8 Brisbane People Leaders Worth Knowing Right Now

Brisbane has no shortage of serious people work. The leaders below are worth knowing because their roles sit close to culture, capability, change and the everyday experience of work. It is a practical guide to people leadership across Brisbane organisations.

The group includes chief people officers and close equivalents working across professional services, banking, essential services, early learning, community work, infrastructure and investment management.

1. Kate Lindwall.

Chief People & Culture Officer, Grant Thornton Australia.

Kate Lindwall leads the national People & Culture team at Grant Thornton Australia and is based in the Brisbane office. Her brief is about creating an inclusive experience across a national professional-services organisation. That makes her useful to study if you care about culture across teams and offices.

Kate is especially relevant for leaders thinking about how care, collaboration and performance fit together. Her public profile is live, though the clearest dated posts visible were older, so this entry rests on her current role and professional record rather than a claim about frequent posting.

2. Kerry Atkinson.

Chief People Officer, BDO in Australia.

Kerry Atkinson is BDO in Australia's Chief People Officer, based in Brisbane. BDO's profile describes a remit connecting people strategy with business outcomes, capability, culture and employee experience. That is a useful reminder that people leadership is one of the ways the operating model becomes real.

Kerry's public profile shows a recent promotion into the role and work around BDO's people value proposition. She is worth knowing for the link between a clear promise to employees and the everyday choices that make it believable.

3. Tracey Lake.

Chief People Officer, Great Southern Bank.

Tracey Lake is the Chief People Officer at Great Southern Bank, with a public profile identifying Brisbane. Her recent work centres on engagement, listening and the connection between employee experience and customer outcomes. It shows people work as a business capability.

Tracey's visible activity includes a recent reflection on engagement results and the work behind the bank's culture. Her work is useful if you are exploring how leaders can listen at scale, turn feedback into action and keep culture connected to performance without reducing it to a score.

4. Kellie Breen.

Chief People Officer, SunWater.

Kellie Breen is SunWater's Chief People Officer and is publicly listed in the Greater Brisbane area. Diversity Council Australia named her in its April 2026 Brisbane CEO roundtable, where leaders discussed inclusion, artificial intelligence, a multigenerational workforce and workforce planning. Her role shows people leadership in an essential-services organisation.

Kellie's public profile shows current activity around leadership and the roundtable. She is worth knowing if your work involves balancing capability, operational risk and a workforce that needs to adapt while the service keeps running.

5. Natalie Townsend.

Chief People & Culture Officer, Goodstart Early Learning.

Natalie Townsend is Goodstart Early Learning's Chief People & Culture Officer in the Greater Brisbane area. Goodstart says she leads its people and learning teams, with a focus on an inclusive environment for employees and the children the organisation serves. That is a people brief with a clear line of sight to purpose.

Natalie's background includes major HR transformation work in the Queensland public service. Her current public profile shows visible activity, making her useful to know if you are thinking about the link between people systems, learning, inclusion and service quality.

6. Nicole Bunning.

Chief People Officer, Y Queensland.

Nicole Bunning is Chief People Officer at Y Queensland and is publicly listed in Brisbane. Her setting is different from a listed company or professional-services firm: the work connects people practice with youth services, community impact and a purpose-led organisation. That makes her relevant to leaders who need culture and capability to serve a social mission.

Nicole's public profile shows current organisation-related activity and a clear connection to Y Queensland. She is worth knowing for the way people leadership supports staff, volunteers, leaders and communities at the same time, with a focus on trust and practical impact.

7. Alison Sherry OAM.

Chief People Officer, DCWC.

Alison Sherry OAM is Chief People Officer at DCWC and is publicly listed in the Greater Brisbane area. Her role sits inside a project and infrastructure consultancy, where capability, delivery confidence and the right expertise matter. Her public profile recently shared DCWC's new executive leadership structure after its combination with RP Infrastructure.

Alison is useful to know if you are navigating growth, integration or a change in how a professional organisation is structured. Her remit is a reminder that people leadership matters when an organisation is changing shape and needs a clear story about who it is becoming.

8. Paul Chasemore.

Chief People and Culture Officer, QIC.

Paul Chasemore is QIC's Chief People and Culture Officer. QIC's official profile places the role in its Brisbane office and describes responsibility for HR advisory, reward, talent, performance, diversity and inclusion. His public profile lists QIC in Brisbane, although the visible location field still shows Greater Sydney, so this guide uses the office location rather than making a claim about where he lives.

Paul brings a long financial-services and transformation background. He is worth knowing if you are interested in commercially grounded people strategy, especially how reward, performance and talent decisions shape execution.

What these Brisbane people leaders show.

The common thread is not a single HR trend. It is the expectation that people leaders can connect culture to operating reality, whether that means professional services, banking, essential services, early learning, community work, infrastructure or investment management.

They also show why a good people brief is rarely limited to policy. It includes the employee experience, leadership capability, workforce planning, learning, inclusion, performance and the conditions that help people do useful work.

How to use this list.

Start with the leader whose organisational setting is closest to yours. Read their public profile, look at the organisation's current people priorities and pay attention to the problems they are trying to solve, not just the job title.

If you are building a Brisbane people-leadership network, use the list as a starting point for thoughtful learning. A specific comment on a public idea is usually more useful than a generic connection request.

The bigger lesson.

Brisbane's people leaders are working in very different settings, but the strongest roles share a practical centre: helping an organisation become easier to lead, easier to contribute to and more capable of doing its work well. That is the part worth paying attention to.

If your organisation wants practical help turning culture into everyday leadership habits, get in touch with Consult Clarity.

Jonno White is the founder of Consult Clarity. He helps leaders build organisations people would move cities to work at. His work is practical rather than motivational: something people can use on Monday morning, not a feeling that fades by Friday.

Related reading.

For more on practical leadership work, visit Consult Clarity and read about Jonno White.