Business In Colour

In this episode of Business in Colour, we bring you a different kind of leadership - the grassroots and community leadership of Melissa Monteiro, who is the CEO of the Community Migrant Resource Centre and the author of The Girl from Mumbai - please grab yourself a copy here: https://www.melissamonteiro.com/ Melissa walks us through her journey from Mumbai to Australia and how she has along with others, created impact on individual lives and advocated for change at a systemic level through strategic relationships and Board roles. She shares some gold advice too, for women of colour charting their leadership journey, around strategic positioning, environmental scanning and creating influence. Her call to action for others looking into the worlds of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers, is to choose love not fear. Please enjoy the humanistic grassroots leadership of, Melissa Monteiro.

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Caitlin Figueiredo ) is a proud multicultural woman, social entrepreneur and activist. At 22 she was listed on the Forbes 30 Under 30. She currently sits on three United Nations Task Forces and was named an Obama White House Changemaker for Gender Equality by Michelle Obama and a Queens Young Leader. A globally renowned gender equality activist, Caitlin is ranked alongside Gloria Steinem and Chelsea Clinton, as an influencer to 18.5 million women from over 196 countries. Sadhana and I were in awe of her accomplishments, but also warmed by her grounded sense of reality. She makes us hopeful for what this generation of leaders can do. Please enjoy listening to Caitlin Figueiredo. (“”Fig-ar-ey-do

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Have you ever wondered who the next generation of politicians will be and will we attract talented young women given the current landscape? In this podcast Div and I speak to Lucy Skelton, a remarkable young woman who is determined to become a politician. She already has an outstanding resume. Founding her first business at the young age of 15, starting an online student voice network group at 17, she cares about social justice and environmental issues and is focused on creating the change she wants to see.We talk to her about "why politics" a question I think her parents have asked many times, what its like working in Parliament, does she feels safe, who are her political mentors, and what she thinks about the current crop of politicians.She shares with us her vision for the Student Voice Network and how businesses can be involved and engage with her group globally.Div and I have no doubt that Lucy will end up in politics, she is fearless, enjoys the debate and is confident.Like us I have no doubt at the end of this podcast you too will go "WOW" and be grateful for young women like Lucy who have the courage to step up and be as determined as she is to be a future leader of Australia.We wish Lucy all the best and look forward to following and more importantly supporting her journey.

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Coretta Bessi is the Chief Procurement Officer at Westpac and she has been a seasoned C-Suite and executive leader in procurement for large, prominent brands. Coretta shares how impactful procurement can be in business and socially - we love how she describes the profession - she clearly loves what she does - it is passion and purpose aligned. Coretta opens up and shares some of her personal story and we promise you, it is one you won’t expect...looking at where she is today. It is a reminder to find the diversity in everyone. Coretta has some gold, practical advice for women managing their career and salary negotiations. Both Sadhana and I wish we had some of this advice early on in our careers. Coretta is a true advocate for all women and in recent years she has become more public and clear about the need to champion CALD women. She has used her sphere of influence to make real change for individuals and organisations she has led, and is a stellar example of advocacy in action. Please enjoy the commercial head and social heart of Coretta Bessi.

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Steve Vaid is the Director of Customer Services, AMP Australia and the only man of colour at this level at AMP. Steve unpacks his Persian, Pakistani, Indian, British roots and lets us in on a little unknown fact, his name is Steve Raj, Vaid - we are sure AMP colleagues are going to have fun with this. Steve grew up in Coventry and describes it as a tough place to grow up, as an Asian kid in the 80’s due to racism. His father’s background in the union and his schooling environment taught him how to navigate racism early on. Steve shares his Right to Left thinking which is very human centric, both for the customer and the employee. Steve is on his journey to making change for people of colour in his sphere of influence, we are looking forward to what he will do next. We love that he made this commitment in our interview. Please enjoy this big hearted, inclusive executive, Steve Vaid.

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Shanthi is the Head of Campaign & Strategy at Adore Beauty, Australia’s leading online beauty retailer. In this interview, Shanthi shares her parent’s migration story to Australia in the 80’s and being the only brown skinned family in the area – she talks openly about the isolation, the resilience, how it felt being called the ‘N’ word, how the perception of beauty was different for an Australian South Asian girl and how the love from her parents and siblings ground her always. Shanthi’s story is one of an independent, inclusive, innovative thinker who brings others along the journey with her. Please enjoy this emotional and inspirational interview with the change-maker and hope generator, Shanthi Murugan. Also, if you believe that Australian beauty should be for everyone, check out and sign the petition that Shanthi is championing: https://www.globalshades.org/sign

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Donald works for, global #4 law firm Norton Rose Fulbright in Australia specializing predominantly in commercial matters. His duties also include business development work at Jaramer Legal, Australia’s first national Indigenous law firm. Donald has been many firsts in his lifetime, from being the Youngest serving senator in the history of Kansas, through to being the First African American Study Body President in his University’s 100 year history. Donald shares some gold advice the first from his grandfather - “Get all you can and can all you get” - you will have to listen in to hear what he means; and his advice for people of colour and others - “Lean in and take off the armour. Have a candid conversation”. Please enjoy the warm, smart, funny and unstoppable change maker, Donald Betts and look out for his podcast, https://greenlandthepodcast.com/

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Matt is the Chief Information Officer of mebank. He is an experienced CIO with brands like iiNet and Westfarmers. Matt has been a champion of diversity and inclusion across his career and shows this in practice in his thinking and his actions. He has recently stepped up to be the sponsor of Reconciliation Action Plan work at mebank and we got him thinking in this podcast about the challenge for women of colour in IT in the workplace. Matt has always been open to challenge and is not afraid to learn from others. His openness and vulnerability with people are his strength. Please enjoy, the very pragmatic and inclusive, Matt Toohey.

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Preeti Bajaj, is the CEO of the Adecco Group ANZ, the world’s leading HR solutions partner, and MD of Modis Australia. Preeti describes herself as proudly Indian, Proudly Australian and Proudly Global, and she brings all of it together in the unique way she leads and challenges, people and the sector, to drive for a more sustainable tomorrow. In this podcast Preeti shares her start in Australia, in 1998, with a one-way ticket from India and $700 to her name; to where she is now. She shares three main takeaways from her leadership journey - you will have to tune in to hear what they are – please enjoy the trailblazer, Preeti Bajaj.

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Ben Hill is a seasoned Chief Marketing Officer and is currently, Marketing Director at Mars Wrigley. Ben unpacks his story for us from a personal perspective, marrying his Sri Lankan partner and learning how to cross-culturally navigate his own inclusion being the first white person to enter this close-knit Sri-Lankan family. He talks about his early career, through to his leadership journey and shares why he is an advocate for the multicultural consumer. Listen in for his “inside out and outside in” perspective on leadership; and for his predictions on how brands will need to change, to affect and respond to social movements, much like they did to the BLM movement. Ben raises the question: Are leaders deliberately connecting to society as it is today or are they connecting with a society they grew up with 20 years ago? What a great question. Please enjoy the consciously deliberate, marketing executive, Ben Hill - making inclusion matter for employees and customers.

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