About Emma
I help CEOs, founders and executive teams treat their people function as a commercial lever, not a cost centre. With over a decade leading People & Culture across fintech, telco, and healthcare, I bring hands-on depth across the full lifecycle: org design and workforce planning, restructures and M&A, performance and reward frameworks, employee relations and compliance.
What sets me apart is AI. I've led a full AI transformation inside a scaling fintech, cutting People function manual effort and OPEX by 20% and moving AI from ad hoc experimentation to a governed operating discipline. I help organisations build AI-ready people functions that are lean, scalable and commercially grounded.
I work best with scaling and changing businesses: rapid growth, the path to profitability, restructures and transformation. Engagements range from fractional CPO or Head of People leadership through to defined projects, including operating model redesign, performance framework build, ESOP and reward design, ER and restructure execution, and standing up AI capability across your people team.
Grounded in psychology and trained as a coach, I read the human dynamics behind the structure, and I'm direct about what will actually move the business.
English
Native or bilingual
Can work on-site
Sydney (up to 50km)
Experience
- BrighteHead of People & PerformanceSeptember 2021 - Today (4 years and 11 months)Brighte is a leading Australian fintech driving the energy transition, financing solar, battery and home electrification for households across Australia. Head of People & Performance, partner to the CEO and executive team, leading workforce strategy, organisational design and change across a workforce spanning Australia and the Philippines.
- Led AI adoption across the People function. Introduced AI-enabled workflows with practical applications across productivity, decision-making and employee experience. Reduced P&C manual effort and OPEX by 20% through automation, and embedded AI into people and business decisions. Delivered an AI/automation execution playbook and responsible-use framework — shifting AI from individual experimentation to a governed operating discipline.
- Organisational Redesign & Restructure Execution. Led large-scale restructure programs while maintaining full legal compliance, dignified consultation and an empathy-led communications approach. Designed the senior leadership structure to align to the path to profitability, with financial impact modelling for CFO and Board review.
- Performance Framework Design & Execution. Designed and implemented an enterprise Performance Framework across four assessment pillars and a 5-point rating scale, with an Executive Calibration process and structured post-cycle program. Achieved 100% resolution of identified underperformance — each individual either managed a turnaround or exited the business.
- ESOP Design & Launch. Led end-to-end design and launch of a new Employee Share Option Plan — a complex Total Rewards program delivered across Board, shareholders, executive team, internal SMEs and external legal advisors.
- Compensation Framework. Built a commercially aligned pay-for-performance framework with defined market benchmarking methodology and structured remuneration review process — giving the business a consistent, transparent and defensible approach across all levels.
- Amaysim / OptusPeople & Culture ManagerDecember 2018 - September 2021 (2 years and 9 months)High-growth Australian telecommunications brand (now merged with Optus) serving millions of customers through a digital-first model. Emma led the People Operations function across approximately 650 employees in Sydney, Melbourne and Manila, reporting to the CPO and sitting on the senior leadership team.
- M&A People Workstream. Led the People & Culture workstream of the Optus acquisition end-to-end: due diligence, change program design (contract renegotiations, communications, redundancies, redeployments, on/offboarding) and post-merger transition. One of only two P&C roles retained post merger by Optus.
- Payroll & Systems Integration. Led a 12-month program to consolidate multiple acquired entities onto SuccessFactors Employee Central Payroll, migrating approximately 300 employees and embedding bespoke payroll practices to improve modern award and contractual compliance.
- Employee Engagement. Lifted engagement to 92% — Amaysim's highest score on record — with consistent quarter-on-quarter improvement across the 12 months leading into the merger. Owned survey design, results analysis and leadership team activation.
- COVID-19 People Response. Stood up a full-remote operating model at pace across approximately 250 employees, embedded wellbeing and connection practices, and led difficult decisions for roles that couldn't transition — underpinned by clear, consistent executive communications.
- GeneaPeople & Culture ConsultantApril 2015 - November 2018 (3 years and 7 months)Market-leading Australian fertility provider combining IVF technology with personalised care. Emma partnered with business leaders across approximately 500 employees to deliver on the People strategy, reporting to the HR Director.
- Recruitment Platform Implementation. Implemented Peoplestream as the centralised hiring platform, lifting hiring manager satisfaction by 20%, reducing time-to-fill by 20 days and increasing the proportion of roles hired to budget.
- Talent Program. Led the 2018 Talent Program — identifying and developing the top 10 high-potential employees through psychometric assessment, competency review and 1:1 coaching to accelerate readiness for senior roles.
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Education
- Practising Certification in Human ResourcesAHRI2018Practising Certification in Human Resources
- Graduate Diploma in Counselling & PsychotherapyACAP2015Graduate Diploma in Counselling & Psychotherapy