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Leadership lessons

Today

 Sonder CEO Craig Cowdrey

The army captain now helping companies fight a new battle

The line between work and home has not just been blurred, it’s obliterated, says the founder and CEO of Sonder, which is booming amid a mental health crisis.

Yesterday

NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine at the Australian Banking Association conference last week.

What the NAB saga reveals about the private lives of CEOs

When and to what extent do personal characteristics and appearance become relevant to assessing the performance of a leader? Experts agree the goalposts are moving.

July

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The 5 tips that stuck with 2025’s BOSS Young Executives

Stay focused, work hard and get work experience in the field you want to move into are among the key pieces of career advice given to this year’s youthful leaders.

Toni Meath, principal of Melbourne Girls Grammar, found her Plan B worked out better for her than Plan A.

How a divorce at the age of 36 turbocharged this leader’s career

It is not often a leader points to a divorce as being a pivotal moment in their career, but in the case of Toni Meath it meant she started investing in herself.

KPMG partner Naomi Mitchell and her daughters.

The art of zoning: How this KPMG partner ignores team calls

It’s an ongoing challenge for many working adults, leaving work at work to be totally present at home. One professional has found the answer.

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From left: Chris Purdy, Accor vice president of corporate services and strategy for MEA APAC; Christina Ruiz, Sportsbet general manager of commercial content; Hayden Brass, chief executiv of Zea; Casey Tanks, Sime Darby Industrial Solutions chief financial office; and Felix Sekulla, National Australia Bank, executive of proprietary home loans for NSW and the ACT.

The 3 traits that stand out among this year’s BOSS Young Executives

The program, now in its 22nd year, recognises emerging leaders aged 35 or younger who demonstrate leadership in the community and business.

Sam Altman.

What OpenAI’s Sam Altman suggests you do to keep your job

The race is on to build machines that can outthink humans. The tech founder in charge of ChatGPT says there is one thing that would make him stop.

There’s a coach for everything these days and the demand for help is growing.

Getting divorced? There’s a coach for that

The business of coaching someone through stages of their lives, from childhood through to work, motherhood, menopause and death, has grown dramatically.

NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine at the Australian Banking Association conference on Tuesday.

NAB boss Andrew Irvine admits to ‘difficult’ week amid board scrutiny

The chief executive has pledged to improve after the board intervened last week in response to investor concerns about his leadership style.

Accor’s Chris Purdy says he likes to make his own luck.

How a young exec went from university dropout to dream job in Paris

Academia may not be Chris Purdy’s thing, but the Accor senior vice president has cut out a successful career in hotels, and now he’s off to France.

ANZ chief executive Nuno Matos has been hosting town hall meetings across the country and overseas to bring home his message of change.

ANZ’s Nuno Matos reads riot act to staff, says culture must ‘pivot’

The newly installed chief executive has been holding a series of town hall forums and meeting government officials as he stamps his authority over the bank.

Hayden Brass

How an introvert’s brand raked in $8m in sales

Hayden Brass knew his humble family business could be more. Now the founder of health and wellness company Zea is a 2025 BOSS Young Executive.

15 Mins with the Boss Podcast guest Graham Kittle, CEO of Heidrick & Struggles, in North Sydney on June 26, 2025. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer

This top exec knows how burnout feels. It led him to his dream job

In his late 30s, Graham Kittle, managing partner of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles in Australia, was on the career fast track. He was soon derailed.

CEOs are flying out the door in greater numbers.

Australia’s great CEO reshuffle isn’t slowing down

A growing number of ASX 200 CEOs have headed for the exit in the past two years. Shareholder activism and greater public scrutiny may help explain why.

NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine faces the first big test of his leadership.

Why there’s so much at stake for NAB and its CEO Andrew Irvine

Institutional investors are overweight NAB and nervous about what they’re seeing in four key areas: leadership, competition, asset quality and costs.

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Simon Trott has gone from a wheat farm to the top of a multinational miner.

From farmer to miner, Rio’s new CEO is a breath of fresh air

When Simon Trott’s parents installed air conditioning in their shearing sheds, their son learnt how to get the best out of staff. Now he has 60,000 of them.

Simon Trott is running Rio Tinto’s iron ore operations and will become the company’s chief executive.

Rio Tinto promotes iron ore division chief Simon Trott to CEO

The businessman will succeed Jakob Stausholm at the top of the mining giant and said he would focus on lowering costs and improving asset performance.

Arnie Selvarajah says the hardest thing about leadership is being patient.

At the end of a meeting, this CEO asks the same question. Here’s why

Bell Financial Group co-CEO Arnie Selvarajah says this practice has yielded “lots of gold” over the course of his career.

AFR, Samantha Santos, who works at Deloitte in Adelaide. Story about Gen Z not wanting to become bosses in organisations. Pic Roy VanDerVegt   11th June 2025 

Why Gen Z is ‘unbossing’ and what CEOs can do about it

Gen Z employees are 1.7 times more likely than older generations to avoid leadership roles, not out of lack of interest but to protect their mental health, research shows.

Here’s what a top-50 CEO looks like

The chief executives of the country’s biggest companies are getting younger and the chances of them being female are rising.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/leadership-lessons-1mwr