Avril
Henry
Speaker Profile
Avril Henry was recently recognised by the Australian Institute of Management as one of the top 40 Management thinkers in the world. Her career spans senior roles in Finance, IT Project Management, Change Management and HR, in Australia and Internationally, in companies such as De Beers, Barclays Bank, Midland Bank, UBS Warburg and Westpac.
Avril Henry is an outstanding speaker, articulate, challenging, informative, dynamic... these are just some of the words that have been used to describe her.
Avril Henry Pty Ltd is a management consulting business established in July 2003, focusing on leadership, change management, talent management, diversity, recruitment and retention strategies. In 2008 Avril Henry's business was one of the five finalists in the City of Sydney Business of the Year awards.
Over the last five years, Avril Henry has delivered over 550 Keynote Addresses to over 50,000 people in Australia, New Zealand and Asia to companies and industries as diverse as CEDA, IBM, BHP, Department of Defence, ATO, Murray Darling Basin, ABS, Queensland Health, NSW Health, NSW Police, WA Police, ANZ, Westpac, Astra Zeneca, UTS, Macquarie University, CPA Australia, Telstra, Mortgage Industry Association of Australia, Fitness Industry Association, Australian Superannuation Funds Industry, Real Estate Industry Association, the Property Council of Australia, The Chamber of Commerce in four states, and various Singapore government departments.
Avril Henry has been contracted by the University of Western Sydney to develop a three year leadership program for their gifted scholarship students, to be delivered in addition to their academic studies to better prepare them for leadership positions in the future.
During 2006, Avril Henry completed a Ministerial Review for the Minister of Defence, into Recruitment and Retention in the Army, Air Force and Navy. The recommendations of 'The Henry Report' were accepted by the government in December 2006. Following the review, Avril was appointed as a Strategic Advisor to the Chief of Navy, and joined the Navy's Workforce Planning Committee, being the only female and civilian on the committee. In 2006, Avril won the prestigious Lifetime Achievement in HR Award at the Australian Human Resources Awards. In 2005, she was a finalist in the Sydney Business Review Business Woman of the Year. In 2008, she was recognised by the NSW government, as part of International Women's Day, as one of the 100 women nominated for the NSW Woman of the Year 2008.
In 2007 Avril Henry joined the board of Peter Baines' Hands Across the Water Australia, a charity which raises money to build and operate self sustainable orphanages in Thailand for Thai children who lost their parents in the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. She is also proud of the fact that in 2007 she achieved a long held dream of successfully running the New York City Marathon.
Avril received the prestigious Coaching Leadership Award at the 2012 Global HR Excellence Awards, citing 'Avril's leadership and contribution to the field of HR is well known globally, and the position she occupies in the fraternity is strategic and iconic and as a thinker and doer she is a role model and a believer in change.'
Avril Henry is the author of Leadership Revelations: An Australian Perspective, The Who What When and Y of Generation Why?, and is a co-author of the book Ideas, Original Perspectives from Leading Thinkers. She is featured in the book Secrets Exposed of Inspiring Leaders, as one of Australia's most inspiring female leaders. Her latest book released in 2007, titled Inspiring Tomorrow's Leaders Today: Breaking Down Generational Barriers At Work is the first in a four part series to be released over the next few years.
Travels from New South Wales
Client Comments
Client Comments
- Thank you for delivering a brilliant keynote presentation at TUF23. Your presentation set an extremely positive and enthusiastic vibe running through all delegates. Comments from your presentation were popping up everywhere, quoted in other sessions throughout the forum. There were plenty of references to Gens X and Y, the baby boomers and veterans. I think people had seen the light and felt empowered to make changes for the better, based on this new insight into generational differences.
I can't stress enough how many people commented on your presentation and how fabulous it really was. I would like to also thank you for the time spent in preparing your presentation, traveling to and from TUF23 and speaking with delegates to answer their questions afterwards.
HP Software & Solutions - For the past five years Avril has been working with Fund Executives Association Ltd to help the CEOs of Australia's largest superannuation funds to become better leaders. Through keynote presentations and workshop facilitation, Avril has equipped fund executives with essential people management strategies and guided our members to consider and understand the critical role they play in establishing a workplace culture that values individuals and encourages team members to give and achieve their very best. Avril Henry has the unique ability to engage an audience, impart knowledge, inspire thought and motivate the change that leads to better outcomes for individuals and organisations.
Fund Executives Association Ltd - Thanks very much for your fantastic contribution to our Spokeswoman's conference - the feedback has been unbelievable and you were an inspiration to us all.
NSW Police - Avril's knowledge of the global situation was impressive, extremely well planned, insightful and interesting. It was a lot of fun, hardly noticed the learning aspect; Avril had great energy... a practical session, especially on giving constructive feedback... the understanding of self was excellent.
NSW Health - Avril Henry was brilliant! I really enjoyed the topic - very well presented, informative, entertaining and one of the most thought-provoking topics I have listened to in a long time. She's a very polished presenter; I took away lots of information that will be useful at work. Avril would have to be one of the best speakers I have listened to in over 24 years.
IBM New Zealand - Avril is a consummate professional in her chosen field. Her knowledge is based on substantial research and personal contact with potentially hundreds of people and organisations. Avril's style is to communicate and educate using humour and audience engagement. In our case the presentations were modified to ensure alignment with the fashion industry and the large number of creative people whom participated.
Avril in her consultancy practice provides the tools and strategic insights that assist people understand each other and work more positively together.
Apparel Group Australia
Topics
Speaker Topics
- Change Leadership
- Conflict Resolution
- Diversity Leadership
- Employer Branding
- Generation Y: Managing and motivating a new generation of workers
- Generational Recruitment and Retention
- Leading Through Effective Communication for Improved Results
- Performance Management
- Recruiting and Retaining Generation X and Y: Adapting our approach to meet the challenges of the 21st century
- The Art and Science of Managing People
- Women in Leadership
- Workforce in the Year 2025
Related Categories
Related Speakers
"Communication was always consistent and the staff at Saxtons were affable and courteous."
NSW Department of Education and Training
"It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper."
Jerry Seinfeld