Dr Marianne Broadbent is an executive advisor, specialist in leadership and executive capabilities, and commentator on global business and workplace developments. Marianne is a Senior Partner at the innovative global leadership consultancy, EWK International, where she has both regional and global responsibilities. She works with CEOs and other executives on their leadership capabilities and those of their teams, in addition to executive search work across a range of industries and ‘C’ level functions.

Before joining EWK International, Dr. Broadbent was global Senior Vice President of New Product Development for Gartner, Inc. and prior to that Associate Dean at Melbourne Business School. Dr. Broadbent has led global businesses for Gartner’s CIO Executive Programs and has been Visiting Researcher at Boston University. She is co-author of two bestselling books published by Harvard Business School Press and her insights have been published and quoted in publications such as The Financial Times, Sloan Management Review  and The Economist. She has written columns for major industry magazines in many countries.

Julie Fahey re-joined the KPMG partnership in May 2006 in a key leadership role in technology. Julie returns to the partnership after 10 years in the industry where she undertook executive leadership roles in the transformation of businesses, underpinned by heavy reliance on technology, including the significant restructuring and realignment of the IT management and governance model.

In February 2003, Julie joined General Motors Holden (GMH) as the Chief Information Officer and, in July 2003, Julie was appointed to the Board as the Executive Director, Information Systems and Services. During her time with GMH she was responsible for all aspects of information systems including IT infrastructure, IS planning and IS project execution, in an outsourced environment. With her unique blend of operational IS, consulting and vendor experience, Julie had the IT and business experience to fulfil her board responsibilities.

Best known as a change agent and an advocate of pragmatic, structured decision maker driven by commercial realities and the need for relevant business outcomes, Julie has an exceptional aptitude and passion for leading transformational change.

Kirsten McMahon-Cook is an MBA graduate with experience in a global organisation leading virtual teams. Kirsten has had an extensive corporate career where she has led or been a member of teams dispersed across the globe from Australia to Manila, Thailand to the UK and Brazil through to New Zealand. Kirsten is an accomplished leader in marketing and communications strategy, business operations, sales management and programme directorship, and her team-oriented and collaborative approach has resulted in accelerated revenues, increased profitability and improved customer service. Proven successes include the delivery of global strategy into the domestic market, accomplished through effective management of significant stakeholder groups and motivating of high performance teams.

Kirsten brings to the Women are IT network her corporate experience coupled with her recent and topical research on virtual leadership as gained from her MBA thesis. She will focus on the strategies and tactics effective virtual leaders employ to overcome some of the challenges of leading virtual teams. Primarily three key themes are explored; individual, technological and structural, and team-based considerations. Kirsten will also introduce the emerging concept of leader presence in the virtual context.