Change Happens

Today, we’re stepping into one of the most urgent conversations in tech right now: bias in artificial intelligence.

Tracey Spicer AM is a Walkley Award-winning journalist, author, and longtime activist for gender equity. In this episode, she unpacks the unseen biases coded into the technologies we use every day—and what happens when we leave them unchecked. Drawing on years of research for her latest book Man-Made, Tracey explores the ethical challenges and opportunities in AI development, and why we all have a role to play in shaping more equitable outcomes.

In this episode, Trac...

If you haven't already, be sure to go back and listen to Part 1 of this episode with renowned social demographer Bernard Salt, where he lays the groundwork for understanding the dynamics at play in our society.  From the housing market to the care economy and labour force participation, Bernard explores the challenges and opportunities ahead, advocating for the smart integration of technology and the critical role of social skills in navigating change.

In this bonus deep dive, we’ll further explore the Aged Care sector with Tim Hicks, Executive General Manager of Policy and Advocacy at aged car...

Welcome to Season Six of Change Happens. This season, we're going to explore the forces shaping the future of work. From emerging trends to technological developments, we'll uncover what's changing and how we're adapting. 

Bernard Salt AM is a leading demographer and futurist who has spent decades analysing the forces shaping society. In this episode, he unpacks the profound demographic and societal shifts post-COVID, introducing the concept of 'peak humanity' and what it means for Australia's future. From the housing market to the care economy and labour force participation, Bernard explores the challenges and opportunities ahead, advocating fo...

A quarter of the way into this century, it’s the perfect time to step back, reflect, and consider what has changed—and what’s about to—across workplaces, industries, and our lives.  

This season, Jenelle McMaster—Deputy CEO and People & Culture Leader at EY—explores the forces shaping the future of work.

From emerging trends to technological advancements, we’ll uncover what’s changing, how we’re adapting, and the real-world impact of these shifts—plus what they mean for the leaders of today and tomorrow.

Season 6 of Change Happens returns on February 27.

"The moment of discovery, that sense of awe and wonderment, is something I wish every scientist could experience."

In this captivating episode, Professor Andrew Wilks takes us on a journey from the council estates of Liverpool to the forefront of molecular cancer biology. A scientist-turned-entrepreneur, Andrew’s career spans the discovery of JAK proteins, founding 12 biotech companies, and achieving the rare trifecta: discovering a protein, developing a therapeutic molecule, and creating a medicine that changes lives.

Andrew’s story is one of curiosity, resilience, and unwavering determination to make a difference in cancer research and beyo...

"Light gives safety, light gives hope, and I can see why children see the magic in it."

Alice Min Soo Chun is a humanitarian entrepreneur whose journey began with a simple yet profound idea: light can change lives. From creating origami-inspired solar lights to distributing them in disaster-stricken areas and war zones, Alice’s work has impacted vulnerable communities worldwide. Her innovations were featured on Netflix's Gutsy by Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, showcasing her relentless drive to make a difference.

In this episode, Alice shares:

"The music industry was the canary in the coal mine for digital disruption. What happened to us is now happening to every other industry."

Dan Rosen’s career has been a balancing act between law, music, and leadership. He started out living a "double life" as a lawyer by day and a musician by night. This unique combination of skills eventually led him to the top of the music industry, first as CEO of ARIA and now as President of Warner Music Australasia.

Dan shares insights from his journey of leading the industry through massive di...

“We’ve all got a role to play, it's incrementally happening every single day, it’s being normalised. We have to draw the line and say, enough.”

Sometimes, professional experience in one field leads to using those skills to make a difference.

This has been the case for Robert Pradolin, who has taken his more than 40 years of experience in the property industry and is using it to galvanise corporate Australia to get involved in solving the growing homelessness crisis.

Robert shares his advice for persevering during tough times:

·         the myths surrounding homel...

“You think ‘Oh, I worked so hard for something I thought was going to change everything and it didn’t”

Even Olympic gold loses its shine.

What happens when everything you set out to achieve ends up feeling like a fleeting moment?

Leisel Jones is an Australian icon and regarded as one of the world's greatest ever female swimmers.

Now a published author, media personality, and celebrated radio host, Leisel talks about her journey as a young girl in the public eye

>winning gold but losing her spark

>makin...

On today’s episode we explore what happens when change doesn’t happen.

Professor Dr Megan Davis is a professor of constitutional law known for her work in creating the Uluru Statement from the Heart and advocating for the 2023 Voice referendum. 

As an international human rights lawyer, Scientia Professor, and academic, Megan discusses the lessons she learned about engaging with the heart, and not just the head.

·         How she finds the motivation to keep going after such a huge set-back

·         The complexity of poverty and how vulnerability never leaves you

·         Why she fin...

“It was the most horrendous thing that's ever happened, it was really challenging, and unfortunately made me distrustful of people, which is just not my normal stance”

Not many people can say they have built something out of nothing and have stayed true to their vision and purpose. 

Simon Crowe, the Founder and Managing Director of Grill’d, is on a mission to liberate burgers from badness and pioneer sustainable food practices.

For someone so accomplished, Simon emanates a rare vulnerability. He talks candidly about the many challenges he has faced:

>his public...

"What's the legacy we want to leave our kids? I don't want my kids to grow up in a world where women are abused and racism is just part of the DNA, absolutely not required, shouldn't be here, so how do we change it?"

When it comes to the achievement of gender equality and the fight for human rights, the path to success requires big changes to happen. With International Women’s Day this month, CEO of UN Women Australia, Simone Clarke, shares the lessons she’s learned on becoming comfortable with discomfort, creating the space to make...

“I have no idea why I was the person that chose to fix the problem of surplus food. But I was. And that is the blessing that I have received, and the gift that I have received.”
Ronni Kahn AO, is a vibrant force of energy, exuding a warm honesty accompanied by her infectious and unavoidable smile. In this episode, Ronni shares with Jenelle McMaster her unique and captivating story about making change happen, on the season finale of the #ChangeHappens Podcast.

Host: Jenelle McMaster Deputy CEO Oceania and Markets Leader at EY.

Guest: Ronn...

"24 hours of madness ensued, and at the end of that I found myself standing in the premier’s office and saying “my goodness, how did this happen” Mike Baird AO, former Premier of NSW and now CEO of HammondCare and Chair of Cricket Australia, shares insights into his personal journey and key moments of change with host Jenelle McMaster. This is an open, honest account of life as the Premier of NSW and dealing with an unimaginable moment - the Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney..

Host: Jenelle McMaster Deputy CEO Oceania and Markets Leader at EY.

Gues...

Despite many obstacles in his path, Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia, successfully lead his team to run two Australian Opens during the pandemic. In this episode of Change Happens with host Jenelle McMaster, Craig explains how it was an “opportunity to show people what is possible".

Host: Jenelle McMaster Deputy CEO Oceania and Markets Leader at EY.

Guest: Craig Tiley, CEO of Tennis Australia

Listen now: Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

Dr Jemma Green has helped create one of the biggest innovation transformations to the energy market in years...

“And lots of people would say, well, you can't do the Uberfication of electricity because it's different. And for me, it was like, well, it's not like you can't, but it takes something more. And maybe we're really naive in anticipating actually what it would take, but it actually can happen.”

Dr Jemma Green, Co-Founder and Chairman of Powerledger, joins our Change Happens podcast host Jenelle McMaster, to discuss her entrepreneurial story about how she disrupted the elec...

“I think I, as a leader, learned a lot about diversity and inclusion. And it's not enough as leaders to just say, I want diversity and hope it's going to follow unwittingly. And I think it's just, again, because of who I am, it was incredibly inclusive, so I had no barriers to entry. I celebrated every single woman equally. And as a result, that visible difference meant that more and more women saw themselves in people they wouldn't have normally seen being celebrated…….”

 Dr Kirstin Ferguson who was recently awarded an AM in the Australia Day Honours L...

“Can I do it? There was a massive amount of self-doubt when I took the job about a month later. The coach, Rafa Benitez, left … and took 18 staff with him. The whole department was gutted. There was me and an assistant coach to take the superstars through a training session … I was pitch side for Australia versus Serbia on Wednesday, arrived on Friday and started interviewing people on Saturday and Sunday to start on Monday. It was an incredible whirlwind.”

Darren Burgess, Adelaide Football Club High Performance Director, previously Director of High Performance at Arsenal Football Club, joins ou...

POWERFUL LESSONS IN CHANGE – BITE-SIZED. 

“The woman making that statement had lost two kids at the fires, and I figured to myself she's lost her kids. You know she's lost other family and friends and what I've lost is a reputation, so I need to get over it. And I need to be able to be here supporting those people in the recovery of their communities.”

In this Power Bite Edition of the Change Happens podcast, host @Jenelle McMaster talks with former Victorian Police Commissioner, Crisis Management and Leadership Consultant, Christine Nixon AO QPM. Christine shares h...

POWERFUL LESSONS IN CHANGE – BITE-SIZED. 

“My 5ft tall grandmother Dorothy had inserted herself between Goliath and this poor girl on the checkout and said how dare you talk to that young woman like that, you apologise....... I said grandma that was so brave, and she said honey if you walk past it you tell the world it's OK."

Holly Ransom is a globally renowned content curator, powerful speaker and thought leader, who delivered a Peace Charter to the Dalai Lama, she was Sir Richard Branson’s nominee on a ‘Smart List’ of Future Game Changers to watch, a...

POWERFUL LESSONS IN CHANGE – BITE-SIZED. 

"...maybe more than a thousand of my patients had either died or suffered absolutely terribly as a result of tobacco, and then there I am finding out that my own money invests in the companies that make the products that are killing them."

In this Power Bite edition of the Change Happens podcast, Founder and CEO at Tobacco Free Portfolios, Dr Bronwyn King AO, shares with host Jenelle McMaster the light bulb moment that changed her life forever, forging her mission against tobacco and the significant role that the finance sector n...

POWERFUL LESSONS IN CHANGE – BITE-SIZED. 

"I’m feeling pressure that I have to be okay ’cause I’m the “resilience guy” so if I’m not okay does that mean, you know, that I’m just a fraud?"

In this Power Bite mini episode of the Change Happens podcast, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by Founding Director and Facilitator of the Resilience Project, Hugh van Cuylenburg, who shares his insights on being honest and vulnerable can make you a better leader. 

Host: Jenelle McMaster - Deputy CEO and Markets Leader at EY Oceania

Guest: Hugh van...

POWERFUL LESSONS IN CHANGE – BITE-SIZED. 

“…somewhere along the way people said don't take your real self to work..... The future for leadership is actually being way more authentic and bringing your real self to work.”

In this Power Bite mini-episode of the Change Happens Podcast, host Jenelle McMaster and JK delve into a combined conversation that will have you hooked at the first question as they discuss “Open Minded to Change” and we discover what led JK from being a former All Black and 1987 Rugby World Cup winner to devoting his life to helping others with mental h...

“We had a different view of what the world should look like, and no one was building it….. we had this deep fire in our belly, this stubbornness to will that world into existence…. that has showed that there’s a different way to do capitalism." 

Simon Griffiths is the Co-Founder & CEO at Who Gives A Crap.  If that’s not enough to get you interested in listening, his incredible story will. In 2012 a crazy idea popped into his head, to start a toilet paper company with a difference - giving 50% of their profits to charity. What triggered th...

“Whenever I speak to refugees the three things that they would say are priorities are.… Number one security, once you’ve achieved that, it’s education…the stepping stone and something you can not take away, you can lose everything else but you can hold on to your education, and the third thing, is to have proper livelihoods and income so you can support your family and that’s where the private sector has a broader role.”

Naomi Steer is the founding National Director of Australia for UNHCR established in 2000, an Australian charity which grew from a small start-up...

“…somewhere along the way people said don't take your real self to work.... I don't think that's the future for leadership. The future for leadership is actually being way more authentic.”

Sir John Kirwan, better known as JK, is a former All Black and 1987 Rugby World Cup winner. He became a “Sir” in 2012, recognised not only for his international rugby career but more so for his contribution and commitment to building public awareness around mental health and suicide. His willingness to share his own mental wellbeing story from surviving to thriving has helped remove the stigma associated to mental...

“I don’t think there has ever been in recent history a greater need for change and when you look at the big challenges facing companies…….. and therefore the pressure that leaders are under… if we can demystify how do we bring about transformation….. we can really serve the world.”

In this episode of Change Happens, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by Dr Andrew White, Senior Fellow in Management Practice at the Säid Business School at Oxford University, leadership coach and host of the 2050 Leadership podcast. You will hear his passion for exploring what it takes to become a suc...

“I deeply deeply believe that innovation is so critical to any society, any business, because it defines the human essence - our creativity, our ability to innovate and change and redefine, is what creates value… across all the value chains…. Innovation is this constant pursuit of improvement of doing things better and smarter.”

In this episode of Change Happens, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by David Thodey AO, Board Chair and active in public policy initiatives. In this conversation, David is warm and openly vulnerable in sharing his lessons as a change leader, along with his passion for inno...

“For me it’s about the head the hand and the heart…..The head is the knowledge and the wisdom, ........ and the hand is being able to apply that……It’s about teaching people how to learn and how to take the information they can access and actually take that information and apply it in a way that has purpose and impact”

In this episode of Change Happens, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by driven change-maker Linda Brown, CEO and President, Torrens University Australia and recent winner 21st EY Entrepreneur of the Year Australia. From her very first words to...

“If you can break that glass ceiling or that barrier to achievement, then other people look around and say well if they can do it, I can do it too, which is the best possible way of getting peoples’ perception to change.”

In this episode of Change Happens, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by Lucy Turnbull AO Director Turnbull and Partners. With a keen interest in technology and social innovation, Lucy is an inspiring business woman, philanthropist, Order of Australia recipient, keen urbanist and fresh from the Chair of Judges for EY Entrepreneur of the Year. As you li...

"We have undertaken to rebrand power, and lets face it, it needed a rebrand" 

In this episode of Change Happens, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by Licia Heath CEO of Women for Election, a non-partisan, not for profit organisation that is all about equipping women to campaign for election and increasing the number of women in public office. She took on this role after a highly successful 19-year long career in the finance and asset management sector in London and Australia. 

After launching a campaign called "Power like you've never seen before", Licia is on a...

“Well, it’s the hardest thing to go through…..Until you’ve been tested how do you know how resilient you are?”

In this episode of Change Happens, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by Michael Rodrigues, the former CEO and MD of Time Out Australia and now the 24-hour Economy Commissioner (NSW) at Department of Premier and Cabinet (NSW). Known as Sydney’s Night Mayor, this role sees Michael tasked with rejuvenating the night-time economy and culture of Sydney  - a city coming out of 2 years of continued lockdowns and before that, lockouts, with an enforced bedtime curfew!

"From those humiliating moments have come the most illuminating moments… about myself, about other people, about organisations, about society, and I really see it as accelerated learning even if it's learning the hard way."

In this week's episode of the Change Happens podcast, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by Lord Mayor of Melbourne Sally Capp, who shares how she seeks to create change and the lessons she has learned along the way as Lord Mayor of the city she loves, with an insight into the highs and lows of the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne.

Host: Je...

“Everyone has a role to play as a leader, whether you're leading for better or worse, you're leading every day… whether that's your household, your team, your community, you name it. And so taking ownership and responsibility of that.. comes from us starting by saying, actually anyone and everyone can and is a leader. And so then it's understanding well am I leading for better?”

In this week's episode of the Change Happens podcast, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by Holly Ransom a globally renowned content curator, powerful speaker and thought leader. Holly was named one of Austra...

“The woman making that statement had lost two kids at the fires, and I figured to myself she's lost her kids. You know she's lost other family and friends and what I've lost is a reputation, so I need to get over it. And I need to be able to be here supporting those people in the recovery of their communities.” 

In this week's episode of the Change Happens podcast, host @Jenelle McMaster is joined by former Victorian Police Commissioner, Crisis Management and Leadership Consultant, @Christine Nixon AO QPM. Christine shares her experience as the first woman to le...

“If you're not happy before the medal, you won't be happy after the medal."

In this week's episode of the Change Happens podcast, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by Olympic Gold Medallist in the Women's Four Rowing Jessica Morrison, who shares an insight into the power of the athlete's mindset and her experience of winning gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Host: Jenelle McMaster  is Managing Partner, Oceania Markets at EY. 

Guest:Jessica Morrison is an Olympic Gold Medallist in the Women's Four Rowing and Senior Consultant at EY.

Listen now on...

"To create change, the only way we can do it is if we can actually come from that human level, human to human, not from a text book, not from just reading PowerPoints and statistics, but we need to bring and draw from our own experiences....”

In this week's episode of the Change Happens podcast, host @Jenelle McMaster is joined by @Mundanara Bayles, Managing Director  and Co-Founder of @Black Card, a 100% Aboriginal owned, who provide cultural awareness training and business consultancy to corporate Australia. Mundanara opens her heart and shares a real and raw look at life gro...

"I’m feeling pressure that I have to be okay ’cause I’m the “resilience guy” so if I’m not okay does that mean, you know, that I’m just a fraud?"

In this week's episode of the Change Happens podcast, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by Founding Director and Facilitator of the Resilience Project, Hugh van Cuylenburg, who shares his insights on managing and leading during the digital age, with a particular focus on how lockdowns, cognitive overload and loneliness pose prevalent threats to the mental health of children, youth and employees.

Host: Jenelle McMast...

In this episode of the Change Happens podcast, host Jenelle McMaster is joined by EY alumni and CEO and Founder of XVenture Mike Conway, who shares his expertise around emotional intelligence, resilience and leadership, and offers an insight into his ten-year tenure at The Wiggles.

Host: Jenelle McMaster  is Managing Partner, Oceania Markets at EY. 

Guest: Mike Conway - CEO/ Founder XVenture, Tech Director UOW/Tottenham Hotspur Global Football Program  and, Emotional Agility & Mental Coach - Socceroos

Listen here on Apple Podcasts  on Spotify or wherever you get your favourite podcasts.

...

"Somewhere within our public discussions within Australia, a repositioning and revaluing of technical skills, which you are not going to learn off YouTube, which you do need to be at a TAFE, how do we elevate that?"

In this week's episode of the Change Happens podcast, Jenelle McMaster is joined by Chair of Australian Sports Commission and Principal at Buildcorp Josephine Sukkar, who shares insights from her extraordinarily diverse career and her experience around the true value of partnership and teamwork.

Host: Jenelle McMaster  is Managing Partner, Oceania Markets at EY. 

Guest: Josephine Su...