Game Changers Series: Recent Episodes
Game Changers
Welcome to Game Changers, our video and podcast series. Game Changers’s in-depth interviews with inspirational people give men and women a platform to share their incredible career achievements, fascinating insights and personal journeys. Our aim is to inspire everyone to tap into their full potential, make a difference and be a Game Changer. GameChangers.com.au is owned by Foyster Media Pty Ltd. The Carousel.com and Women Love Tech is also part of the group.
Kate Save is a respected Accredited Practicing Dietitian, an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, a Diabetes Educator and today the CEO of Be Fit Food. With over 17 years of experience, Kate is using science and technology to disrupt the Australian health industry by providing Australians with safe, rapid weight-loss solutions.
With more than 30 years of experience in the technology and telecommunications industries, Debbie Taylor has had senior leadership roles at PwC and Vodafone. Today, she’s the CIO of NBN Co – the giant of the wholesale broadband industry that is also focusing on investing in gender equality.
Having previously worked in a bank in London, Cassandra used the knowledge she gained obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Food Tech to create Twisted Healthy Treats.
Ian Ugarte and his wife Christine have developed a property investment system which teaches others how to turn a healthy profit by investing in one of the most overlooked segments of the market – affordable housing.
The Jade Room Team: improving the quality of health and quality of life one woman at a time (particularly during periods of change).
Andrew Davie is the CEO and Founding Partner of Qnary Australia. Here he talks to Edwina Bartholomew about how Qnary helps executives and brands alike to thrive.
Natasha Chadwick is the Founder and CEO of the nursing facility micro-town, NewDirection Care, Bellemere in Queensland -the first of its kind in the world.
From Publicity Powerhouse to Empowering Businesswoman. Respected publicist Tory Archbold thrives on inviting global attention for her retail and celebrity clients and has kept the story of her own resilience very private until now! Her next Powerful Step is teaching other women to realise their potential and achieve their own dreams.
With no retail experience Stylerunner founder and CEO Julie Stevanja took on the world of e-commerce in 2012 and won. Her brainchild has become thego-to digital destination for premium women’s activewear brands. Her company has enjoyed triple-figure growth since its launch and has won multiple awards for its innovation in the category.
Father/son team David and Adam Light saw a gap in the Australian market for timeless design, beautifully crafted solid timber furniture at an affordable price point, so they developed a very unique business model to fill that gap.
Michael Abdallah explains how he is challenging the old attitudes to health, fitness and weight-loss and has now redefined the self-help book.
From Journalist to Communications Disruptor, ‘Polkadot Communications’ Founder and Director, Dionne Taylor is changing the media landscape with her new app ‘Story Match’.
An international public speaker and author, Garry is responsible for leading and implementing Uplifting Australia’s vision for a new generation of inspired and emotionally together young men and women.
At only thirty years of age, Anna Lahey has shaken up the Australian beauty game. Her range “Vida Glow” has brought marine collagen powders to the Australian beauty market and consumers across the globe are now reaping the rewards.
Synergie Skin founder Terri Vinson describes herself as “part science nerd, part beauty tragic.” It is this combination of smarts that has enabled her to deliver great skin to Synergie Skin’s legions of fans at home and internationally.
From Corporate Cogs to Eco-Entrepreneurs. The Clean Collective is a company with conscience; a retail platform bringing together information and solutions to creating a healthy, eco-friendly lifestyle all in one spot. Charlie Thompson and Georgia Lawson and their team are on a zero-waste mission to create a toxin-and-plastic-free Earth.
Sweep is a brand-new free app that uses geo-location, messaging and augmented reality to engage users with the world around them in an innovative way, and CEO Robyn Foyster explains why it’s the ultimate personalised shopping experience.
From a business-client relationship to business partners, Michelle Palmer and Erin Sing are at the forefront of Modern Currency, the PR agency that successfully bridges the “massive divide between client and agency” to ensure delivery of real, tangible results.
From high school drop-out to the founder of a leading business advisory company in MDPC Global for high net worth clients and A-List Hollywood celebrities, Anne McKevitt is a true entrepreneur.
From humble beginnings in a shed to CBD Melbourne in what is now one of the fastest-growing small finance business in Australia, Michael Mancuso’s company PGA Advisory helps people to achieve long-term financial security and growth.
The only female CEO team in Christina Gerakiteys and Lisa Andrews at SingularityU Australia are looking at the bigger picture, one that involves using technology to help tackle some of the world’s biggest challenges.
After being diagnosed with cystic fibrosis at the age of 13, Jonathan Despinidic was looking at a very short life expectancy of 11-13 years. Now, almost 20 years on, he’s still thriving and surviving. He is currently the co-founder of an exciting new round up shopping app called Sipora, which enables you to shop, save and spend all-in-one app.
A hand-sewn prototype for Christine Kininmonth’s first ever invention, BellyBelt®, came from her Earth-friendly mantra of Refuse, Reuse, Repurpose, Recycle. The buttons and buttonholes sewn into elastic allowed the former TV Newsreader to repurpose her normal work clothes into maternity wear for her first pregnancy. Three more children, and more brands later, and the venture she co-founded with business partner Peter Hooker, Fertile Mind, is an award-winning success story, with products sold in 25 countries including leading maternity chains in the US and United Kingdom.
Choosing Afterpay at the checkout means users can shop for their goods today, receive them as normal but split the cost over four equal fortnightly payments. They pay no more than they would by handing over the cash immediately. Talking Game Changers with Channel Seven’s Edwina Bartholomew, Nick Molnar explains the business and budgeting sense behind the award-winning FinTech company he co-founded – and why the ‘Shop now. Take now. Pay it in 4.’ movement is all about responsible spending.
Bumble began life as the dating app where women make the first move. In the digital dating game, this simple mechanic reverse-engineered the traditional approach, giving gals the opportunity to lead the tone of the conversation from the start — putting them in control.
Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is a barometer for the wellbeing of the whole planet and it’s already bearing the burden of climate change. But the common purpose of one rapidly-growing group: Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, is to focus on the future of this natural wonder and make sure the world isn’t giving up on its future.
When Scott Pendlebury discovered a gap in the market for selling building fixtures online, he knew his days wearing a suit and tie were finally over.Despite a flourishing career as an investment banker, Scott didn’t hesitate to jump in boots and all and launch the Renovator Store in 2013.In four short years, the site is now Australia’s fastest growing online building fixtures retailer.
From her garage in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, the mum-of-three built PANDORA into a $200 million Australian business before she sold out to private equity ahead of a stock market listing of the Danish parent company in 2010.
When it comes to branding and marketing, Sarah Harris discovers Sharon Williams to be an inspiring Game Changer in every sense of the term.From humble beginnings in her Sydney living room 21 years ago, London-born Sharon has grown Taurus Marketing into a pioneering powerhouse revered for its practical ‘No Bull’ approach.
Six years ago Kendall Seddon and her beloved mum Laurie created their family business to give children and our planet a better chance for a brighter future.
When it comes to spotting shopping bargains, no one knows how to get more bang for your buck than our own resident Savvy Shopaholic Jo Munro.The Carousel readers have been cashing in on the columnist’s every deal-saving word for months, and Jo is also the go-to expert for a slew of national TV and radio shows. Now, with the launch of her own signature jewellery collection at The Online Jewellery Company [OJCO], Jo’s star is set to shine even brighter.
Leading Australian Psychotherapist and author Dr Karen Phillip is living proof of the amazing healing powers of the sub-conscious mind.In the latest instalment of our hit Game Changers video and podcast series, Dr Phillip opens up to host Sarah Harris about how hypnotherapy helped her make a miraculous recovery from a medical emergency.
International author and leading pharmacist Gai Williams believes too many colleagues in the medical profession are misinforming distraught Aussie mums desperate for help.The co-founder of miracle herbal cure Wilby’s Wind & Colic Mix says doctors need to listen closer to those at their wits end over their baby’s crying – and consider that infantile colic could be the root of the problem.
A lot of top sports people duck for cover when the term role model is bestowed on them – but not cricket and soccer star Ellyse Perry.The humble dual international tells host Sarah Harris in the second instalment of Game Changers that she’s honoured to be helping drive an unprecedented interest in women’s sport across Australia.
Stay At Home Mum founder Jody Allen admits that her phenomenally successful site was a happy accident, rather than the result of a calculated master plan.As she tells host Sarah Harris in the third series of Game Changers her path to suburban savant began for entirely selfish reasons.
“You’ve got to learn that you can create whatever story (life) you want, but you’ve got to be willing to go out there and grab it,” adds the author of new book The Inconvenient Truth about Business Success.Ian decided to change his Story the day he fell head-over-heels in love with his now wife Jenny at 35.
When bio-tech boss Maria Halasz says she’s found a miracle cure for hair loss in men and women with a product called Évolis, she’s speaking from first-hand experience.Maria tells TV host Sarah Harris in the latest series of Game Changers, The Carousel’s hit video and podcast series showcasing inspiring Australians, that she began losing her hair at 40.
Frustrated by the lack of professional advice and services to help give her then 69-year-old mum the care she needed, Dana Sawyer took it upon herself to ensure it never happened to anyone else.Joining up with former nurse Jayne Maini, the pair have grown Millennium Aged Care Consultants into a tour de force of hands-on personalised aged care service, as host Sarah Harris discovers in the third of our hit Game Changers series.
Better Caring co-CEO Peter Scutt didn’t need to look far for inspiration when it came to developing his revolutionary new online marketplace for home care.He tells Game Changers host Sarah Harris (Shark Tank/Studio 10) that his own parents were the catalyst for the platform enabling people who are ageing, or those with a disability, to customise their own care and support.
It didn’t take long for Carl Jackson and his brother Jamie to know they were on to something big when they launched members-only retailer Oz Sale in 2007.In the opening episode of our fourth series of Game Changers, CEO Carl tells host Sarah Harris (Shark Tank/Studio 10) that they quickly had to ditch the practice of taking parcels by hand to their local post office in Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
PR and integrated marketing expert Georgia Branch and model Brigitte Warne knew they’d struck a chord with Australia’s first talent agency for the 30-plus before they’d even opened the doors.Prior to officially launching Silverfox MGMT Group in 2016 they received 400 applicants in Sydney and a similar number in Melbourne during an early recruitment drive.
When Andrea Walsh first made it to the top of the tech world in Australia, she didn’t see herself as a role model for other women wanting to follow in her footsteps.But the chief information officer (CIO) of leading media monitoring company iSentia tells Game Changers’ host Sarah Harris (Shark Tank/Studio 10), she looks around today and wonders where all the other women are.
Former private chef Edit Whitelaw had battled unsuccessfully to keep her weight in check for more than 30 years.The 157cm self-confessed sugar addict had tried everything in that time, from diet pills to the protein-fuelled Atkins diet, all to no avail.The turning point finally came last year after reading about the remarkable body transformation of Silicon Valley multimillionaire Dave Asprey in his best-selling book The Bulletproof Diet.
She started out in the family garage with just one brand, a stack of boxes, and little more than big dreams and loads of passion to fuel her fledging cosmedics business.Now, just a few enlightening years later, Maria Enna-Cocciolone is getting set to take on the world with O Cosmedics, one of Australia’s leading professional clinic-only skin care brands.
TV celebrity and award-winning entrepreneur Naomi Simson always drew motivation from a slew of inspiring role models growing up, her mother included.Today, the founder of popular experience retailer RedBalloon and straight-shooting panellist on Shark Tank [Tuesdays on Ten] says her most rewarding moments come from helping others achieve their own dreams and goals.
Combining her extensive business-building skills with her husband’s mechanical prowess has enabled Janelle and Elvio Gonzalez to revolutionise Australia’s automotive repair industry.The passionate car enthusiasts are the brains behind Blue Toro, a franchise of mobile mechanics with a pledge to end the rorts and rip-offs that are endemic in the trade.
For the last 40 years Mountain Designs has helped Australians get the most out of life’s many adventures, from long haul flights to London to scaling the world’s tallest peaks Now, it’s time for the family-owned company to share its passion for cutting-edge outdoor clothing and accessories with the rest of the world, CEO Caroline Machado Campos tells Game Changers host Sarah Harris.
James and Monica Meldrum, husband and wife founders of organic food company Whole Kids, have always had confidence in their brand, even using their home deposit to set up the business in 2005. In her Game Changers interview with Channel Ten’s Sarah Harris, Monica reflects on how launching Australia’s largest range of certified organic, free from artificial additives and allergen-friendly (also extremely yummy) kids’ snacks doesn’t just reflect the Spirit of Australia, it was inspired by personal experience.
Game Changers podcast series with Elaine Pearson!
Elaine Pearson is the Australia Director at Human Rights Watch. Based in Sydney, she works to influence Australian foreign and domestic policies in order to give them a human rights dimension. Prior to joining Human Rights Watch, Pearson worked for the United Nations and various non-governmental organizations in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kathmandu and London. She is an expert on migration and human trafficking issues and sits on the board of the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women.
With over 3-million books sold, self-confessed write-aholic, Di Morrissey recently released her 25th novel ‘The Red Coast’. As a girl, Di always dreamt of being a novelist but it only became reality in her late 30s. In our most recent Game Changers interview with Channel 10’s Sarah Harris, the glamorous author tells how it hasn’t always been smooth-going.