Advancing women in technology has been a priority for most organisations for years. The gap between intention and outcome has barely moved. At our recent Leadership Unfiltered breakfast in Sydney, senior tech executives gathered to move beyond awareness into the kind of candid, practical conversation that rarely happens in public. We heard from Brendon Riley , Former Chief Executive at Telstra Infraco, and Duncan Hewett , Former Senior Vice President and General Manager Asia Pacific and Japan at VMware – two of Australia's most respected technology leaders – who drew on their careers to share the specific actions, missteps, and sponsorship moments that helped women on their teams break through to senior roles. Sheryl Carroll , Integrative Health Practitioner and Women's Health Coach, brought a complementary and often overlooked perspective: how women's health and wellbeing intersects with career advancement at every stage – and what organisations are missing by not accounting for it. The dimension organisations aren't accounting for Sheryl opened a conversation that is largely absent from leadership forums: the physical and hormonal arc of a woman's working life. From significant health challenges that can affect energy, focus, and confidence at any career stage, to pregnancy and parental leave, to the cumulative weight of the invisible load – the domestic and emotional labour that disproportionately falls on women – the biological reality of the working experience is rarely factored into how organisations are designed or how leaders are prepared. The response doesn't require a complex program. It starts with genuine awareness and leaders who ask how someone is really doing – and mean it. From directing to unlocking Both Brendon and Duncan were candid about getting it wrong first. Early in their careers, both led through instruction — pushing harder, assuming effort and direction from the top was what drove performance. The shift that changed how they led was moving from directing to removing the barriers that prevented people from performing at their best. The insight, when it came, was the same: the potential was already there. The role of the leader was to surface it, not manufacture it. For both, that realisation didn't come from a leadership program – it came from paying closer attention to what was actually happening around them. The relationship gap that costs you talent One of the harder themes of the morning: the cost of leader relationships that don't go deep enough. When leaders don't know what's really happening in someone's life – their ambitions, their constraints, the pressures they're managing alongside their role – they can't support them effectively. Women, both speakers observed, tend to manage the whole picture. They are often highly capable of compartmentalising and getting on with it, even when significant things are happening beneath the surface. That places a real responsibility on leaders to ask the second question – and to build enough trust that the real answer feels safe to give. Confidence is the barrier – and it's addressable What most often holds women back isn't capability. The women in these conversations weren't lacking skills – they were navigating environments where visibility was inconsistent, sponsorship was patchy, and the path forward was unclear. The response that works isn't more training. It's active, deliberate sponsorship – advocating in rooms where the person isn't present, creating visibility, and building the conditions for women to see themselves in the role ahead rather than just knowing it exists in theory. This isn't theoretical. Leaders in the room had tested it at scale – running programs designed to address the skills gap in women returning to technology, only to find the skills gap wasn't the issue. Confidence was, every time. The double burden of emotional intelligence A question that surfaced in discussion: if the qualities that make women effective leaders – holding the whole picture, asking the deeper question, attending to the wellbeing of the team – are also the qualities that can quietly add to their load, how do women embrace them without being typecast by them? The answer that emerged wasn't to dial those qualities back. It was for organisations and leaders to recognise them for what they are – a strategic asset – and to stop treating them as an informal tax. When emotional intelligence is expected but unacknowledged, it becomes invisible labour. When it's recognised and valued in how people are assessed, promoted, and supported, it becomes a genuine differentiator. The responsibility sits with the organisation as much as the individual Design it in – don't bolt it on Brendon spoke to the difference between retrofitting diversity into an existing culture and designing it in from the start. When the opportunity exists to build something new, the early decisions about who is in the room and what behaviours are rewarded shape everything that follows. Brendon referenced research on representation suggesting that when a minority group reaches around 25% – a tipping point – the dynamic in the room shifts. The culture changes. Interactions change. Getting there requires deliberate choices made early, not after the habits have already formed. The role male leaders play What made this conversation distinctive was its framing. This wasn't a discussion about what women need to do differently. It was two senior male leaders reflecting honestly on the specific decisions – and the specific failures – that shaped the women on their teams. The consistent thread: they weren't giving women an advantage. They were removing disadvantages that had always been there. Sponsoring people into rooms they weren't in. Creating space for contribution before it felt warranted. Backing someone before they felt ready, because the leader could see what the person couldn't yet see in themselves. For male leaders in technology, the ask is clear: the question isn't whether to be involved in this work. It's whether the decisions being made every day are advancing it – or quietly undermining it. The conversation didn't stop in Sydney. The following week in Canberra, Claudine Beltrami , Former ANZ Head of Public Sector at Verizon Business, and Lucy Poole , Deputy Chief Executive Officer – Digital Strategy, Policy and Performance at the Digital Transformation Agency, brought their own experience of senior leadership in technology to a roundtable of women in the industry. Our thanks to Katharine Whittaker for facilitating both conversations with the honesty and depth they deserved, and to Brendon, Duncan, Sheryl, Claudine, and Lucy for their honesty and generosity. Continue the conversation For further insights or to explore how Derwent can support your organisation's approach to women in technology leadership, connect with our Digital & Technology Practice team at sydney@derwentsearch.com.au To register your interest in future Derwent events, please reach out to us at events@derwentsearch.com.au .

What was once viewed as a temporary stopgap is now recognised as strategic capability. As organisations operate leaner than ever, through automation, AI-enabled processes, and efficiency drives, the pressure point is clear: when major initiatives arise or executive roles become vacant, there is little capacity left to absorb the workload. Interim executive leadership bridges the gap, maintaining momentum and delivering change at pace – while a quality permanent search secures the right long-term appointment. What's Driving This Shift Lean Operations Creating Capacity Walls Organisations that have successfully streamlined operations are vulnerable to the trade-off: when major initiatives emerge, there’s little capacity in the system. A private equity-backed logistics organisation acquiring two competitors can’t pause organic growth to integrate the acquisitions. A publicly listed financial services firm implementing new regulatory requirements can’t pull their Chief Financial Officer off business as usual for nine months. The permanent executive team that runs lean operations brilliantly often lacks the bandwidth for the strategic initiatives that drive growth. Business Continuity During Leadership Transitions Leadership transitions may be more frequent than boards would like. According to FTI Consulting’s 2024 Global CFO Report, 61% of Chief Financial Officers globally report average tenure of less than five years, and Chief Executive Officer turnover follows a similar pattern. When an executive exits, organisations face a choice: rush a permanent appointment, redistribute workload across an already stretched team, or maintain momentum with interim leadership while a thorough permanent search runs in parallel. Without interim support during the transition, the risk is real – critical decisions get delayed, strategic projects stall, and team morale suffers when colleagues absorb additional responsibility. From Stopgap to Strategic Capability Private equity firms are expert at leveraging flexible, high-calibre leadership into their portfolio companies to execute value creation plans without long-term fixed costs. The model is powerful and accessible with the right partner – proven interim executives (sometimes referred to as fixed-term contractors) are brought in to deliver defined outcomes while the permanent search identifies the right long-term appointment, then transitioned out when that person is in place. In many cases, the interim executive becomes the permanent appointment – an effective de-risking mechanism that lets both the organisation and the individual assess fit before committing long-term. We’re now seeing this model adopted well beyond private equity – ASX-listed companies and large private enterprises are building interim capability into how they plan, not just how they respond. The Delivery Advantage When organisations face major initiatives, many have historically turned to consulting firms. The interim executive model offers something fundamentally different: accountability from the inside. An interim executive integrating an acquisition isn't engaged alongside the business – they're embedded within it, leading teams, owning decisions, and driving outcomes as part of the leadership team. What This Means For Private Equity Firms and Portfolio Companies: The model of running assets lean whilst executing rapid transformations is being adopted more broadly across the Australian corporate landscape. Interim executive talent provides senior capability precisely when and where it is needed, without inflating the fixed cost base. When that interim executive is also a potential permanent appointment, the engagement becomes a live assessment – providing a powerful de-risking mechanism on both sides of a critical hire. Boards and C-Suite Executives: Major transactions, transformation projects, and unexpected executive departures no longer require a choice between overwhelming the permanent team, rushing critical appointments, or engaging consulting firms. Executive interim leadership provides a fourth option: proven leaders who own delivery, integrate with the organisation, and transition out when the initiative is complete or the permanent appointment is in place. Talent and Human Resources Leaders : The calibre of interim executive talent now accessible, and the speed at which it can be deployed, is reshaping how talent leaders advise the business on leadership capacity. Building those relationships before capacity constraints or leadership transitions emerge is the difference between a reactive conversation and a strategic one. The organisations getting this right aren’t treating interim leadership as a fallback – they’re building it into how they think about leadership capacity and talent strategy. Interim and permanent executive search are powerful partners: one buys the time the other needs to ensure you get the right talent solution for your organisation. If you're exploring how interim executive leadership works in practice, reach out to John O'Leary , Partner – Interim. To learn how interim and permanent executive search could work together for your organisation, contact us here . We'd welcome the conversation. Derwent brings together executive search, interim solutions, and board search, partnering with your organisation to find and connect the right high-impact talent to support your leadership needs, now and into the future.