Can a career in marketing lead to becoming a CEO? And if that’s your ambition, what skills do you need to develop beyond marketing?

In this episode of Your Career Journey, I’m joined by Natalie Mactier, whose own route to CEO started with an unexpected detour. After struggling to land the FMCG marketing roles she wanted, she spent a decade in sales, an experience that ultimately gave her a much stronger understanding of commercial outcomes, customers and how marketing and sales need to work together.

We talk about her move from SEEK into the startup world at Kidspot, how working in smaller businesses helped her become a better problem-solver, and the transition from marketing into her first CEO role.

Natalie also shares what being a CEO actually looks like behind the title: making decisions when you don’t have all the answers, constantly learning, and leading people through uncertainty and change.

And, inevitably, we talk about AI. Natalie shares how VIVVI is approaching AI across the business, what she’s learning about successful adoption, and why she believes AI has the potential to positively disrupt education.

If you’re building a marketing career, considering your path into senior leadership, or thinking about the skills you’ll need to stay relevant as the world of work changes, there’s plenty in Natalie’s career journey to learn from.

To connect with Natalie:
linkedin.com/in/nataliemactier

Can you also find episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaGrahamCareerCoach/videos

Your host, Emma Graham, Career Coach and ex-recruiter, is here to help you with:

💡 Gain clarity on what’s important to you
💡 Confidently communicate your value
💡 Build a personal brand and a strong network
💡 Take a strategic approach to your next move
💡 Navigate the job market effectively
💡 Build career confidence with a repeatable success blueprint

🌐 Explore my coaching programs and free resources:
Website: https://www.egconsulting.au/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/emmajgraham
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmagrahamcareercoach/

🎁 Free Resources:
📄 CV Development Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/cv-advice
📄 LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/linkedin-profile-guide

📅 Book Your FREE Career Strategy Discovery Call:
https://calendly.com/emmagrahamconsulting/discovery-call

What happens when the career you’ve spent decades building suddenly ends, and you realise just how much of your identity was tied to it?

Geoff Curtis spent nearly 30 years building a successful career in communications, including reaching Chief Communications Officer level. But when an acquisition led to redundancy, he didn’t just lose his job. He lost the title, structure and sense of relevance that had shaped much of his adult life.

In our conversation, Geoff talks openly about what came next: the emotional impact of redundancy, his tendency to use busyness as a way of avoiding difficult emotions, and the challenge of figuring out who you are when the professional identity you’ve relied on is no longer there.

We talk about navigating career transition after decades of professional success, the fear of becoming irrelevant, starting again without having a perfectly formed plan, and Geoff’s experience of writing vulnerably about the patterns he began to recognise in his own life.

We also explore how his definition of success is changing, from achievement, status and professional recognition towards values, joy and being more present.

If you’ve experienced redundancy, reached a career crossroads, or simply found yourself questioning how much of your identity and self-worth is wrapped up in what you do, this is a thoughtful and refreshingly honest conversation about what happens when the old measures of career success no longer quite work.

To connect with Geoff:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/geoffreycurtis/

Can you also find episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaGrahamCareerCoach/videos

Your host, Emma Graham, Career Coach and ex-recruiter, is here to help you with:

💡 Gain clarity on what’s important to you
💡 Confidently communicate your value
💡 Build a personal brand and a strong network
💡 Take a strategic approach to your next move
💡 Navigate the job market effectively
💡 Build career confidence with a repeatable success blueprint

🌐 Explore my coaching programs and free resources:
Website: https://www.egconsulting.au/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/emmajgraham
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmagrahamcareercoach/

🎁 Free Resources:
📄 CV Development Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/cv-advice
📄 LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/linkedin-profile-guide

📅 Book Your FREE Career Strategy Discovery Call:
https://calendly.com/emmagrahamconsulting/discovery-call

Isabel Thomson-Officer didn't follow a carefully mapped-out career plan. She built her career by creating opportunities that didn't exist, asking for chances others wouldn't, and backing herself long before she felt completely ready.

What stands out throughout this conversation isn't just the career moves, it's the mindset behind them. Isabel talks honestly about persistence, taking calculated risks, hearing "no" more times than she'd like, and why some of the biggest opportunities in her career only happened because she was willing to ask.

In this episode, we discuss:

• Creating opportunities instead of waiting for the perfect role
• How Isabel built her first PR role while still studying
• Taking the leap to New York and what hustle culture really teaches you
• Building a career in marketing and communications across multiple industries
• Why persistence matters more than having the perfect plan
• Networking in Melbourne and building genuine professional relationships
• Practical advice for reaching out to people and creating your own opportunities
• Mentoring, giving back and growing your professional network
• Why vulnerability has become one of Isabel's greatest leadership strengths
• The importance of backing yourself before you feel completely ready

Whether you're just starting out, considering a career move, or looking for a fresh perspective on leadership and career growth, Isabel's story is a reminder that careers are rarely linear and that some of the biggest opportunities begin with simply asking.

To connect with Isabel:

linkedin.com/in/isabel-thomson-officer

Can you also find episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaGrahamCareerCoach/videos

Your host, Emma Graham, Career Coach and ex-recruiter, is here to help you with:

💡 Gain clarity on what’s important to you
💡 Confidently communicate your value
💡 Build a personal brand and a strong network
💡 Take a strategic approach to your next move
💡 Navigate the job market effectively
💡 Build career confidence with a repeatable success blueprint

🌐 Explore my coaching programs and free resources:
Website: https://www.egconsulting.au/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/emmajgraham
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmagrahamcareercoach/

🎁 Free Resources:
📄 CV Development Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/cv-advice
📄 LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/linkedin-profile-guide

📅 Book Your FREE Career Strategy Discovery Call:
https://calendly.com/emmagrahamconsulting/discovery-call

What do Barbie, The Body Shop, pharmaceuticals, fintech and AI have in common?

For Andrea Roberts, they've all been part of her fascinating marketing career.

In this episode of Your Career Journey, I sit down with Andrea Roberts to explore how a career built on curiosity, adaptability and saying "yes" to opportunities can take you into industries you never imagined.

Andrea shares how what she calls a series of "happy coincidences" led her from intellectual property licensing, working with iconic brands like Barbie, Sesame Street, Star Wars and Bananas in Pyjamas, into marketing roles across retail, FMCG, beauty, pharmaceuticals, financial services and AI.

Along the way, we talk about why transferable skills matter more than industry experience, how building strong relationships with finance transformed her career, and why curiosity may be one of the most valuable skills marketers can develop as AI continues to reshape our profession.

If you're a marketer wondering how to stay relevant, navigate career changes or embrace AI without feeling overwhelmed, you'll take away plenty of practical insights from this conversation.

In this episode we discuss:

✅ Andrea's unconventional path into marketing
✅ What working with iconic global brands taught her
✅ The power of transferable skills across different industries
✅ Why marketers need stronger relationships with finance
✅ Building confidence through continuous learning
✅ How AI is changing marketing and how to approach it with curiosity rather than fear
✅ Why experimentation, ethics and discipline all matter when using AI
✅ Andrea's advice for building a career that continues to evolve

Timestamps:
00:00 Welcome Andrea
00:27 Licensing Career Start
02:26 Toys And Mattel Lessons
03:49 Retail At The Body Shop
06:45 Cosmetics And Licensing Return
09:32 Retail Roles And Pharma Shift
11:06 Fintech And Teaching Detour
12:44 AI Consulting And Netwealth
15:32 Making Career Pivots Work
19:05 Marketing And Finance Partnership
22:17 Curiosity And Relationship Building
31:07 AI Mindset And Discipline
38:45 Ethics, Trust And Transparency
41:07 Final Advice: Curiosity Wins

To connect with Andrea:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-roberts-/

Can you also find episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaGrahamCareerCoach/videos

Your host, Emma Graham, Career Coach and ex-recruiter, is here to help you with:

💡 Gain clarity on what’s important to you
💡 Confidently communicate your value
💡 Build a personal brand and a strong network
💡 Take a strategic approach to your next move
💡 Navigate the job market effectively
💡 Build career confidence with a repeatable success blueprint

🌐 Explore my coaching programs and free resources:
Website: https://www.egconsulting.au/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/emmajgraham
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmagrahamcareercoach/

🎁 Free Resources:
📄 CV Development Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/cv-advice
📄 LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/linkedin-profile-guide

📅 Book Your FREE Career Strategy Discovery Call:
https://calendly.com/emmagrahamconsulting/discovery-call

How do you stay resilient when change feels constant?

In this episode, I'm joined by learning and development specialist Russell Harvey to explore what resilience really means, why it's becoming one of the most important skills we can develop, and how it can help us navigate uncertainty both at work and in life.

After a career spanning more than 20 years in leadership and organisational development, including six redundancies, Russell has experienced more change than most. Rather than seeing resilience as simply "bouncing back," he describes it as learning, adapting and moving forward stronger than before.

We explore the realities of today's workplace, from rapid change and uncertainty to the pressure many leaders and teams are feeling, and discuss practical ways to build resilience without simply adding another task to an already full to-do list.

In this episode, we discuss:

✅ What resilience really looks like in today's workplace
✅ Why uncertainty isn't going away and how to respond to it
✅ The VUCA framework and how leaders can navigate change more effectively
✅ Practical strategies to move from surviving to thriving
✅ The importance of purpose, confidence and adaptability
✅ Why your strengths give you energy (and why that's important)
✅ How leadership behaviours shape culture and performance

Russell also shares his simple reflection framework to help you pause, learn from difficult situations, and focus your attention on the things you can actually influence.

Whether you're leading a team, navigating a career transition, or simply trying to stay grounded in an increasingly unpredictable world, this conversation is full of practical ideas to help you build resilience and future-proof your career.

To connect with Russell:
Website & resources: theresiliencecoach.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russelltheresiliencecoach/

Can you also find episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaGrahamCareerCoach/videos

Your host, Emma Graham, Career Coach and ex-recruiter, is here to help you with:

💡 Gain clarity on what’s important to you
💡 Confidently communicate your value
💡 Build a personal brand and a strong network
💡 Take a strategic approach to your next move
💡 Navigate the job market effectively
💡 Build career confidence with a repeatable success blueprint

🌐 Explore my coaching programs and free resources:
Website: https://www.egconsulting.au/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/emmajgraham
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmagrahamcareercoach/

🎁 Free Resources:
📄 CV Development Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/cv-advice
📄 LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/linkedin-profile-guide

📅 Book Your FREE Career Strategy Discovery Call:
https://calendly.com/emmagrahamconsulting/discovery-call

Careers rarely follow the path we expect.

In this episode, I'm joined by Rachel Abad to talk about the twists, turns, and unexpected experiences that ultimately led her to founding her own communications consultancy.

Growing up in regional North Queensland, Rachel always knew she wanted to leave her hometown and build a career beyond its boundaries. While law was her original plan, missing the grades led her into a Communications degree instead, a decision that would shape the rest of her career.

Through internships, she discovered a love of teamwork, fast-paced environments, and working to deadlines. After a challenging start to her job search, Rachel landed a role in a small agency working with Telstra licensees, which eventually led to positions with a Telstra master licensee and later Telstra's head office.

Along the way, she developed expertise in stakeholder management, communications, and navigating complex environments, skills that would later transfer seamlessly into infrastructure, rail projects, and community engagement work in Melbourne.

But like many people, Rachel's career wasn't without challenges.

During COVID, years of pressure and overwork caught up with her. Burnout, hospitalisation, and a diagnosis of intracranial hypertension forced her to reassess her relationship with work, success, and identity.

Our conversation explores:

✅ Building a career when the path isn't clear
✅ The value of internships and early career experiences
✅ Stakeholder management and transferable skills
✅ Burnout, recovery, and redefining success
✅ When work becomes too much of your identity
✅ Starting a business and overcoming fear
✅ Finding purpose and meaning in your work
✅ Why nobody really has it all figured out

Rachel also shares the story behind founding Looped In Communication, her audience-led research and communications consultancy, and why understanding people sits at the heart of effective communication.

This is an honest conversation about career detours, resilience, burnout, entrepreneurship, and the reality that most successful careers are built one step at a time.

To connect with Rachel
Website: looped-in.com.au
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-abad-59303452/

Can you also find episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaGrahamCareerCoach/videos

Your host, Emma Graham, Career Coach and ex-recruiter, is here to help you with:

💡 Gain clarity on what’s important to you
💡 Confidently communicate your value
💡 Build a personal brand and a strong network
💡 Take a strategic approach to your next move
💡 Navigate the job market effectively
💡 Build career confidence with a repeatable success blueprint

🌐 Explore my coaching programs and free resources:
Website: https://www.egconsulting.au/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/emmajgraham
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmagrahamcareercoach/

🎁 Free Resources:
📄 CV Development Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/cv-advice
📄 LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/linkedin-profile-guide

📅 Book Your FREE Career Strategy Discovery Call:
https://calendly.com/emmagrahamconsulting/discovery-call

In this episode, I’m joined by HR leader and author Teri Chilcoat to talk about the realities of toxic workplace cultures, why so many people stay longer than they should, and what you can do to protect yourself when you find yourself in one.

Teri shares her own career journey, unexpectedly finding her way into HR through a temp role, to experiencing severe workplace bullying as the sole HR person inside a toxic leadership environment.

That experience ultimately inspired her to write a book designed to help others recognise toxic dynamics earlier and navigate them more effectively.

Throughout our conversation, we explore:
✅ The signs and symptoms of toxic workplaces
✅ Why dysfunction often becomes normalised
✅ How toxic environments impact both physical and mental health
✅ The “toxicity triangle” and how unhealthy cultures are sustained
✅ Why high performers are often protected despite poor behaviour
✅ The long-term impact of burnout and chronic stress
✅ How COVID and remote work changed workplace culture
✅ Why younger generations are raising expectations around leadership and wellbeing

Teri also shares her practical framework around:
✅ Self-awareness
✅ Self-control
✅ Self-care
✅ Self-empowerment

We talk about the importance of focusing on what you can control, building healthier coping mechanisms, recognising red flags earlier, and creating more agency for yourself, even in difficult environments.

If you’ve ever questioned whether a workplace was healthy, struggled with burnout, or felt trapped in a difficult environment, there’s a lot in this episode that will resonate. And give you some practical advice and guidance on what to do.

To connect with Teri:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teri-chilcoat-phr/
Website: innerauthoritycompany.com

Can you also find episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaGrahamCareerCoach/videos

Your host, Emma Graham, Career Coach and ex-recruiter, is here to help you with:

💡 Gain clarity on what’s important to you
💡 Confidently communicate your value
💡 Build a personal brand and a strong network
💡 Take a strategic approach to your next move
💡 Navigate the job market effectively
💡 Build career confidence with a repeatable success blueprint

🌐 Explore my coaching programs and free resources:
Website: https://www.egconsulting.au/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/emmajgraham
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmagrahamcareercoach/

🎁 Free Resources:
📄 CV Development Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/cv-advice
📄 LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/linkedin-profile-guide

📅 Book Your FREE Career Strategy Discovery Call:
https://calendly.com/emmagrahamconsulting/discovery-call

What if the opportunity you wanted didn’t exist yet and you had to create it yourself?

In this episode, I’m joined by social media and content agency founder Kim James to talk about the power of initiative, visibility, and backing yourself before you feel fully ready.

Kim shares how she went from growing up on a macadamia farm and starting out in operations at Reece, to pitching her way into the first content marketing role for one of Australia’s biggest brands at just 24.

At a time when the business had almost no social media presence, Kim identified an opportunity, pitched a strategy directly to leadership, and created her own pathway into marketing.

We also talk about:
• Building confidence through action, not before it
• Reframing rejection, fear, and imposter syndrome
• Why visibility matters for career growth
• Learning through doing and backing your ideas
• The realities of redundancy, reinvention, and starting again
• AI’s real impact on marketing careers
• Why “closed mouths don’t get fed”

Kim also shares her experience moving into AI and data work after the 2022 redundancies. Before realising she wanted to focus on people, creativity, and strategic thinking, ultimately buying out her co-founder and building a business more aligned with her strengths and values.

This conversation is a great reminder that careers are rarely linear, and that some of the biggest opportunities come from putting yourself forward before you feel fully ready.

To connect with Kim:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-elizabeth-james-19216376/
Website: buildwedge.com

Can you also find episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EmmaGrahamCareerCoach/videos

Your host, Emma Graham, Career Coach and ex-recruiter, is here to help you with:

💡 Gain clarity on what’s important to you
💡 Confidently communicate your value
💡 Build a personal brand and a strong network
💡 Take a strategic approach to your next move
💡 Navigate the job market effectively
💡 Build career confidence with a repeatable success blueprint

🌐 Explore my coaching programs and free resources:
Website: https://www.egconsulting.au/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/emmajgraham
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmagrahamcareercoach/

🎁 Free Resources:
📄 CV Development Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/cv-advice
📄 LinkedIn Profile Optimisation Guide: https://www.egconsulting.au/linkedin-profile-guide

📅 Book Your FREE Career Strategy Discovery Call:
https://calendly.com/emmagrahamconsulting/discovery-call