• CORPORATE STORYTELLER
• TECHNOLOGY INTERPRETER AND ADVISOR
• ADVOCATE FOR THE UNIQUE VALUE OF PEOPLE
• LIFELONG LEADERSHIP LEARNER AND TEACHER

Margaret’s extensive career saw her scaling the corporate ladder before the days of target and quotas. Over that time, she has watched and engaged trends in business and technology. She has seen and contributed to a number of important technology initiatives along the way. As a ”Corporate Pioneer’ and one of few women in Australia to reach the pinnacle of corporate leadership, She has been closely involved with many complex and difficult businesses and programs

Starting as a coder in the 70s, she was involved in and built a number of complex applications with leading (often bleeding) edge technology. In those days ‘Dev-Ops’ was the norm- developers ‘ate their own dog food’. In working on systems end to end, they even had to delve deep into the machine code to identify issues outside their sphere of control.

Looking for a change of pace, Margaret shifted to accounting and audit. Over time, she ended up mixing it with boards and C-level executives of top Australian companies, before moving to take up a Technology Head position at Macquarie Bank and then branching out to write, coach and consult. Her corporate career, traversing multiple industries, involved her in business turnarounds, major change programs, complex technical challenges and multiple world firsts. With her teams, she developed and delivered world leading methodologies and education. Her advisory work embraced identification and resolution of challenges in emerging industries in Australia and globally. Her teams at Macquarie Bank were early adopters not only of Agile methods, but importantly the Agile mindset- critical to successful programs and ongoing operations.

On the way, Margaret continued to be engaged in the rapid progression of technology and its impact on how business operates. As a leader, her focus was on progressively delivering better outcomes and helping her teams to achieve more than they dreamed was possible.

Margaret, a NSW Finalist in the Telstra Australian Businesswoman of the year, was the first female partner in KPMG in Australia. Margaret ran that firm’s National Information Risk Management practice where she helped people, find, fix and foresee major technology related business mistakes and achieve better results through technology. She grew the practice by over 200% in three years, achieving global recognition for both the firm and the profession. A published author of books and guides on her areas of professional expertise, Margaret was often asked to speak both in Australia and overseas.

More recently, she has helped large organisations understand and address the challenges around technology transformation. At the same time, she has been reading and researching what it takes and has taken to lead well, especially in changing and challenging times.

Her Board experience includes the Auditing Standards Board in Australia, the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) and World Education Australia (Good Return). Margaret was on the Audit Committee and Nominations Committee for the NBCF. She chaired the Audit Committee and IT Committees for Good Return. She was also Sydney President of the Information Systems and Control Association and Region 8 (Asia Pacific) Vice President.

Margaret combines her insights from 30+ years in business and technology with voracious reading, research and a pinch of curiosity mixed with creativity.. Her work, research and reading continue to keep her up to date with new technologies and methods and the challenges and opportunities they present. Her solid accounting background provides a practical understanding of how business really works, keeping her feet firmly on the ground. Her deep dives into complex technology programs across multiple industries inform her understanding of ‘what lies beneath’. She is well placed to deal with the complexity and risks associated with multiple connected technologies, not just because of what she has done but even more importantly, what she has learned and is still learning from others.

Margaret’s book ‘Mistakes Happen, Make the Most of Them’, gives aspiring leaders and managers a common-sense view of how to be more successful, while keeping self-respect intact. Interviewing some of Australia’s top executives, including Michael Chaney, Gordon Cairns, David Morgan, and Allan Moss. The book also combines practical advice from these leaders with advice and techniques that Margaret has used successfully herself.

Margaret is now working on another book about technology and its progressive impact on business.

As founder of The Adaptive People, Margaret plans to combine her and others’ experience and expertise to help aspiring individuals and organisations achieve their potential using technology more effectively. Her down-to-earth style combined with the input of other unexpected leaders continues to help reframe contemporary thinking about corporate mistakes into golden opportunities.

Margaret plans to kick-start the shift in thinking required to successfully capitalise on technology in the next decade and beyond. A key focus is on rebuilding and developing human capability to achieve better, more sustainable outcomes for everyone. Margaret believes that not only is it important to understand and build on strengths but to appreciate weaknesses and counteract these. The key is to build aware, and sufficiently well balanced organisations and individuals for the future.

For Margaret, business and pleasure are intertwined. She delights in painting, working with corporate high flyers, spending time with friends and making a difference in the community. In the process, she finds and fosters those special differentiators that enable people to achieve their full potential. Margaret challenges others to take risks, and learn from both success and, mistakes- their own and the success and challenges of others.