Business Women Australia Online, For-Purpose CEO Forum: Discovery Session for Purpose-Driven NFP Leaders

Leading a for-purpose or not-for-profit organisation brings a particular kind of complexity.

CEOs are expected to deliver meaningful impact while also navigating financial sustainability, governance, funding pressures, workforce challenges, compliance, stakeholder expectations, organisational change and the day-to-day realities of leading people through uncertainty.

Business Women Australia's Online Purpose in Practice: CEO Peer Forum offers a confidential, high-trust space for NFP and For-Purpose CEOs to come together, share experience, challenge thinking and learn from the wisdom already in the room.

This inaugural online session, facilitated by Rebecca Lythgo and Lyn Hawkins, has been informed by deep conversations with many CEOs in the Not-forProfit, social enterprise and for-purpose sectors. This is your invitation to help shape what comes next.

We will explore the challenges, opportunities and priorities currently shaping leadership and purpose-driven organisations, unpacking issues such as:

What is taking up the greatest amount of CEO attention right now?
Where are organisations experiencing the most friction?
What issues are becoming harder, more complex or more urgent?
What opportunities are emerging that CEOs want to be better positioned to pursue?
Where do CEOs need greater access to peer wisdom, specialist expertise or trusted sounding boards?
What can we learn from the commercial and enterprise sectors to improve impact and sustainability?
What would make a national CEO peer forum genuinely valuable over the next 12 months?

As an organisation that has been built upon co-design principles, we invite participants to input and bring the reality of your roles to the table in a safe, supportive environment.

This is not intended to be another webinar where someone arrives with all the answers.

The experience, insight and generosity of the CEOs participating will be central to what makes this forum valuable.

There is enormous wisdom across the for-purpose sector, yet CEOs rarely have enough opportunity to step outside their own organisation and have candid conversations with peers who understand the responsibility they carry.

This Discovery Session will also help us co-design the future 12-month Purpose in Practice CEO Peer Forum.

The ongoing forum will combine facilitated peer conversations with carefully selected expertise from leading BWA members and trusted specialists across Australia. Depending on the needs of the group, this may include areas such as:

Strategy and organisational direction
Strategic HR and people leadership
Governance and working effectively with Boards
Compliance and risk
Funding and financial sustainability
Finance and accounting
Organisational structure and operating models
NFP operational friction
Stakeholder and relationship management
Communication
Marketing and PR
Leadership team dynamics
Management capability
Technology and AI

Importantly, expertise will be brought into the forum in response to the needs of the CEOs, rather than determining the agenda.

Our aim is to create a trusted CEO table where leaders can bring the real issues, opportunities and questions they are navigating, and benefit from the collective intelligence, experience and connections of the group.

If you are a CEO leading a For-Purpose, NFP, social enterprise or purpose-led organisation, we would love you to join this inaugural conversation.

Come ready to contribute, listen, learn and help shape a CEO forum designed with its members, not simply for them.

About Rebecca Lythgo

Rebecca Lythgo is an enterprise performance executive who helps organisations perform better by identifying the constraints that others often overlook. With more than 20 years of leadership experience across Australia and Asia, she partners with CEOs, executive teams and boards to diagnose the underlying issues preventing strategy from translating into sustainable commercial results.

Rather than treating visible symptoms, Rebecca uncovers the organisational, commercial and operating model constraints that limit performance. She then works alongside leadership teams to realign strategy, decision-making, governance and execution, enabling organisations to perform as an integrated enterprise and achieve sustainable growth.

Her career spans financial services, private capital, and advisory, leading complex transformations across strategy, operations, technology, and commercial performance. Known for diagnosing before prescribing, Rebecca combines strategic thinking with executive accountability to deliver measurable commercial outcomes and build lasting organisational capability.

Rebecca also advises not-for-profit organisations and supports female founders, applying the same enterprise performance principles to help purpose-led organisations strengthen governance, build capability, and create greater long-term impact. Through her writing and speaking, she challenges conventional thinking about organisational performance, helping leaders understand why businesses stall and what it takes to reconnect ambition with execution.

About Lyn Hawkins

Lyn Hawkins is the National Director of Business Women Australia and Principal of Hawkins Marketing. With decades of experience advising organisations from startups to enterprises, Lyn is a highly sought-after strategist, facilitator, and executive coach. Her expertise spans business growth strategy, leadership development, cultural change, marketing and business development.

Passionate about creating opportunities for women, Lyn leads Business Women Australia’s national community, fostering collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and peer-to-peer support. She is dedicated to helping women elevate their careers, businesses, and influence.

About Business Women Australia

Business Women Australia (BWA) is a vibrant national collective of women from all sectors, industries, and professions. With a fast-growing group of more than 20,000 followers, BWA provides access to:

A supportive network of professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders.
Professional development programs, leadership masterminds, and retreats.
Inspiring podcasts, webinars, and thought-leadership events.
Opportunities to collaborate, connect, and grow.

BWA’s vision is to elevate women with knowledge, influence, and connection, helping members achieve their full potential both professionally and personally.

👉 Join today and be part of a national movement of women making an impact.

🔗 businesswomenaustralia.com.au/membership

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