Importance of Women - September - From Leader to Director: Navigating Your Path to the Boardroom
Description
You've built a career. You've led teams, driven strategy, and delivered results. And somewhere along the way, a board role has started to feel like the natural next step but the path there isn't always clear.
Did you know that women now hold 37.6% of board seats on ASX 200 companies - a substantial increase from just under 20% back in 2015? Progress worth acknowledging. But for an industry that champions gender equality, this is one milestone that calls for greater momentum. There is still significant ground to cover, and the women who will close that gap are in rooms just like this one.
This September, IOW brings together women who have navigated exactly that journey (across both volunteer and paid director roles) to share what they wish they'd known earlier, what the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) course is really like, and what senior women should be thinking about and doing right now to position themselves for a board career.
Expect real, behind-the-scenes insight on how to land your first board position: from crafting a standout board resume and pitching yourself effectively, to confidently lobbying for the role you know you're ready for.
Whether you're actively pursuing a board role, quietly curious, or simply want to understand what the pathway looks like, this evening will give you practical tools, honest conversations, and a community of women on the same journey. Because the boardroom needs more women in it and that starts with knowing how to get there.
Location: Method Recruitment Group. 11/179 Queen St, Melbourne (In-Person only)
Event Start time: 6:00 PM
Finish Time: 8:00 PM
Catered panel event.
Our Panelists
Sheena Wilson
Sheena is an experienced Non-Executive Director, Board Chair, and a Board & Leadership coach. Demonstrating sector and role dexterity at Board and C-Suite levels internationally, career highlights include many years living and working around the world for two NYSE listed companies including 12 years at The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY), one of the world’s leading financial institutions. Sheena was appointed Chair of Women on Boards Australia in 2023; she was a NED, Deputy Chair and ultimately Chair of Herron Todd White Australia over a 10-year period; and she has recently been appointed to the Board of the Abbotsford Convent Foundation. She has led the HR workstreams for multiple cross-border M&A deals; completed a landmark multimillion dollar PE deal as Chair of Herron Todd White in 2025; and is a recipient of international awards for cross-border strategic human resources leadership.
Freya Marsden
Freya Marsden is an experienced Chair and non-executive director with an energy, water, infrastructure and environmental sector background specialising in governance, corporate strategy, finance, assurance and sustainability. She is currently Chair of VicReturn, Chair of the Victorian Sustainability Fund, Independent Board Director and Chair of People and Remuneration and previously Audit and Risk of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, Chair of Risk Optimisation and Sustainability for Melbourne Water, Technical Expert Artificial Intelligence Standards Australia, and Charter Member of the Brotherhood of St Laurence. She is Managing Director of the Acuity Group Pty Ltd. She has previously held non-executive roles with VicRoads, South East Water, City West Water, Water Infrastructure NSW, and the Victorian Planning Authority and executive roles with AECOM and Victorian Government, Federal Treasury and Treasurer’s Office and Business Council of Australia.
Priyanka Haribhai
Priyanka Haribhai founded Vistara Search with the mission to raise the bar in executive search. She is passionate about delivering not just the best possible outcomes, but also exceptional and memorable experiences for both clients and candidates. Having lived and worked in multiple cities around the world, Priyanka brings a global perspective, empathy, inclusivity, and human connection to her work, shaping the way she approaches every partnership. Priyanka has over thirteen years of experience partnering with private, venture and PE-backed, and publicly listed businesses across technology and consumer-facing industries on C-suite, Board, and senior commercial leadership appointments. Prior to founding Vistara Search, she worked at leading global executive talent platforms and boutique search firms, including True Search, the MitchelLake Group, The MBS Group and SpenglerFox, in Australia and the UK.
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