Heather Round

Heather spent over 25 years in industry consulting globally as a senior project manager of largescale organisational change projects in the financial sector. In this capacity Heather reported to the senior leadership teams within large financial institutions. She had responsibility for diverse on-shore and off-shore teams, million-dollar budgets and was tasked with driving project outcomes while managing risks for the clients. In 2014 Heather completed a PhD through Melbourne University and transitioned into academia as a way of pursuing her interest in nurturing the next generation of leadership talent and in particular working with female leaders on their leadership identity formation. She is a senior lecturer at the Deakin Business School where she teaches leadership, creative thinking and innovation. In her academic capacity Heather has published research on leadership including female leadership identity formation in peer reviewed journals. She has co-developed a program with an industry partner to assist female leaders to thrive as authentic leaders within the corporate sector. She has a passion for making a difference in communities who may have less access to resources and has recently run programs on diversity and inclusivity in regional areas. She is currently working on research into community leadership models to assist uplift grass roots leadership in regional Victoria.