ECI Partners
ECI PARTNERS
Home2024-04-16T05:09:33+00:00

COACHING
LEADERS to
BE GREAT

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS:
UNVEILING 2024’S ORGANISATIONAL PRIORITIES

COACHING
LEADERS to
BE GREAT

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS:
UNVEILING 2024’S ORGANISATIONAL PRIORITIES

ABOUT US

ECI Partners is a boutique executive coaching and leadership organisation for CEOs, Managing Directors, senior executives and their teams. We work with many of Australia’s top companies, as well as professional services, academia, entrepreneurs, Government and others. Our approach is highly bespoke and has proven to help clients achieve their business challenges, personal goals and to lead in an authentic and highly impactful way.

Like you, we have been executives too. Clients value and trust ECI executive coaches as much for their integrity and easy rapport as their exceptional practical experience and insight. We’re passionate about relationship building and knowledge sharing at any opportunity – at ECI Partners we believe generosity is key to your success.

SERVICES

EXECUTIVE COACHING

We coach leaders to develop new skills, sustain high levels of performance, develop new perspectives, support remedial improvements, and more.

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POD COACHING

Pod coaching is executive coaching at scale that also builds social capital across organisations.

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TEAM COACHING

We coach leaders to develop new skills, sustain high levels of performance, develop new perspectives, support remedial improvements, and more.

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BUSINESS ADVISORY AND FACILITATION

Bespoke business advisory and consulting engagements including team facilitations, stakeholder reviews, business planning, board reviews, and other specialised engagements.

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TRUSTED
BY AUSTRALIA’S LEADING COMPANIES

OUR COACHES

Located around Australia, ECI Partners is a select group of accomplished and respected former executives, clinical and organisational psychologists, proven entrepreneurs, and industry experts. Our executive and leadership coaches develop an easy rapport with clients and invariably become long-term trusted advisors.

Martin Blake

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Rudolf Brunovs

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Chris Corneil

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Katie Foulkes

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David J Gwynne

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Richard Jones

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Lidia Ranieri

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Dr Prasuna Reddy

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Louise Shepherd

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Marina Reid Wilson

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Shannon Richards-Green

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Dr Mike Rollo

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Anthony Thompson

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Alexandra Smart

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Jonathan Sweeney

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Tony Thirlwell

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Jill Weekes

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Libby Roy

Libby Roy

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BREATHE

Welcome to our weekly round-up of the best insights, news
and video content to help you access the latest resources
to support your leadership challenges.

INSIGHTS

Expect More in 24

Our antenna is picking up some interesting signals for 2024 As 2023 draws to a close we thought we’d share some of the important themes that we’re detecting in our conversations with our clients. These are themes that we believe will help define the thoughts and efforts of [...]

VIDEOS

THE WEEKLY SPARK

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

– Nelson Mandela

ECI Partners
HEAD OFFICE
Suite 3204, Level 32
200 George St
Sydney
NSW 2000

Contact

Phone +61 2 9227 4500

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Also in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland.
ECI Partners
HEAD OFFICE
Suite 3204, Level 32
200 George St
Sydney NSW 2000
Also in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland.

Martin Blake
COACH

BSc Economics (Hons), Graduate Diploma in Banking & Finance.

Martin is an exceptional frontline leader with over 30 years as a strategic advisor working in complex local and global operating environments. He is the type of advisor modern executives want by their side.

Martin had a distinguished career with KPMG. He was chairman of KPMG NSW from 2012 to 2019, Australian leader for the firm’s financial services practice for 4 years, leader of the insurance practice for 5 years, established the firm’s global fintech insurance community and was lead partner to NSW Government engagements from 2017 to 2021.

During his time as senior partner in management consulting at KPMG, Martin worked with clients across the private and public sectors and led a wide range of transformation projects in Australia and Asia. He has an excellent track record in attracting, selecting and developing high-calibre teams and leading them to deliver exceptional outcomes.

Martin has developed a valuable perspective on organisational strategy and management through his experience driving strategic and cultural change, merger integration and large-scale business restructuring. He knows how to approach challenging business issues through rapid assessment, clear analysis and planning, and has the problem-solving know-how to achieve practical results. This hands-on experience and pragmatic approach enable Martin to quickly understand his clients’ organisational context and he has the expertise to enable them to be more effective.
Martin has coupled his extensive business experience to his strong commitment to supporting better community outcomes. He serves on a number of NFP boards, including chairing the Advisory Board for the University of Sydney Business School. He previously served on the Committee for Sydney board for 10 years, the Advance board for eight years and the President’s Council for the NSW Art Gallery for seven years.

Martin established the Groundswell Foundation in 2021 to address the growing issue of loneliness and its impact on mental health in Australia. Loneliness is considered by many to be one of the most profound and rapidly developing social issues in the world today, particularly when its relationship to mental health is considered.

His raisons d’être is connecting beautiful minds to shape the future of Australia. He is a father to 18-year-old boy and girl twins, is an avid sailor, and is passionate about innovation, gender diversity and mental health.

Martin holds a BSc Economics (Hons) from Swansea University, a graduate diploma in banking & finance from City University (UK), is a fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) and completed the Advanced Management Program at Oxford University. He has over 15 years’ experience as a company director, is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

At ECI Partners, Martin applies his passion, expertise and knowledge to improve business performance through people, working with senior executives to help them achieve their business and personal goals.

Rudolf Brunovs
COACH

Rudolf is a highly regarded executive with an extensive background in the financial services finance industry. His professional knowledge, together with his experience on executive and senior management teams, enables him to provide clients with insights and alternative strategies that accelerate personal growth and drive improved business outcomes.

Rudolf’s business career was with Ernst and Young where he held a number of senior positions leading to Partner, Assurance and Advisory Services. From 1986 – 1999 he held Managing Partner positions in Sydney and Perth. As a Partner in the Minerals and Energy industry group he was directly responsible for servicing clients in the mining, oil and gas production, uranium, power generation, as well as property development and biotechnology sectors.

Throughout his distinguished career Rudolf has developed capabilities across a range of business areas, including strategy and business planning, project and financial management and business development. He has expertise in working with multi-disciplinary teams to develop value based propositions in highly competitive markets.

Since leaving Ernst and Young Rudolf has devoted his time to Board membership. He joined the board of Deep Yellow Limited, a uranium exploration company, in 2007 and is Chairman of the Audit Committee and a member of the Remuneration Committee. His responsibilities include dealing with a variety of corporate governance issues, implementation of risk management processes and financial reporting to satisfy the needs of both the Board and the external marketplace. Since 2005 he has been a non-executive director, and Chairman of the Audit Committee, of the Lions Eye Institute Limited, a leading provider of eye health services in Australia.

To complement his coaching practice Rudolf brings:

  • a sound understanding of business drivers for various industries
  • expertise in working with professional teams
  • personal attitude which embraces and leads change
  • a focus on the strategic fit for business decisions, and
  • experience in corporate governance and risk management

Chris Corneil
Partner

BA, MBA, MSc, FAICD

Chris is a partner of ECI Partners, one of Australia’s leading executive advisory firms. He is a highly experienced coach, management consultant and corporate advisor. An advisor whose perspective is informed by a unique fusion of business, psychology, and successful C-suite experience.

For over 25 years Chris was immersed in complex organisations. Being the CEO of a $30 billion investment management company gave Chris direct experience at the highest level. He knows global business dynamics, rules and regulations, and what high-performance individuals can achieve in these environments.

A deep understanding of the interplay between the personal and professional lives of an executive enables Chris to help leaders become more effective in their work, their relationships, and in achieving their ambitions. He knows how to develop mental fitness, how to combat deep fears, and how to respond to the voice that discourages people from being their best. His work in this field is undertaken with a confidence that only the reliability and rigour of science can bring.

Chris’s track record is well-established. Boards, CEOs and senior executives trust his insights, candour, sensitivity and confidentiality. His expertise is recognised as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD).

With a BA (Western University, Canada), MBA (AGSM) and MSc (Coaching Psychology; Sydney University), Chris has always applied evidence-based approaches to help executives and leaders thrive in complex and uncertain environments.

Having arrived from Canada at the age of twenty-two with an empty backpack, Chris understands the drive and challenges of individuals who seek to grow and achieve personal and business success. He generously shares what he has learnt.

He is also a non-executive director of StreetWork Limited and shares his expertise to help at-risk Australian youths turn their lives around.

Katie Foulkes
Coach

Katie is a highly effective executive coach and consultant experienced in formulating and implementing strategies that enhance individual, team and organisational performance. Katie brings a truly unique perspective to clients developed from academia, elite sport and her commercial background in education, retail, utilities, government and transport.

Katie adopts an evidence-based approach, is collaborative, systematic and solution focused. She leverages from strength-based approaches, and positive and performance psychology to help others uncover and refine solutions, with the aim of enhancing both performance and well-being. By building high trust relationships, clients are supported to explore goals and opportunities for growth as well as innovative ways to positively impact their surrounding systems.

Katie’s unique experience as a dual Olympian and international rowing coach has enabled her to understand the steps needed to perform on a world stage. She was ranked number one in Australia for almost ten years, one of the first females to become a Head Coach of a national rowing team and has recently been granted the use of the post-nominal letters OLY as recognition of her contribution to sport. Katie is now an ambassador for the Women’s Olympic Network and advises Triathlon Victoria on performance and development. She is also one of ten selected mentors for the Australian Olympic Committee as well as a mentor for the Australian Rowing Team and for Women in Sport Australia. She is passionate about sustainable, long term performance and is currently conducting research on the topic of resilience at the University of Sydney.

Katie holds a Science degree from the University of Melbourne, post graduate qualifications in Psychology from Deakin University and she is currently completing a Master of Science (Coaching Psychology) degree from the University of Sydney. She is a lecturer for the MBA program at Federation University, a certified practitioner of the Team Management Systems (TMS) and Mental Toughness (MTQPlus) instruments and a member of the University of Sydney Coaching and Mentoring Association.

An expert at multi-tasking, in addition to her coaching, consulting, lecturing, research and studies, Katie provides pro-bono leadership development to local schools and sporting clubs. She is married with two young girls.

DAVID J GWYNNE
Executive Coach

BSc (Hons), MPsych (Hons)

David is a co-founder of ECI Partners, a company dedicated to improving executive performance and building outstanding teams. He blends high-level skills gained as a psychologist, business consultant and senior executive to produce consistently outstanding results for his clients.
David’s approach is contextually based, highly experiential and results oriented, ensuring that the executive’s performance advances the organisation’s business imperatives and optimises return on investment.

With 40 years of experience spanning government organisations, multinational corporations and major Australian companies, David brings an extremely valuable perspective to engagements. Add to that the development of his own business enterprises and he is an ideal advisor. His strengths include business strategy and change management to deliver commercial outcomes and create customer value.

David commenced his career working as a psychologist with the Commonwealth Public Service, culminating in being appointed to the role of chief clinical psychologist for the Agent Orange Royal Commission. From there he went on to gain valuable experience as head of strategy implementation for a major international consulting firm before establishing his own highly successful management consulting business.

He subsequently joined one of Australia’s largest privately owned conglomerates as an executive director, with operational and group roles encompassing property development and management, logistics, engineering and construction, and agri-business.

Following a term appointment with the Sydney Olympics and to broaden his capability, David then consciously moved his career to financial services taking on the leadership of a privately held group of financial services companies. For six years he was responsible for the profitable expansion of the group before leading a highly successful trade sale.

Since 2007 David has advised, mentored and coached numerous executives and their teams to improve capability and performance across diverse sectors, including property development, property management, investment banking, public infrastructure development and delivery, wealth management, asset management, retail, industrial services and products, professional services, government agencies (health, education, transport, infrastructure), tertiary education and insurance.

David’s wealth of experience and his expert insights mean that he is ideally placed to help organisations and individuals overcome the challenges they face.

Richard Jones
Coach

Richard is a highly accomplished international consultant, advisor and coach with ECI Partners. He has been at the forefront of management consulting for many years, helping to shape the field as it matured into the more sophisticated, evidence-based, and disciplined profession it is today.

As managing director of Oxford Organisational Consulting Associates, Richard has led major consulting assignments in Europe, the USA, Asia and Australia for public and private sector organisations.

Today, Richard facilitates individual and organisational change, drawing on a repertoire of integrated executive development techniques. These include the design and delivery of development programs, coaching of CEOs and senior managers, the facilitation of management strategy, team development, as well as leadership assessment and development.

His professional experience covers areas as diverse as organisation development and change, social research, training, psychotherapy, environmental assessment, recruitment and selection, market research, vocational guidance and group facilitation.

During his international career, Richard has held many visiting appointments, including visiting lecturer at the Graduate School of the Architecture Association (UK), visiting professor at the University of Warsaw, a fellowship in Sri Lanka with the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, and was an associate of the Ashridge and Henley Management Colleges (UK).

Richard was based in the UK for 14 years, where he held appointments as a senior social scientist in the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, a clinical psychologist with the Adolescent Department of the Tavistock Clinic, and subsequently as head of the department of Applied Social Sciences at the University of East London.

He returned to Australia in 1983 to take up the position of director of human resources and organisation with the Pratt group of companies. From 1988 he was contracted to the Mount Eliza Business School to design and direct executive development programs.

Richard established the Leadership Centre at Mount Eliza and, as its director, built it into the pre-eminent centre in the region for leadership development. He developed a strategic alliance with the Centre for Creative Leadership in the United States and successfully introduced several of their programs into Australia and the Pacific Rim area. He has also had associations with the business schools at Swinburne, Melbourne and Macquarie universities.

Richard’s deep expertise in organisational leadership makes him both a versatile and valuable member of the ECI Partners team.

Lidia Ranieri
Coach

BBus, LLB, MSc (Coaching Psychology)

Lidia is a passionate coach. This passion arises from her desire to help clients identify, align with and act purposefully in their pursuit of excellence. She effectively encourages the development of conscious and purposeful leadership. In turn, that generates vital and engaged workplaces, it drives performance and breeds success. She also understands what leaders require to pursue successful growth strategies and execute transformative change.

Extensive experience in business and finance is a real-world backdrop to the support and challenges Lidia brings to leaders. It is a realism that asks leaders to radically understand themselves and their impact and is delivered using an evidence-based approach, which is based on strength-building and positive psychology.

Before gaining her MSc (Coaching Psychology), Lidia was a partner at Reunion Capital Partners and previously was managing director at Goldman Sachs. She has over 25 years of experience in the finance industry, predominantly in the capital markets. She brings extensive knowledge of business finance and strategy, and she has a deep understanding of the demands placed on senior management, especially those in the public eye, having advised boards and the chief executives of numerous public companies.

Lidia also holds two bachelor’s degrees in business (finance) and law from the University of Technology Sydney and serves as a board member on the University’s Entrepreneurial Leaders Advisory Board.

Lidia is also an Associate Member of the University of Sydney Coaching and Mentoring Alumni. She is a member of the Association for Coaching International and holds certifications in market-leading psychological and leadership assessment techniques.

Lidia is a living case study for achieving equilibrium between the various moving parts that make for a rewarding career, a happy family life and enabling the pursuit of personal interests.

As a coach, Lidia brings ECI Partners a unique and highly valuable combination of formal qualifications, extensive corporate experience and sound evidence-based psychological practice.

Dr Prasuna Reddy
Coach

PhD (Behavioural Science) University of Melbourne

Prasuna is an exceptionally well-rounded professional coach with deep experience in organisational health and psychology. Her practical work with clients is underpinned by academic discipline and extensive frontline work in health services.

Maintaining a series of professional interests ensures Prasuna’s advisory work is always informed by the most contemporary research and thinking. This translates into the ability to implement high-quality leadership development programs and undertake coaching engagements.

Prasuna is a professor of psychology at Macquarie University and an adjunct professor at Swinburne University of Technology. She is a registered psychologist, a fellow of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) and a fellow of the APS Colleges of Organisational Psychologists and Health Psychologists.

She has achieved international recognition for her work in establishing translational health intervention programs in primary and secondary care, health services quality improvement, and team-based practice in both private and public sector organisations. Today, public and private sector clients reap the benefits of Prasuna’s leading thinking and practical implementation in both team and individual coaching environments.

Prasuna has an extensive background in organisational psychology teaching, research and practice, behavioural change interventions, as well as implementation and improvement science, health services research, policy and practice, and models of integrated healthcare.

She has presented over 200 invited workshops, conference papers, keynote addresses, and seminars internationally and is particularly in demand for professional development programs in executive leadership and organisational wellbeing. Moreover, she is a strong advocate for organisational and health psychology evidence-into-practice as well as for the power of tacit knowledge in insightful leadership.

In addition to a master’s degree and a PhD from the School of Behavioural Science, University of Melbourne, Prasuna has achieved a number of awards for excellence in professional education and applied research. And beyond a notable record of peer-reviewed grants and publications, Prasuna has co-authored textbooks on ethics and professional practice.

Those who work with Prasuna are impressed by the easy confidence of an accomplished professional. She is an engaging and thoughtful coach whose observations and advice are backed up by the best evidence-based analysis and practice.

Louise Shepherd
Coach

BA, MCP

Louise is renowned nationally and internationally as an expert in human behaviour, with particular expertise in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy/training (ACT) and other mindfulness-based approaches. She is also experienced in family systems theory which helps makes sense of both families and organisations. As a clinical psychologist with 25 years of experience in clinical, health and university settings, Louise is ideally equipped to offer strong evidence-based support to individuals and teams.

As a coach, Louise has worked extensively with executives, senior professionals and middle management from a cross-section of businesses, government agencies, professional service firms and not-for-profit organisations.

The extent of Louise’s repertoire means she can support her coaching clients across a range of areas, including managing relationships, developing communication and interpersonal skills, stress management and building a personal brand.

Louise has a particular interest in helping people live full and meaningful lives according to their chosen values. Much of her work is in helping people to better navigate the nuances and complexities of relationships in their professional and personal lives. It is work that she finds rewarding principally because it is so rewarding for the people who work with her.

As principal and founder of The Sydney ACT Centre, Louise has been running a successful private practice in the Sydney CBD since 2001.

Louise’s affiliation with ECI Partners means our clients have access to one of Australia’s foremost coaches through the engagements our teams undertake.

Marina Reid Wilson
Coach

BA, MSc (Coaching Psychology)

Marina Reid Wilson is a certified coach and registered psychologist with over 17 years of experience in executive coaching, consulting, facilitation and psychological assessment. She has worked across a range of industries, including professional services, government and not-for-profit, building long-lasting relationships with clients. They are relationships of trust where Marina fully understands the context she is working in.

A strong interest in leadership development has guided Marina’s work. Her goal is to help people learn how to achieve sustained high performance in the face of ever-increasing pressure and rapid change. She assists people to develop their perspective and awareness, and to learn how to live aligned with their values. She helps her clients to accept and embrace the inevitability of change, and to learn and develop from experiences.

She assists clients to build resilience, develop emotional agility, and flourish in complex environments. Her approach varies to meet the needs of clients, drawing on the principles of acceptance commitment training, cognitive behavioural coaching, mindfulness, and developmental psychology. She is an evidence-based practitioner, incorporating current research and ongoing professional supervision.

As a coach, Marina has focused on a range of topics, including authentic leadership, high-performing teams, culture transformation, employee engagement, mindfulness, change management, effective communication and interpersonal skill development, workplace bullying, conflict resolution, stress management, time management and workplace mental health and wellbeing. It adds up to a valuable and comprehensive perspective.

Marina is passionate about supporting leaders and organisations, as well as others in the community that would benefit from coaching. As such, while working with ECI Partners, she also provides pro-bono coaching to The Helmsman Project, a not-for-profit organisation that runs an adventure-based coaching program for students from schools located in communities affected by disadvantage. Marina is also the founding director and principal psychologist of a successful private practice in the Sydney CBD.

Marina is a professional certified coach with the International Coaching Federation, holds a master of science in coaching psychology from the University of Sydney, a graduate diploma in applied psychology from ANU and a bachelor of arts from Monash University. She is certified in Hogan Leadership Forecast Series, Hogan 360 and The Leadership Circle. She is an associate member of the Australian Psychological Society, a member of the Australian Health Practitioner Agency, and a member of the University of Sydney Coaching and Mentoring Association and the Growth Edge Network.

At ECI Partners, Marina is valued for her sharp insights, pure professionalism, and sense of humour. When she is not working, Marina enjoys being outdoors, ideally in the mountains, with her family and friends.

Shannon Richards-Green
Coach

PhD candidate, MSc Coaching Psychology, MBA

Shannon is a highly accomplished business professional with extensive experience developed over 30 years as a leader, sales performance coach and people manager. She is an ideal executive coach.

A comprehensive and diverse corporate background, including working in blue-chip global multinationals across a range of sectors, has given Shannon an excellent perspective on organisational leadership.

Shannon’s experience spans accounting with a first-tier firm (Coopers & Lybrand), executive roles with global pharmaceutical companies (MSD, AstraZeneca and Sanofi) and academia with Bond University.

Shannon’s extensive career gives her a unique combination of skills and the proven ability to connect with, understand and assist clients. In the role of national sales manager at MSD, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, Shannon honed her strategy development and performance management skills to a high standard.

Shannon’s corporate credentials are rounded out with travel and overseas experience, including six years in Fiji teaching at the University of the South Pacific and working in chartered accounting at Coopers. She has also taught at Bond University, where she is currently completing her PhD through the medical school, focusing on adult development and leadership behaviour.

A lifelong learner, Shannon’s deep interest in coaching, business, and human development is supported by her master’s level academic studies in coaching psychology (University of Sydney) as well as an advanced MBA (University of Queensland) and undergraduate commerce/finance law degrees from Griffith University. Moreover, she is a certified Mental Toughness (MTQ48) practitioner. Shannon is currently completing her PhD through the medical school at Bond University studying adult development and leadership behaviours in healthcare leaders.

Shannon is a committed and experienced coach and mentor with ECI Partners and is dedicated to assisting clients to reach their potential and thrive in today’s fast-paced environment. She is passionate about working with clients’ strengths to help them create the goals they set and encouraging individuals to flourish personally and professionally.

Dr Mike Rollo
Coach

BE, MBA, PhD

Mike has worked at CEO and executive manager levels with some of the world’s largest infrastructure development companies. He has 40 years of management experience in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the United Kingdom, working in the engineering, construction and property development industries. A prominent feature of his career is his talent for attracting, developing and motivating high-calibre management teams to deliver exceptional outcomes.

From 2012 to 2017 Mike was the Chief Risk Officer for Leighton Holdings/CIMIC Group overseeing the risk management activities across the entire group. During this time the company had annual revenues of A$24B, operated in 23 countries with 60,000 employees, had 400 active projects, and submitted over 100 tenders each month. Mike had specific responsibility to oversee all projects over A$500M in contract value.

Mike has been a company director since 1999 and has been a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors since 2002 and a Fellow of the Institute of Engineers, Australia since 2007.

In March 2017 Mike stepped away from his risk management role to pursue a PhD in mega project management at Sydney University, which he completed in December 2020.

Today, Mike consults to organisations involved in the development and delivery of large-scale infrastructure projects around the world. He is an Honorary Professor at The Bartlett School, University College London, and a research affiliate with the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sydney.

He continues to hone his expertise with further research into mega infrastructure project delivery, publishes articles and papers, and speaks at industry events around the world.

In the engineering and construction industry, Mike has few peers. Yet many benefit from his expertise and insights through the coaching and advisory work he undertakes with ECI Partners.

Anthony Thompson
Coach

BEng, MBA

Anthony brings more than 35 years of international management expertise, business know-how, and advisory insight to his coaching clients.
Anthony’s career includes consulting and company director roles in Australia, the United Kingdom, Asia, Europe and the USA. They are roles where he has applied his unique skills and experience to assist clients in creating scalable, world-class organisations and businesses.

Change programs and business transitions in family businesses are one domain in which Anthony has particular experience.

More broadly, his clients have ranged from mid-sized organisations to large multinational corporations, government departments, and conglomerates.
Having originally gained qualifications in engineering, Anthony subsequently completed an MBA and has additional qualifications in areas including corporate governance and risk management.

The early part of Anthony’s career was forged with the iconic Australian National Industries (ANI) Corporation, where he worked in executive leadership roles in a number of countries, developing a reputation for successful turnarounds that were characterised by strong marketing capabilities.

Since leaving ANI in 1998, Anthony has established his own business interests in management consulting, importing, real estate and software.
In 2005, with three associates, Anthony founded and became executive chairman of Safe Places for Children, which today is a large not-for-profit organisation providing services to young people with extreme needs. The organisation has grown to have over 1,000 employees in a number of states around Australia and has a sister organisation that Anthony also founded in the United Kingdom.

Anthony currently spreads his time between company directorships in a number of organisations in Australia and Asia, across a wide number of sectors, as well as consulting to and coaching CEOs and directors in publicly listed, private and government entities.

Anthony is one of ECI Partners’ most seasoned coaches, a professional who can readily identify the big patterns that influence executives and organisations, and one who knows how to respond to them.

Alexandra Smart
Partner

BA, MBA, AICD

Alexandra Smart is a partner at ECI Partners, one of Australia’s leading executive leadership advisory firms. She is a highly experienced coach, creative business leader, strategist, entrepreneur and consultant with over 30 years of experience in hyper-competitive industries.

Alexandra has held executive leadership management roles in the media and digital sectors, as well as, for the last 20 years, founding and scaling her own fashion luxury design enterprise, GINGER & SMART. She executed the sale of the business to private equity investors in 2019 and now divides her time between ECI Partners, board directorships, lecturing at the AGSM, public speaking and advisory work.

Her ability to combine creative thinking and commercial imperatives has cemented her reputation for business acumen, leadership, strategy, and high performance. Alexandra is an expert at applying creative entrepreneurial vision to business ventures and driving for scale and profitability while operating with integrity at the highest ethical standards.

Notably, as Founder and Managing Director of GINGER & SMART, she led the growth and international expansion of the brand across multiple channels. With a strong sense of changing consumer and client requirements, Alexandra has successfully navigated highly complex environments across cultures in areas such as strategy, people leadership, digital and e-commerce, design, manufacturing,

supply chain management, regulatory and environment regulation and logistics. The brand is now highly recognised as a leading sustainable and ethical label focusing on social responsibility, and at the forefront of design.

With a keen focus on business, the arts and the community, Alexandra is a spokesperson for the fashion industry and a seasoned public speaker. She was recently voted in the Power 30 List of Influential Retailers.

Alexandra is a Board Member of the Melbourne Fashion Festival and The Social Outfit. She is a former member of the Contemporary Collectors Benefactors Committee (CCB) at the Art Gallery of NSW, a mentor with the AGSM/UNSW Alumni Leader Mentor program and has also been a member of the TCF Innovation Committee advising the Australian government on issues around innovation and local manufacturing for the Textiles, Clothing and Footwear (TCF) Sector. She was a committee member of SunSCHine, tasked with raising funds for the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network.

Alexandra holds a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the AGSM and a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism).

Jonathan Sweeney
Executive Coach

BCom, LLB, CFA, GAICD

Jonathan’s successful career began in financial services and has spanned more than 40 years. He has been the CEO and COO of ASX-listed organisations and has considerable expertise in investment management, capital markets, corporate governance and fiduciary services.

He was the managing director of Trust Company from 1997 to 2008, before co-founding Equity Real Estate Partners in 2009. This culminated in him becoming Folkestone’s COO until leaving the company in 2013 to pursue his non-executive career.

Jonathan has led high-performing teams, designed successful growth strategies, overseen expansion into new overseas markets, and developed highly effective governance structures. Today, he draws upon this experience to assist clients in achieving their goals.

Other career highlights for Jonathan include responsibility for driving strategic and cultural change, overseeing takeovers and mergers, implementing two backdoor listings and two IPOs, negotiating a joint venture with a global bank, and being involved in many due diligence processes involving listed, unlisted and overseas organisations. Jonathan now has an excellent bank of expertise that he relies on when advising clients on team building, leadership, stakeholder relationships, mergers and acquisitions, and related management issues.

Jonathan holds a bachelor of commerce and laws from the University of NSW, is a chartered financial analyst and has completed the company director course with the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), as well as having participated in Stanford University’s executive program.

He is currently Chair of the BT Funds Group Board, a non executive director of Dexus Asset Management, Chair of Perpetual Private’s Investment Committee and a member of the Noongar Boodja Trust’s Investment Committee.  Jonathan works closely with business executives at ECI Partners to help them achieve their business and personal goals.

Tony Thirlwell
Coach

Tony is a highly experienced CEO with special interests in leadership, strategy, marketing, and stakeholder management. He has worked in commercial, government, and not-for-profit environments and has the ability to inspire while tightly managing organisations, implementing many of the lessons he learnt at Harvard, Cranfield, and NorthWestern universities.

In the areas of strategy and marketing he has proven success with a wide range of brands, products and services and similarly his stakeholder management skills have been tested in a diverse range of industries including health, tourism, and food. Tony has had 25 years working as a CEO leading the Australian Government agency, Tourism Australia, a State agency, Destination NSW, and most recently the Heart Foundation. He has also held senior marketing roles with CSR and Qantas.

Tony is particularly proud of the teams he has led of which coaching was always a key activity and he has seen many of his direct reports go on to become CEOs in their own right.

He is committed to continue to inspire others to achieve in their various corporate environments through his work with eci Partners. He is also an active company director serving on a number of boards, mainly in the health sector.

Jill Weekes OAM
Coach

Jill has a deep understanding of the drivers of business effectiveness and sustainability, and she has a particularly expert understanding of the NFP sector and social enterprises.

With her coaching clients, Jill places high priority on honest leadership, a dedication to customers and stakeholders, as well as the pursuit of continuous innovation and excellence in operations, business development and brand management. It is a 360-degree perspective.

Jill’s expertise is the result of a highly successful career as a senior executive in marketing and advertising, which culminated in her appointment as CEO of the Starlight Children’s Foundation.

During her 11 years as Starlight’s chief executive Jill developed and led a high-performing team and was responsible for a 300% growth in annual revenue. Under her leadership, Starlight grew from a small charity to the highest-profile children’s charity in Australia, delivering services to more than 250,000 beneficiaries nationally. Many of the services provided are unique to Starlight Australia and do not exist elsewhere in the world.

Jill’s personal pursuit of excellence became manifest in Starlight’s vision, strategy and operational performance. Together with her experience in brand management and marketing, Jill’s stewardship of Starlight saw it become a leading NFP organisation in record time.

In addition to setting a vision and developing strategy, Jill was equally attentive to the organisation’s cost control and business technology, both vital to the organisation’s ongoing relevance and efficiency.

Jill’s work was recognised when she was named the 2007 Equity Trustee’s Not for Profit CEO of the Year and was a Finalist in the Community and Government section of the 2007 Telstra Business Women’s Awards. She also won the 2006 JML Director of the Year Award, as well as scholarships to the Harvard Business School and the Senior Management Development Course at the Australian Graduate School of Management. In 2012 Jill was awarded an OAM for her services to the Starlight Foundation.

Jill is committed to the personal development of her coaching clients at ECI Partners to ensure they are inspired and supported to be the very best they can be.

Libby Roy, BSc, MBA, GAICD
Executive Coach

Libby Roy brings a broad, deep, and successful leadership career to ECI Partners. Libby is known for business turnarounds and successfully leading organisations that have plateaued and need to find the next growth trajectory. Key to her success has been her ability to build engaged team members around a purpose and leverage technology to drive innovative solutions that meet customer needs. She has a track record of delivering growth and bottom-line results both organically and via acquisitions.

Libby’s experience covers a range of industries from technology, financial services, telecommunications and travel having held senior roles with Bravura Solutions, Optus, PayPal, American Express and AMP. As CEO of Bravura, Libby recapitalised the business and led a global turn-around strategy. As MD Optus Business, she was responsible for revitalising the business divisions and increasing market share through COVID. And as the MD of PayPal ANZ, Libby and her team doubled the size of the business. Prior to this Libby was a Principal with Booz Allen, a leading multinational strategy consulting firm, leading engagements in Australia, US and Asia.

While Libby has worked across a range of industries there are some commonalities in which she has developed a wealth of experience. These businesses are all highly regulated and have required strong governance and broad stakeholder management across both government and industry groups. In addition, all these businesses have been heavily dependent on leveraging technology, data and embracing digital transformation to drive growth. Libby has served as both an executive and non-executive director on a range of companies and dealt with activist investors.

Libby believes that organisations with a meaningful purpose that underpins the strategy and delivers to all stakeholders – customers, employees and shareholders – is critical for sustainable long-term growth and success.  In the organisations that Libby has led she has put this into practice, including leveraging organisational assets to deliver not only on financial objectives but also to contribute to society. In 2018 Libby set up the PayPal Giving Fund in Australia to facilitate charity in the digital age and has had active roles in supporting joint industry and government initiatives to develop STEM capability and the Fintech industry in Australia.

Libby is also a member of Chief Executive Women and International Women’s Federation and looks to support other women in managing their careers successfully. At Optus, she sponsored the development of the inaugural women’s network, Elevate. Libby started her career as an Occupational Therapist and Fitness instructor and to this day has a passion for health and wellness as a key pillar in managing stress and enabling success. Libby believes that key to her success has been bringing a supportive and empathic approach to people development from the health sector into her subsequent business roles. Today working with ECI Partners she continues to work with senior executives to enable their success and build strong committed teams.

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