Business In Colour

In this episode of Business in Colour, I talk with Nyachan Nyak — the visionary founder and CEO of the Nas Recovery Centre, and a purpose-led leader transforming mental health and substance use support for African communities through culturally tailored care and lived experience leadership. Nyachan holds a Master’s degree in mental health and a bachelor’s degree in Community Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drugs. She’s also a certified suicide prevention and intervention skills trainer, and advises government through multiple committees on evidence-based suicide prevention strategies. But what makes Nyachan’s story unforgettable is how she tells it — with honesty, clarity, and joy. She arrived in Australia in 2002 at just 11 years old, after living in refugee camps, and she speaks powerfully about resilience, belonging, racism, and the strength of community — and why she’s committed to bringing people “home” through healing. Nyachan takes us behind the scenes of the Nas Recovery Centre — from free counselling, justice programs for young people in custody, outreach work with Victoria Police, rehabilitation pathways, and collective healing sessions grounded in culture and dignity. We are so grateful for her wisdom, and her reminder that in mental health, slowing down and listening well can change lives — and even generations. If this conversation resonates with you, please share the episode, leave a review, and follow Business in Colour — it helps us bring more powerful stories like Nyachan’s to the communities who need them most.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Business in Colour I talk to Donna DeZWart who is an accomplished leader with over 30 years of experience in consulting and the education sector, including 10 years as a CEO in the for-purpose sector.  Donna leads Fitted for Work that specifically focusses on the employability of women through its range of programs and welcomes into their safe spaces nationally all women, non-binary, and gender-diverse jobseekers. Under Donna’s leadership, Fitted for Work has built two successful social enterprises, which she talks to in this podcast.  In 2024 Fitted for Work was the winner of the Victorian Telstra Business Award – Accelerating Women and this is where I met amazing Donna in the National rounds, as a judge. In this podcast, Donna gives us a window into her personal story, and her professional journey – she shows us her social heart and commercial mind. She is incredible and so is Fitted for Work. We both have a clear call to action from an economic perspective for businesses who should be looking to partner as part of their ESG or gender equity commitments – Did you know that a vulnerable woman can take up to 18 months to find her way back into employment - with Fitted For Work’s intervention, this can take just 77 days. Tell me you don’t want to align with that kind of measurable Impact. Please enjoy the purpose-lead - leader, dynamic, Donna De Zwart.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of business in colour we interview Krushnadevsinh Ravalji [Kano as he is popularly known] who is the founder of Third Culture Australia and Youth Commissioner at the Victorian Multicultural Commission. As a passionate advocate for D&I, Kano works to empower young people and multicultural communities nationwide. His dedication to equity has earned him accolades such as the VicHealth Future Changemaker Award and Wyndham City’s Young Citizen of the Year. In this episode, Kano generously shares his experiences of racism as a young migrant person in school and how this led him to start Third Culture and to advocate for young people. He provides some great advice for those young people wanting to engage safely and for business leaders also who need to meaningfully engage with young people. We talk business, politics, community, leadership and what the education systems need more of. Hear why Kano describes young people as knowledge brokers and why he implores us all to connect through our differences. Please enjoy the optimistic and inspirational Kano – Krushnadevsinh Ravalji. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Business in Colour, Sadhana and I talk with Dr. Suji Sanjeevan, a Melbourne-based doctor turned ambiance innovator, who masterfully blends science, artistry, and creativity. She is a graduate of King’s College London, beginning her career in policy development and research at leading institutions, including the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. In 2015, her career took a transformative leap, when she co-founded Light & Glo Designs alongside her husband, Dr. Sanjeevan, an allergy specialist. Their Australian fragrance house operates through two visionary arms: LIGHT + GLO, celebrated for its premium home and personal fragrances, and BrandScent, a pioneering scent marketing agency specialising in bespoke olfactory branding.  Did you know that 60% of our emotions are driven by scent? Suji shares the science behind scents, their experience on Shark Tank, building a business from scratch with just $237, the challenges and hurdles to keep the business going – a behind the scenes in business - we don’t offer hear. We are so grateful for her honestly and even more so when she shares a bit more about herself, her SriLankan heritage, the expectations and pressure from culture and family and the impacts to well-being, finding your voice and what success truly means for culturally diverse individuals without socio-cultural norms. A jam packed episode with an outstanding, human centered, authentic leader, Suji Sanjeevan.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we talk to Peter Malley who generously shares his journey to becoming a disability advocate, drawing from his own lived experience. Peter has been a consulting traffic engineer for 20 years with a passion for master planning and lending his transport engineering expertise to large-scale developments. He has contributed expert advice to a range of significant projects including town centres, residential subdivisions, mixed-use developments, healthcare, and educational facilities throughout his career. In 2020 Peter was involved in a cycling accident that left him a paraplegic which has led to a newfound focus on identifying accessibility gaps in our environment. Through this new perspective on life, Peter has become aware of areas that require renewed focus on the design, mobility, safety and independence elements within community and residential infrastructure to ensure they meet the needs of those with disabilities. Please enjoy the authentic and generous leader, Peter Malley. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode I speak with Rugare Gomo who is a high performance life and business coach, speaker, author, lawyer, podcaster, Zimbabwean Australian who lights up this episode and the world with his infectious zest for life. Rugare has such positive mental models that he generously shares all throughout this episode…He can and has navigated barriers and hurdles because he is clear about living his dream and creating his own path. In fact he has generously written a book about this life and it has been a full life, from his parent’s values and life lessons in Zimbabwe to the 16year old young person coming to Australia on his own; to his education journey and becoming a lawyer; to discovering his sexuality; starting the Gomo Foundation for girls education; to almost being bankrupt and turning this around… to being a successful business owner, defining his impact and success on his own terms. Rugare shows us how to unlock our personal power, he has done this countless times in his big beautiful life and this is what makes his an effective coach to others. Grab a copy of his book, available everywhere on Amazon – “Dreams Forging my own path.” Thank you Rugare for calling Australia home, giving us the incredible gift of your voice and the power to imagine infinite possibilities for ourselves.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we speak with Min-Shi Michelle Lim, a former professionally trained ballet dancer, who uses her behavioural psychology and neuroscience background in the diversity, equity, inclusion and ethics space. She is well regarded for her advocacy and practitioner experience, named as one of the 40 under 40 Most Influential Asian Australians. In this episode, Michelle shares openly and generously about her health journey and the impacts it has had on her as a young person and well into adulthood - including coming from a lower socio-economic background. We cover a lot of ground in this episode, from culturally diverse targets and how to implement them; career options and decisions for women of colour and how this changes at different life stages; how we talk or don’t talk about racism in the workplace; organizational risk and more. Michelle has two calls to action, that are sharp and clear, one for us all to lead no matter what our title is and another for senior leaders and organisations to embed diversity, equity and inclusion into the core of the business and to see the risks of not doing so. Thank you Michelle, you have influenced us to take our places to build a kinder, more safe, equitable world. More power to you. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Business in Colour, Sadhana and I talk to Jacinta Whelan, a partner with Watermark Executive Search. Jacinta is an award-winning author, thought leader and popular speaker on the concept of Interim Executives, Portfolio Careers and future ways of working. She leads the Melbourne office of Watermark and has over 25 years’ experience starting and leading Interim businesses in Hong Kong, New York and Australia. This episode is a must listen for both candidates and organisations wanting to understand the talent market, what an interim appointment really means and how to make considered decisions about your own career journey. We unpack concepts like Buy, Borrow, Build and how soft skills are now known as Power Skills – thank goodness; the myths about interim roles in terms of quality, cost and process and of course Watermark’s 10 year record of collecting data on Board Diversity. Listen to Jacinta’s gold in this episode and get a hold of her book, The Rise of the Interim Executive. You owe it to yourself to at least consider it. Thank you Jacinta for your foresight and generosity as a leader.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Business in Colour Sadhana and I talk to Lee Goddard who was appointed as the inaugural Executive Director and CEO of the Australian Missile Corporation. He is also a Non-Executive Director of AUSTAL and the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, and an Advisor to the Minderoo Foundation. Prior to assuming his current industry roles, he was dual appointed as Commander, Maritime Border Command and Operation Sovereign Borders, responsible for the law enforcement and operational oversight of Australia’s maritime economic and security zones, this preceded by; a two-year secondment into the Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet. On promotion to Commodore in late 2014 he assumed the role of Commander Surface Fleet, commanding 18 major warships. Impressively, he has Commanded warships and joint-agency Taskforce's at every senior Navy rank… from Commander to Rear Admiral. He continues to serve as an active reserve officer following 34 years full time service up until January 2021, and is currently leading the CDF Inclusive Leadership Review. In this episode we delve into Lee’s deep experience and views on gender equality, absent leadership, inclusive leadership, ethical leadership and active followership. Lee gives us rare and meaningful examples of humanistic and authentic leadership. Please enjoy the wisdom and generosity of Lee Goddard.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Business in Colour Sadhana and I chat to the inspiring Rosie Thyer Rosie is the chairperson of Culture Spring, a youth-led social agency that aims to transform organisations, institutions, and workplaces to make them more inclusive and culturally safe for Australia’s young multicultural community. Rosie taught me the distinction and benefit of youth led initiatives rather than just occasional youth advisory and in this episode we explore the many ways in which younger people need to be engaged, involved and take their place to lead from the front. Rosie has extensive experience working in local government, evaluating council engagement with young people as well as advocating for equity and equality within academic settings. She also works for the Victorian Multicultural Commission in their Multicultural Youth Network. Her work was acknowledged by Darebin City Council, when she was named 'Young Citizen of the Year 2022'. She is studying a Bachelor of Law (Honours) and Global Studies at Monash University and hopes to incorporate social justice and human rights with policy reform in the future. Our today and tomorrow is bright with leaders like Rosie in it – please enjoy the charismatic, Rosie Thyer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emma Olivier is the founder and CEO of Twenty Percent, a Disability Advisory working with Corporate Australia. With over 30 years of consulting experience and born without a left hand, she understands from her own lived experience the challenges and opportunities of having a disability in the corporate world. This episode is packed with practical guidance to start and progress the conversation in your organisation on disability inclusion. Why is Emma’s organisation called Twenty Percent, well I wonder if you know that 4.4 million Australians live with a disability—that’s 20% of our population. We unpack through our conversation, why organisations and leaders might be fearful of starting and to that Emma says don’t let perfection stand in the way of good. We talk about visible and invisible disability and she leaves us with 3 clear calls to action. One, To ask the question of why you don’t have representation of people with a disability at your decision making tables, as they are definitely your customers and in the communities you serve. Two, Believe people when they tell you what they need – don’t make the well intended assumption for them and 3. To people living with a disability, tell your story – don’t let just a few popular, high profile people living with a disability be the only voices that your leaders and organisation hears. Such sound advice from the empowered Emma Olivier, who is changing the conversation. Jump onto her website, www.twentypercent.au for more details.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lisa Martello is a construction project Director with a depth of experience leading high-profile rail, engineering, demolition, and construction projects in the UK and Australia. Think…bridge upgrades, tunnel ventilation projects, stations, and structures. She is also a Board Director and Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Portfolio for the National Association of Women in Construction in Australia. And a Professional Mentor for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre. Follow her Instagram profile “catching bees” it is laugh out loud funny and real as she talks about gender equality, racism, workplace cultures and more. In this episode, we are privileged to have Lisa share two casual racism moments. She walks us through in detail, the range of emotions, quick decisions and navigation - A must listen for all people to understand the long lasting impact of a moment in time. She shares her advocacy in the construction industry from the gender pay gap to suicide rates and why she thinks leaders in Australia aren’t moving the dial. She leaves us with two punchy messages as people of colour, be prepared to take the opportunity especially when you are likely underestimated and use your hypervisibility. This rings true for Sadhana and I, we have used both techniques successfully. Please enjoy the energy and expertise of this authentic change maker, Lisa Martello.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.