The Team
Sam Fernando - Director
Sam has 20 years of business experience within the Learning and Development and Organisational Development fields. Her consulting experience crosses the financial, professional service, banking and executive education fields both within Australia and Asia. Sam held Head of Learning & Development roles within Minter Ellison, Freehills, and Mallesons Stephen Jacques, with national responsibilities. Accredited in MBTI, Belbin Team Roles, Firo-B and Genos Emotional Intelligence, and with coaching certifications, Sam is currently completing her Masters in Integrative and Transformative studies.
An experienced individual and team coach with a passion for creating extraordinary team performance, Sam has deep subject matter expertise in the design and development of key learning & development and OD initiatives, with a focus on people, self-leadership, adaptation leadership and leadership development.
Erica Edmands - Director
With degrees in law and labour relations/economics from University of Melbourne, as well as coaching certifications, post graduate qualifications in finance and accreditation in Genos Emotional Intelligence, Erica has 20 years business experience spanning law, professional services, government, banking, financial services and manufacturing. Commencing her career as an EEO and Diversity Lawyer with Freehills, Erica later held Head of Human Resources roles with Comalco Smelting and Minter Ellison and was Associate Director of Australia's leading work life and diversity consultancies, working within Australia and Asia.
A sought after facilitator, commentator and speaker on diversity, self leadership and resilience, Erica has appeared on ABC radio and television and written many opinion pieces for major newspapers and journals and is contributing author to published texts on mental health in the workplace and resilience.
Jenny Bailey - Associate
Jenny has a passion for guiding and supporting people to achieve their full potential and for enhancing the effectiveness of teams and organisations. She has significant experience within organisations at senior executive level in cultural change, leadership and sustainability across a diverse range of sectors including; natural resources, professional services, utilities, mining, oil & gas, manufacturing, financial services and consumer markets. Jenny has developed deep capabilities in the successful application of cultural transformation processes and Requisite Organisations – a science based organisational management methodology.
Jenny has a deep understanding of the environmental, sustainability and climate change dilemmas (and opportunities) organisations face today having developed and implemented practical solutions to environmental challenges at Rio Tinto and other consulting assignments. What makes Jenny truly unique in this space is her ability to translate this complex work into practical and achievable solutions for all individuals and organisations. Her extensive work experience is supported by degrees in Engineering, Environmental Science and an MBA from Melbourne Business School.
Julie Birtles - Associate
Julie Birtles mentors visionaries and leaders who are deeply committed to creating a better world. They hold powerful positions of corporate, social and political influence and are being called to play a role in humanity’s transformation. Recognising the interconnected and highly complex web of dynamic systems that support our way of life, they acknowledge the pivotal functions of business and commerce in creating a regenerative society that supports the needs of current and future generations.
Kate Crawshaw - Associate
Kate has over 10 years international business experience in Australia, Dubai and the UK. With a background in marketing, communications and knowledge management Kate’s consulting work focuses on online technologies that facilitate communication, collaboration, knowledge sharing, innovation and thus employee engagement.
Her international experience includes working for large corporates and professional service organisations such a British Telecom, British Sky Broadcasting, Minter Ellison, WSP Environmental and Headshift. Upon her return to Australia, Kate helped establish the Australian presence of Headshift and then joined Erica and Sam to co-create Potential Spaces. Working in strategic Knowledge Management and Communication roles Kate collaborates with organisations to develop methodologies which encouraged people to fully embrace the power of social software technologies, designing platforms to support R&D, knowledge sharing, communities of practice, learning and development initiatives and employee engagement programs.
Dr Richard David Hames - Associate
Dr Richard David Hames, Distinguished Professor of Dhurakig Pundit University, Thailand, is a corporate philosopher, author and knowledge designer. Working at the interface between organisations and society, he is widely considered to be amongst the world's most influential intellectuals and strategic futurists. Richard is the lead designer for the State of the World Forum 2009 in Washington and keynote speaker at the upcoming Victorian Government’s Working with Climate Change and Adaptation Symposium in June 2009.
Dr Richard Harmer - Associate
Richard is the Executive Director of The Holos Group. Richard is a strategic advisor for whole-system shift in organisations, governments and communities both in Australia and internationally. Richard is an organisational and health psychologist having completed his Masters degree at Swinburne University of Technology in 2003 (conferred in 2004). Richard also has a PhD in spirituality and individual identity development at Australian Catholic University. Richard has a strong background in business development, strategic sales and key account management. He is also an experienced executive coach and accomplished workplace facilitator.
Dr. Tricia Hiley - Associate
Dr. Tricia Hiley is a passionate learner and educator committed to fostering participatory learning practices that enable social transformation. She specialises in appreciative, action/reflection-based inquiry and research and is a regular contributor to international gatherings in this arena. She is a key developer of and leader in the oases Graduate School, Community Learning and Research Centre, a new entrant to higher education in Australia offering postgraduate studies in integration and transformation through practices which integrate the aesthetic, spiritual, ecological and social domains.
Terry Lee - Associate
Terry Lee is Director of Leadership Psychology Australia. He is a leadership and organisational change consultant, coach and educator, whose client list includes senior executive teams from leading Australian and international companies. He has been a registered practising psychologist for over 25 years. Terry was formerly Head of Leadership at the Mt Eliza Business School. He also designed and directed the Advanced Management Program, the business school's flagship executive development program.
David Meale - Associate
David Meale is an experienced executive coach and regular presenter on leadership development programs. With a special interest in helping leading professionals develop beyond their technical expertise, David has worked with chief executives, chairmen and partners of some of Australia’s leading professional services firms. He is accredited in MBTI®, FIRO-B® and several Persona Global® instruments and a member of the adjunct faculty of the Australian Graduate School of Management.
David is a qualified lawyer and was a partner of a leading Australian law firm for ten years. For eight of those years, he was the firm’s staff partner and in that role played a key part in the growth and development of the firm and many talented people within it.
William S. Nettlefold - Associate
Bill Nettlefold is a specialist in the areas of corporate health, personal development and stress and lifestyle management. With 30 years in the area of corporate health and lifestyle, he believes that people respond best to healthy living messages when the messages are spiced with a dose of humour and a sprinkle of irreverence.
His business designs, develops and implements health and wellbeing programs and a wide range of innovative worksite health and safety and health promotion products and materials, both for Australia and overseas markets.
Bill has been an Associate member of the Directing Staff at Monash Mt Eliza Business School for many years and regularly presents workshops and seminars to business groups. On the sporting front, he played AFL football for Richmond, North Melbourne and Melbourne, and was a member of the North Melbourne 1977 Premiership Team.
Dr Katie Spearrit - Associate
Dr Katie Spearritt, the Director of Diversity Partners and associate of Potential Spaces, is one of the most experienced equity and diversity leaders in the Australian private sector. Katie’s strength is her ability to connect specific business strategies with diversity goals. Through her facilitation and coaching, many senior executives have developed a deep insight and understanding of contemporary diversity issues and solutions to enhance their business goals. Katie has worked in senior leadership roles in Australia and Asia across a range of industry sectors. She has worked with Hewlett Packard, Coles Group Ltd, NAB and BHP, and consulted to Goldman Sachs, Allens Arthur Robinson, and Australia Post. She is a Board Member of the Mental Health Council of Australia, where she leads the Business Engagement sub-committee. She holds a PhD in Business & Economics from Monash University, Melbourne and has strong networks within the business, academic and not-for-profit sectors.
Marc Stigter - Associate
Marc Stigter assists leaders and their organisations in transforming strategy into action. He also offers leading-edge insights and practices in the concept of employee engagement as an important enabler in making strategies happen. These insights have been gained both as a global practitioner at executive level and as a research academic at doctorate level. Marc previously worked at Shell in executive positions in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, including as Country Chairman in Yemen. Marc is an Associate Director at Melbourne Business School where he directs the school's flagship Advanced Management Program.
Graeme A Taylor - Associate
Graeme A Taylor Managing Director and Principal at Hudson Taylor Pty Ltd is a consultant in strategy, strategic marketing, and leadership and change management. Graeme is the former Head of the Global Strategy Centre at Mt Eliza Business School where he spent more than a decade consulting and program directing in executive education and teaching on MBA programs. Graeme’s consulting expertise lies in the identification and application of strategy and its alignment with culture and the leadership needed to drive it. He has extensive experience in strategy, culture and communication issues in both the public and private sectors. In recent years he has worked in Australia , Japan , USA , China and the United Kingdom .
Christine Wang - Associate
Christine Wang is a Senior Partner of Leadership Psychology Australia. She has more than 15 years of experience in designing, delivering leadership development programs in China and Asia Pacific region. She has chaired the American Chamber of Commerce HR Committee in Guangdong for three years and teaches the MBA program for Zhongshan University. Collaborating with Potential Spaces, Christine designs and delivers leadership development training programs for multinational companies and Chinese companies who operate in China and South East Asia.
Leon Zimmerman - Associate
Leon Zimmerman is an advisor and teacher who has worked with leading Australian and international companies at the most senior levels as well as prominent universities.
As an advisor to senior managers, Leon focuses on ‘taking organisations and individuals into the future; i.e. developing the qualities of mind necessary for successful strategic thinking, and facilitating individuals to reach beyond their perceived limitations and explore untapped potential. He also works with clients in devising future scenarios to help prepare organisations to move forward, and in building customer-focused strategies by shifting away from conventional marketing. Leon regularly acts in the role of facilitator for strategic board discussions. A former head of the Management School at Swinburne University, Leon has also taught at the Stanford University (US), Delft University (Netherlands), the Cranfield School of Management (UK), the Graduate Schools of Management at the University of Melbourne, and the Norwegian School of Management.