A full recap of our Meet the C-Suite Brisbane Event
A full recap of our Meet the C-Suite Brisbane Event
The Meet the C-Suite event, powered by QUT Entrepreneurship, brought together aspiring professionals and Brisbane’s top tech executives for a series of group mentoring sessions. These sessions provided an invaluable chance for participants to gain insights from seasoned leaders, helping to shape their career trajectories. Throughout the night, one theme resonated clearly: the importance of mentorship in career growth.
The Value of Mentorship in Career Growth
Mentorship is more than just receiving advice; it’s about having a trusted guide to help you navigate your career path, identify opportunities, and avoid potential pitfalls. A good mentor can accelerate your growth by offering perspectives shaped by experience and offering the support needed to thrive.
Angela Jones, CIDO at Workcover QLD, spoke to this directly:
“There’s no secret sauce to building high-performing teams, but having a vision creates connection, clarity, and kindness.”
This kind of vision and connection is what great mentors can help cultivate in rising professionals. Through shared experiences, mentors can help mentees recognise that they don’t have to fit a mould to be successful. Angela encouraged participants to not count themselves out for roles, even if they felt underqualified.
Thriving in a Relatable Environment
In any career, the culture of your workplace can greatly impact your personal and professional well-being. Angela Ryan, CIO at Auto & General, reinforced the idea that since so much of our confidence comes from our jobs, it’s important to find an environment that understands and supports this.
“For better or worse, we get a certain amount of confidence from our jobs. It’s important that the culture of the workplace understands that.”
Workplace environments that foster trust, transparency, and inclusivity allow individuals to thrive. Leaders like Tracy Whitelaw, CDO at LGAQ, emphasised the importance of building relationships to create these environments. Her approach of connecting with each team member through regular coffee catchups exemplifies how strong relationships foster a thriving work culture.
“At my level of responsibility, my job is about relationships. Clear is kind—be direct when giving feedback.”
Growing Your Career and Building Confidence
Mentorship also plays a key role in building confidence. Often, we may doubt our qualifications for certain roles, as Angela Jones mentioned, but mentors help challenge those doubts. Offering clarity on where strengths lie and how they can be applied, mentors can propel individuals into new opportunities.
Karishma Darr, CIO at CleanCo, reminded attendees of the importance of taking risks in their careers:
“Sometimes you feel like you are failing, but you have to take the risk to make it work.”
This sentiment was echoed by Dr. Joni Sytsma, CTO at iLAuNCH, who offered a unique perspective on failure:
“Failure is what success smells like.”
Both leaders encouraged participants to see failure not as a deterrent but as a stepping stone to growth. This shift in mindset is essential for career advancement, and mentors can play a vital role in fostering this outlook.
Leading with Transparency and Trust
Several of the mentors spoke to the importance of transparency, direct communication, and building trust in teams. Remona Murugan, Head of Technology Platforms at Rio Tinto, emphasised that clear and direct feedback is essential for cultivating trust within teams. For her, storytelling is a key tool when leading teams and connecting with stakeholders.
“Transparency and clear, direct feedback create trust.”
Remona also shared her strategies for balancing professional demands with personal commitments, such as dedicating thinking time and prioritising family dinners—an important reminder that success also involves setting boundaries. “Dinner with family is non-negotiable.”
Leaders like Wendie Lee, CPO at Flight Centre Travel Group, echoed these thoughts, emphasising the importance of asserting your worth, while managing expectations clearly.
“Know your worth and fight for it. When you can’t employ people into your team, you must develop your team, or your team won’t be set up for success.”
Her advice to ask for what you want also struck a chord. She encouraged participants to speak up for their needs, as leaders may not always know them unless explicitly communicated. “Ask for what you want—your leader doesn’t know if you don’t ask.”
Career Growth Requires Intentional Leadership
The mentoring sessions also provided deep insights into intentional leadership. Juliet Alabaster, COO at BEDA, highlighted the importance of continuous professional development, particularly focusing on honing soft skills to enhance leadership effectiveness.
“Soft skills are important. Being able to flex is key.”
Alexa Kane, CCO at Felix also shared advice on becoming more data-driven and commercially focused in leadership roles. Her emphasis on observing before stepping in to offer insights and ideas encourages intentional, thoughtful leadership.
“Being data-driven and commercially focused is critical, particularly when presenting insights.”
Final Thoughts
The Women in Digital Meet the C-Suite event was a powerful reminder of the importance of mentorship, not just for professional development but for personal growth. The insights shared by the Brisbane tech executives provided invaluable guidance on building relationships, taking risks, thriving in supportive environments, and navigating the path to leadership.
This event was a testament to the power of community and mentorship in shaping future leaders. We’re excited to see how these conversations will inspire career growth and create lasting impacts within our community.
Become a Women in Digital Member
Are you passionate about connecting with like–minded humans? Is professional development important to you? Do you want to take active steps towards creating your own career opportunities? Welcome to Women in Digital’s Individual Membership!
Whether you’re looking to expand your circle, score your next promotion, build professional recognition, return to the workforce, make a pivot in your career, or shape the future for women in digital or more broadly, the future of technology… we want to help YOU achieve your goals with the support of our welcoming community.