Business Breakfast - Leadership

Name: Business Breakfast - Leadership
Start: 2026-07-23T08:00:00+1000
End: 2026-07-23T10:00:00+1000
Location: The College at Western Sydney University

Thu, 23 Jul, 8am - 10am AEST

The College at Western Sydney University

Parramatta NSW, Australia

Western Sydney University The College

29 followers · Contact host

Description

Here's event description copy drawn from the brief, written to attract the right audience and convey what makes this event genuinely worth attending:

Business Breakfast: Leadership What does modern leadership actually look like?

We tend to describe leadership in the language of position. Titles, reporting lines, the size of a team or a budget. Yet the leaders who stay with us, the ones who change how we see ourselves and what we believe is possible, are rarely defined by any of that.

This Business Breakfast is an invitation to explore a deceptively simple question: what does leadership actually look like today? Not in theory, and not on an organisational chart, but in lived experience.

Join us for an honest, human conversation with three exceptional leaders from very different worlds, each of whom has agreed to step beyond their achievements and speak openly about the journey that made them.

This is a morning about the human side of leadership. About vulnerability and courage, resilience and self-awareness, and the difference between being in charge and being trusted.

Whether you lead a large organisation, a small team, a community, or are still finding your voice, there will be something here that speaks to your experience.

We would be glad to welcome you to the table.

Lineup

Professor Jennifer Westacott AC

Jennifer Westacott AC is one of Australia's most influential voices on economic reform, public policy, and institutional leadership. As the longest-serving Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia (2011 to 2023), she spent more than a decade advocating for a stronger, fairer economy, working across the highest levels of government and the private sector to shape national reform priorities. She has held senior leadership positions in the NSW and Victorian governments, including as Director General of the NSW Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources, and Secretary of the Victorian Department of Education and Training. She is a Non-Executive Director of Wesfarmers, Chair of the Bradfield Development Authority, Australia's Business Champion to Indonesia, and a member of the Reserve Bank of Australia's Governance Board. Appointed as the University's fourth Chancellor in January 2023, Jennifer is the first woman to hold the role.
James Jegasothy - Acting Chief Executive Officer @ Multicultural NSW

Having come to Australia as a refugee, James is passionate about achieving equitable outcomes for vulnerable people and communities. Informed by his personal history, he has more than two decades of experience working with diverse communities and has held strategic leadership and governance roles in government, for-purpose, and community organisations. In his current role as Acting CEO of Multicultural NSW, he advises State Government on policies and programs to achieve the full potential of multiculturalism. Prior to this he was the Executive Director at the Western Australian Office of Multicultural Interests. In WA, he was also the Senior Reviewer for the Agency Capability Review of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services with the Public Sector Commission. Additionally, James has held roles such as Board Director of the WA Child and Adolescent Health Service (Children’s Hospital), Chair of Rise Network (an aged care and disability services provider), Member or the Anglican Social Responsibility Commission, Vice Chair of the Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees, Secretary of the Ethnic Communities Council of Western Australia, the WA State Manager for Welcome to Australia and led asylum seeker programs for Australian Red Cross.
Karen Jones - Chief Executive Officer Destination NSW

Karen Jones is the CEO of Destination NSW, the NSW Government's tourism and major events agency, bringing more than 27 years of leadership experience across state and local government. She was appointed to the permanent role in June 2025 following five months as Acting CEO, during which NSW achieved its highest-ever visitor expenditure and the agency delivered landmark events including Vivid Sydney 2025, Great Southern Nights, and Australia Day in Sydney. Prior to Destination NSW, Karen served as CEO of the Office of Sport, where she led the agency's Strategic Plan, the Play Her Way Strategy, and contributed to the ambitious "10 World Cups in 10 Years" initiative. She is widely regarded as an accomplished and respected chief executive with a strong track record in driving growth, strategic partnerships, and operational performance across diverse sectors. Karen now leads Destination NSW at a pivotal moment, as the state prepares to launch its revised NSW Visitor Economy Strategy and looks ahead to the opening of Western Sydney International Airport, a generational opportunity for the state's visitor economy.