Sara Siami is the Head of People & Culture at SWEAT, developing and leading the people strategy across the organisation. Having been there from very early in the companies Journey, Sara has contributed immensely to the success of Sweat, helping it grow to be one of the world’s largest communities of women in the fitness arena.

Sweat is an innovative technology company in the health and fitness sector, founded in South Australia by Tobi Pearce and one of the world's most influential fitness persons, Kayla Itsines. Sweat connects a community of women with the world’s best trainers, technologies, content and products that helps enable them to lead their best life.

Always having a passion for human behaviour, Sara actually majored in Criminology, legal studies and sociology, before she went onto her graduate diploma in Human resource management. Previous to Sweat, Sara provided business partnering solutions to Coca-Cola Amatil in South Australia and Northern Territory and provided organisational development and workforce relations solutions at TAFE SA.

In this episode, Daniel and Sara talked about Sara's Journey to the role she finds herself in today to leading the people aspect of one of the most successful startups to come out of South Australia and how they managed through the times of rapid growth. They discussed the ups and downs of the HR world, from trying to find quality talent, to managing teams that are working from home.  

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues, and check us out on synergyiq.com.au.  

Where to find Sara Siami

• LinkedIn 
• SWEAT 

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Books mentioned on this episode: 

• The Courage To Be Disliked - How to free yourself, change your life and achieve real happiness - By Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga 

Steve Testar is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Showcase SA, which supports and connects South Australia's business community, and showcases SA's industries, people and events. Showcase SA’s mission is to build business connections between members, allowing them to work together and prosper.

With the defunding of Brand SA in June 2019, Steve saw the opportunity to continue supporting and fostering the success of local South Australian businesses. Thus, Showcase SA was born. Steve’s passion for local business and a strong network of South Australian professionals has driven Showcase SA to where it is today. 

Steve’s devotion to helping South Australian businesses is also displayed in his charitable work. Together with Glam Adelaide and the Glam Adelaide Foundation, he raised almost $500,000 for South Australian bushfire affected communities in 2020 at the SA4SA Bushfire Appeal Gala.

On Australia Day 2021, Kelly Noble (CEO of Glam Adelaide) and Steve were awarded the City of Adelaide Citizen of the Year award for the Community Event of the Year for this event.

In this episode, Steve shared his journey from being an international student to his CEO role and how Showcase SA came to be. He talked about many of the highs and lows of his journey, his vision for Showcase SA and also the challenges faced during the COVID19 pandemic and how the business thrived through that period.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues, and check us out on synergyiq.com.au. 

Where to find Steve Testa 

• LinkedIn
• Showcase SA  Website

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Books mentioned on this episode:

• Against All Odds - The inside account of the Thai cave rescue and the courageous Australians at the heart of it - By Craig Challen, Richard Harris

Francesco Vassallo, also known as Frank,  is the founder of  effektiver ppl. (which stands for - more effective people), where he works together with his clients providing them with bespoke consulting services in agile coaching, training, mentoring, facilitation and workshops. 

Frank is a  Highly qualified Agile Coach and IT Delivery Leader with extensive experience over 25 years in public and private sectors in Australia and the United Kingdom across a number of industries, including Utilities, Natural Resource Management, Land Administration, Taxation, Insurance, Agribusiness, Criminal Justice, Health, Retail and Education. 

He is a self-confessed Agile geek,  a connector and collaborator, and is constantly seeking to bring out the best in people and himself, through his commitment to a life long learning and connection with the community. 

In this episode, Frank and Daniel talk about all things AGILE, from the origins of Agile to how to effectively implement it, to the difference in agile with a capital A to agile with a little a. 

If you are interested in learning more about Agile, this is the episode to listen to.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues, and check us out on synergyiq.com.au. 

Where to find Frank Vassallo 

LinkedIn
effektiver ppl.

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Books mentioned on this episode: 

• Reinventing Organizations - A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness - By Frederic Laloux, Ken Wilber
•  Brave New Work - Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization? - By Aaron Dignan
• Lead Together: The Bold, Brave, Intentional Path to Scaling Your Business - by Brent Lowe, Susan Basterfield, Travis Marsh

Elaine Bensted is Chief Executive of Zoos SA which operates both Adelaide Zoo and Monarto Safari Park and has been in this role since September 2012.  

Since being in the role Elaine has led an improvement in the financial position of this conservation charity and an increase in Zoos SA membership base from 26,000 to over 50,000.  She also led the work that culminated in the release of a 20 year Master Plan for both Adelaide and Monarto Zoos in early 2015. 

A wife, a mother and a proud owner of German shepherd dogs, Elaine was the recipient of the 2014 Australian Institute of Management Not for Profit Manager Award and the recipient of the Telstra South Australian Business Woman of the Year Award for Purpose and Social Enterprise 2017. 

Outside of her work with Zoos SA, Elaine is also Vice President of Zoos & Aquarium Association (ZAA) and Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee, Board member of Children’s University Advisory Board, Uni SA Business School Program Advisory Board, The Australian Rhino Project Board, International Koala Centre of Excellence Advisory Board, World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) Membership & Ethics Committee and the Treasurer, Board member of the Regional Development Australia Murraylands and Riverland Board and Environment Institute Advisory Board. 

In this episode, Elaine and Daniel talked about Elaine's journey to where she is today, the future of Zoos SA and how they managed through the tough time of 2020. We also touched on what we can do to be more environmentally conscious and play our part in creating a better world not only for the humans on this planet but for the longevity of all life. 

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues, and check us out on synergyiq.com.au. 

Where to find Elaine Bensted 

LinkedIn 

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Books mentioned on this episode: 

The Living Planet - A Portrait of the Earth - By David Attenborough
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - By  Stephen R. Covey.
Man's Search For Meaning - By Viktor E Frankl

Cassandra Gannon, also known as Cass, is an Experienced Senior Leader and Innovation Specialist with a background across multiple sectors in mining, manufacturing, not for profit and local government.  

Currently working for the City of Marion Council as a Project Manager and Performance and innovation leader, Cass Gannon is known for her ability to scan the external environment for opportunities, particularly within the emerging technologies space.  

Besides being a mother of two 10-year-old twin girls, Cass is also a part-time lecturer at the Flinders University teaching Innovation and Creative Thinking and a mentor in the Flinders New Venture Institute's innovative manufacturing accelerator.  

Cass and Daniel spoke about innovation, disruption and leadership in this episode and touched on her learnings and experience within the local government space. 

A must-listen for those looking to create an innovative culture within their business, especially for those in the local government. 

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues, and check us out on synergyiq.com.au. 

Where to find Cassandra Gannon

LinkedIn 

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Thomas Mitchell is a global biotech executive who has recently relocated to Adelaide, Australia, after spending time leading drug development programs in Boston, USA and Cambridge, UK. He works in an interesting area of medicine - developing microbial therapies for many gut-related conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease. Previously, Thomas held important positions at Finch Therapeutics and Microbiotica, both microbial therapy companies. 

Having grown up in Newcastle, Australia, Thomas has returned to be CEO of BiomeBank and intends to build an Australian-based microbiome biotechnology company to treat unmet medical need globally, with an immediate focus on the APAC region. 

In this episode, Thomas and Daniel broached a few topics, including Thomas's journey, his vision of where Biomebank could be, the benefits of the drug industry, growing and scaling companies, his beliefs around leadership, plus much more.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends and colleagues, and check us out on synergyiq.com.au. 

Where to find Thomas Mitchell 

LinkedIn 

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Leesa Chesser is a non-executive director, advisory board chair, skilled senior leader and mentor. She served as the Minister for Disabilities, Mental Health and Substance Abuse leading the NDIS decision making, delivery of service reform and transformation in South Australia. As Chair of the Public Works Committee, Leesa oversaw large public infrastructures construction projects such as the $450M Adelaide Oval redevelopment with consideration of economic evaluation, procurement, project management and ongoing reporting for public value.  

Leesa now runs her own Strategic Advice consultancy firm named Blue Sky Consulting, where she specialises in strategic governance solutions. She also coaches, mentors, Chair and builds Advisory Boards where she primarily works with the private sector with commercial enterprises, startups, SME’s, not-for-profit organisations and social enterprises, helping them in the health and human services, defence and space industries. 

In this episode, Leesa Chesser and Daniel broached a few topics, including her time in politics, women in business, and all things Directorship & Boards. 

Where to find Leesa Chesser  

LinkedIn 

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In this episode, we have Stuart Snyder who, on his business cards, describes himself as an unemployed lazy bum. He states that this title gives him the freedom to do what he wants to do.  

Stuart grew up in Cupertino California, a place we now know and refer to as Silicon Valley, where he went to school with what he describes as a "long-haired hippy dude" called Steve Jobs. 

Growing up in a dysfunctional family, Stuart wandered out into the world by himself at the young age of 19 and a few years later, eventually moved to Adelaide, Australia after finding love. Stuart started as an Accountant, working for KPMG, then moving to a world-leading defence company called Amrad, where he recognised the quality of individuals in his team and went out with them to create Your Amigo, a global internet marketing powerhouse. 

Stuart describes the journey as creating his own business a really tough experience. Many challenges and attributes a great deal of his ability to grind through the tough times was the resilience he built at a young age.  Stuart believes that each individual is on earth for their particular purpose and believes that the greatest learning experiences come from life's toughest times.  

Now a wealth of life and business experience, Stuart focused on giving back, where he invests in Australian technology startups, provides his time mentoring promising founders and is an influential voice in South Australia's startup scene in particular. 

In today's podcast, Stuart shares such an interesting story, filled with all the ups and downs of his entrepreneurship journey and the lessons learnt along the way. 

Where to find Stuart Snyder

LinkedIn 

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Connor O’Rourke is the Director of Sales and a founding member of Nuago, a strategic IT partner which helps businesses transition IT by aligning strategic business objectives with technology solutions. 

Connor has more than a decade of experience in the IT industry and has considerable expertise in all elements of Sales and customer service across market segments in South Australia. He brings a strong customer-centric leadership style and an entrepreneurial mindset which means that Nuago’s customers are often respectfully challenged with new ways of thinking about technology and how it can aid their organisation. Connor has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Psychology from Colorado State University. Before starting Nuago, Connor was the General Manager of Sales at Datacom Systems. He also holds numerous sales certifications across the Nuago technology stack as well as having completed several leadership and self-development courses. As Director of Sales, Connor is responsible for the overall management of relationships with our customers, trusted partners and Nuago’s outstanding customer-focused sales team.

In this episode, Daniel and Connor deep dive into the world of sales, business development and customer service. Connor breaks the salesperson stereotype and shares why do some people consider "Sales" a dirty word. Conner believes that sales is not something you do to someone; it is something you do for someone. His emphasis is on customer service, and he shares how important it is to be authentic and provide products and services that add value to the client. He also shares the characteristics and behaviours he sees in some of the most successful salespeople and what he looks for when hiring and growing a world-class sales team.

Where to find Connor O'Rourke 

LinkedIn: Connor O'Rourke
Nuago's Website

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As 2020 ended, there was a sigh of relief across the globe and high hopes for a more relatively normal year ahead. In this episode, Michelle Holland and Daniel Franco discussed the challenges and the best lessons for 2021. Michelle and Daniel also talked about moments they are proud of last year, achievements, and a great conversation about self-care and boundaries.

Join the conversation on Synergy IQ LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram (@synergyiq) and please support other leaders by liking, subscribing and sharing this podcast.

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Here is Michelle's LinkedIn Profile
Here is Daniel's LinkedIn Profile