefront Leadership.
Freda Behrens
Human Resources Director, Lindt & Sprüngli
** THIS IS PLACEHOLDER TEXT ***
Freda Behrens is the Human Resources Director at Lindt & Sprüngli Australia, where she leads the company’s people and culture strategy with a focus on talent development, leadership and organisational growth. With over a decade of experience in HR and organisational development, Freda is known for her ability to align people strategies with business objectives, fostering high-performing, engaged, and resilient teams.
Freda has worked with Human Synergistics, where the focus was on specialised cultural transformation and leadership development using globally recognised diagnostics such as the Organisational Culture Inventory® (OCI®) and Leadership/Impact® (L/I®). Her background gives her a unique perspective on driving meaningful change—from the boardroom to the front line. Freda is passionate about building constructive workplace cultures and equipping leaders with the tools and mindset needed to unlock the full potential of their people. She is also a skilled facilitator and speaker, known for her practical, insightful, and people-first approach to leadership and culture.
Corinne Canter
Head Of Consulting, Human Synergistics Australia
Corinne is a senior consultant, facilitator and coach with Human Synergistics Australia. Corinne’s experience in leadership and organisations comes from over 25 years in leadership roles in Operations and Human Resources working in telecommunications, finance and construction industries. She is a published author on leadership, culture and innovation.
In 2012 she was Program Director and co-research lead investigating the “Science of Aha” with the University of Technology Neuroscience Research Unit investigating how to teach leaders to increase their capacity for new and innovative thinking leading to more Aha! moments.
Corinne’s passion is helping leaders create impactful collaborative teams, and to increase organisational effectiveness and business performance.
Corinne’s experience at operational and board levels enables her to work with clients that produce effective roadmaps that relieve organisational pressure points, enhance performance and drive sustainable results.
Dominic Gourley
Consultant, Human Synergistics Australia
Dominic is an enthusiastic facilitator, trainer, and coach. Dominic’s purpose is to help people be their best. He aims to do this by making the theories around thinking, behaviour, and culture, straight forward and practical so they can be accessible and experienced by everyone.
Coming from a corporate background, Dominic understands the realities of what goes on inside organisations. Before joining Human Synergistics, Dominic worked for Maersk Line – the world’s largest container shipping line. Joining as a Management trainee in New Zealand, Dominic went to work in regional roles in Shanghai, China and globally responsible roles at the company’s headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Dominic has consulted to a range of clients in different industries, with different needs, and at different organisational levels. Dominic has worked with Technology companies on their high potential individual development programs, manufacturing leadership group on team dynamics, a medical university on their culture development, and executive teams on individual and team coaching. Dominic also volunteers his time for the CareerTrackers Indigenous Internship program. Dominic works with their students to build their capabilities and mindset to set them up to be successful in their internships and careers.
Dominic is the host of Human Synergistics’ Culture Bites podcast, He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Psychology at Macquarie University.
Speaker To Be Announced
Position, Company
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
Speaker To Be Announced
Position, Company
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
How Culture Works
What does ‘culture’ really mean, how does it work, and what impact does it have on performance? Take an interactive journey to get an overview of how culture works.
Our Integrated Approach
Our Integrated Diagnostic System uses the Circumplex to display visual feedback for individuals, teams, managers, leaders, and organisations, enabling you to use a common language at all levels.
Case Studies
Find out how other organisations are creating change and achieving results.