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Dr. Leyla Acaroglu is an internationally-known sustainability provocateur, sociologist, and award-winning designer, focused on systems thinking, sustainability sciences and creative change-making. She was named Champion of the Earth by the United Nations, Change-Maker by Linkedin and is a mainstage TED speaker who leads presentations with leaders around the world on activating positive change for a sustainable, circular and regenerative future. He TED talk on Paper beats Plastic? has more than 1.4M views. As a serial social entrepreneur, she founded The UnSchool, an experimental knowledge lab for adults, developed the Disruptive Design Method and is CEO of creative agency, Disrupt Design.

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the On Meaningful Work podcast We have an incredible guest this week in Simon Griffiths, the CEO and Cofounder of Who Gives a Crap. Who Gives A Crap is an Aussie B Corp that sells good looking, forest friendly toilet paper, paper towels and tissues direct-to-consumer. Who Gives A Crap donates 50% of their profits to help build toilets for those in need. As much as Simon loves toilet paper, he helped start the business for its impact, with the company on a mission to improve access to hygiene, clean water and basic sanitation in developing countries. Since founding the company back in 2013, Who Gives A Crap has donated more than $10 million. We cover a lot in this episode, from Simon’s childhood in Perth, his first jobs, his motivations for getting into social entrepreneurship and how the legendary Who Gives A Crap came to be. It is an incredible journey and I hope you enjoy this episode.  

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of the On Meaningful Work podcast. In this episode I speak with Tony Corrales. Tony has an incredible story - he is originally from England and originally a punk musician , yes he headlined a punk rock band that toured the world. Since then and since moving to Australia Tony has spent the last 10 years working between online and offline marketing for not for profit organisations, along with consulting work in digital strategy and operations. In 2020 he launched the ethical fashion label Noskin along with the Producing with Purpose podcast, which is now evolving into PWP Studios where he and his team provide consulting services and coming soon, online education to make your good business a great business.    Please note: The thing I fear the most while recording a podcast to not happen..happened. The SD card got full and it stopped recording midway though. Tony was gracious enough to backtrack and re-record..but there maybe some continuity issues. So my apologies for that. 

Hello All and welcome to another episode of the On Meaningful Work podcast.   This one is a little bit different. Firstly its a live recording. Secondly the format is a little different. Rather than my usual formula of tracing a person's journey and trying to distil how they came to find meaning and purpose in the work they do, this interview traces a literal journey.  Dr. Chevez wanted to think about the future of work and the likely environments that will support our working lives without any distraction..so he walked from Melbourne to Sydney. It took him 42 days. The book he wrote is a distillation of his ideas and insights from that walk. This interview is a discussion about Dr. Chevez'z book and the ideas he captured about the future of work and how we can find meaning and purpose in the work that we do   About Dr. Chevez: As an architect and academic, Dr Agustin Chevez has dedicated his career to understanding the notion of work and uncovering environments that best support our working lives. Agustin’s interest in the relationship between people, space and technology saw him pursue a PhD on the evolution of workplace architecture as a consequence of technology development. His work has been presented at various international forums and publications. Agustin is a workplace consultant, an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Centre For Design Innovation, Swinburne University, and an Honorary Fellow at the school of Management and Marketing, University of Melbourne.

Hello all and welcome to another episode of the On Meaningful Work podcast. In this episode I am thrilled to be speaking with Matthew Boyd. Matt is the cofounder of Vollie and now the founder of Natureboss. In this episode we dig into Matt's various adventures from growing up in England, immigrating to Australia and establishing himself in Advertising here in Melbourne. A volunteer stint at the Royal Children's Hospital changed Matt's perception of work and inspired him to found Vollie. We dig deep into his entrepreneurial journey and the grit required to get Vollie off the ground. I loved this conversation, I learned a lot from Matt and I hope you do too   About Matt Matthew is the CEO of NatureBoss, an online marketplace which connects corporate teams with environmental groups that can facilitate meaningful experiences in nature. NatureBoss is on a mission to evolve the way businesses connect with the environment. Prior to NatureBoss, Matt Co-Founded Vollie, an online marketplace that is unlocking a new style of skills-based remote volunteering. In 5 years of operation, Vollie has seen 5,000+ social impact projects completed to date, through 300,000+ skilled volunteering hours, generating over $5.7 million of savings to the current 1,200+ non-profits using the service. Prior to Vollie, Matt has 10 years experience in a Marketing, Operations and Business development, and have been responsible for running projects that have contributed close to $10 million for NFP organisations.  

Hello Everyone and welcome to another episode of the On Meaningful work podcast. In this episode I speak with Dr. Armida Fernandez. Dr. Fernandez started her career working with Mumbai’s urban poor in one of the biggest public hospitals there. Within that labyrinthine system Dr. Fernandez was able to implement real change in how medicine and care were to be administered with a real focus on women and newborn health. When she noticed that the problem of women/newborn health was too multifaceted to be solved within the confines of a public hospital she founded SNEHA a not-for-profit that focused on the health of women and children in Dharavi (Mumbai’s biggest slum) - SNEHA has now grown to 490+ staff working across various communities. Throughout her career Dr Ferandez has worked in extremely challenging circumstances, but she has tackled problems with an entrepreneurial zeal. She has demonstrated enormous confidence in her vision and has backed that up with an ability to articulate that vision and bring people along.  It was a pleasure speaking with her   About Dr. Fernandez   Dr. Armida Fernandez is the retired dean of Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital in Mumbai where she was Head of the Dept of Neonatology. She is also retired as the Medical Director of the Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai. She is the founding trustee at SNEHA, an NGO working on health, nutrition and violence in Mumbai's urban slums. She is also the founder of the Romilla palliative care centre. . Her key areas of expertise and interest are promotion of breastfeeding and the care of new born babies especially among the urban poor of Mumbai.  She started the first Human Milk Bank in Asia and has developed many low cost techniques for survival of new born babies. She was named an Ashoka Fellow in 2004 and is the past president of the National Neonatology Forum.

Hello all and welcome come to another episode of the On Meaningful Work podcast.    This is a special episode as I get to chat with my friend for about 25 years Dr. Hayden Richards. We chat about Hayden’s childhood on the Gold Coast in Australia, dealing with being a deep introvert as a young person, the decision to become a doctor, the meaning of success and his road to entrepreneurship. I had a blast with this one!!   About Dr. Hayden Richards   Hayden is an emergency physician and co-founder of Critical Conversations, a company focused on taking the lessons learned from difficult conversations in the emergency room and bringing them to the broader community. His main focus is on the development and delivery of experiential workshops where participants are supported to build their skills in challenging communication, and emotional intelligence. He has worked with hundreds of professionals in this capacity, both in healthcare and a variety of other industries. He also has a Youtube channel called Comms Lab, where he packages his learnings into delicious, bite-sized video treats. He works on the premise that the process of acquiring these skills can be fun and intrinsically rewarding, AND the most valuable investment anyone could make. As someone who struggled with communication when he was younger, he sees himself as living proof of that.   His website: haydenrichards.com.au

Welcome to another episode of the On Meaningful Work podcast. In this episode we chat with social entrepreneur and founder of I=change Jeremy Meltzer.    I=change is a retail tech platform that makes it easier for businesses to donate to charity.  i=Change has partnered with global brands, who give back from every sale and uniquely empower their customers to choose where it goes. The company has positively impacted the lives of over 90,000 people in 14 countries.   About Jeremy   Jeremy is a social entrepreneur and inspiring voice for women’s rights globally. He created i=Change to help accelerate the impact of extraordinary development projects, focused on empowering women and girls. As a young man, Jeremy was moved to action while living in Cuba. He was shocked at how violence against women seemed accepted and was even considered 'normal' across Latin America. This left him with a burning question... Why is such abuse so common in some communities while abhorrent in others? Over the last ten years in an attempt to understand this issue, Jeremy's met with NGO's and communities in many countries around the world. Jeremy believes the solution lies in engaging men, challenging the dominant versions of masculinity, modeling respectful relationships to children, and funding best-practice NGOs. Jeremy is passionate about the enormous potential, that often won't be realised, in women and girls around the world. What would they build if they could? How could i=Change be part of the solution?  

Hello all and welcome to another episode of the On Meaningful Work podcast.  In this episode, I chat with Trent and Joseph, the co-founder of the VR/Mixed reality company Phoria. We chat about how Trent and Joseph along with their other cofounders grew their high school friendship into a successful partnership. We talk about how being exposed to the natural world set the foundation for the business they want to build and the projects they want to tackle (eg their REWILD project with Netflix). We discuss the potential of V.R for being a true for good in the world, and of course, this being a VR company, we touched on what our future in the Metaverse might look like. Hope you Enjoy! About Trent Trent has an insatiable appetite for technology and immersive experiences. As Co-founder and CEO at PHORIA, his mission is to create software and content that can transport you places. He believes that through the power of immersive media, we now have the tools to experience the world at our fingertips. He has been deeply immersed in the worlds of Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality for the last three years About Joseph Joseph Purdam is an award-winning XR Producer / Director using our ever evolving mediums of storytelling to share the narrative of our planet and its inhabitants. Joseph's aim is to expand our understanding and empathy through immersive content and experiences, enabling a deeper connection to our planet, its wildlife and our people. The overarching goal, to show us all as we are, one. Thank you for listening. If you are enjoying the podcast please support us by sharing it with a friend and leaving a review on apple podcasts/soptify or youtube. Thanks!

Hello all and welcome to another episode of the On Meaningful Work podcast. We are back after a bit of a hiatus (thank you lockdown 6.0). Hope you all are keeping well and safe In this episode, I chat with Gordon Young, professional ethicist and principal at Ethilogical Consulting. He also serves as a specialist educator of ethics at Victoria Police. We chat about Gordon's upbringing in Melbourne and those formative experiences that eventually led to a career in ethics. We chat about how his earlier jobs with a slightly dodgy businessman and in politics led him to pick a Masters in professional ethics that changed the course of his professional life. And of course, we talk about ethics and how he applies those frameworks in his current day job About Gordon Gordon Young is the Principal of Ethilogical Consulting, offering training, governance, and strategic investigation and redevelopment to organisations of all sizes and sectors. He is the author of Power and the Professional, published by McFarland Books, and serves as an Associate of The Ethics Centre. He is also the Senior Specialist Educator in Ethics at Victoria Police. He is based in Melbourne, Australia. Thank you for listening. If you are enjoying the podcast please support us by sharing it with a friend and leaving a review on apple podcasts. Thanks!

Hi all and Welcome to another episode of the ‘On Meaningful Work’ podcast   In this episode, I chat with Kunal Kalro, serial entrepreneur and currently the founder of EugeneLabs. We chat about his upbringing in Dubai, what drove his early choices in education and about his primary career path. We chat about the lure of entrepreneurship, what people get wrong about entrepreneurship and what he had learnt from his failures. We conclude by exploring how a personal tragedy led to an inquiry into the real lack of diversity in the genetic data used for most medical research and how that has led to the founding of his latest venture     About Kunal   Kunal is an experienced entrepreneur & product designer that loves to build products that take something confusing (like genetics) and makes it easy to approach and understand. He has lived and worked in Australia, US, Latin America, Middle East & India, speaks 4 languages and is a bit obsessed with Burning Man.   He cofounded Eugene because unequal health outcomes for people generally due to the lack of diversity in genetic data, is something that he could no longer stand by.

Welcome to another episode of the On Meaningful Work Podcast. In this episode, we are thrilled to chat with Dr Elise Bialylew, the founder of Mindful in May   Elise Bialylew is the author of the bestselling book, The Happiness Plan, and founder of Mindful in May, the world’s largest online global mindfulness fundraising campaign. A doctor trained in psychiatry, turned social entrepreneur and mindfulness expert, she’s passionate about supporting individuals and organisations to develop inner tools for greater wellbeing and flourishing, and offers workshops and training at The Mind Life Project. Her work has been featured in the Huffington Post, New York Times and on Australian Television. She was recently recognised by the Australian Financial Review as a 2019 AFR Women of Influence

This episode of the On Meaningful Work podcast features Luke Mitchell, Co-Founder of Yuki Threads, a premium snowboarding/skiing clothing brand   Luke Mitchell or ‘Mitch’ as he is known is the founder and owner of Yuki Threads. A country kid that somehow stumbled his way into the ‘fashion’ industry. A mechanic by trade and a snowbum by heart, what started as an excuse to keep snowboarding has turned into much more. Absorbing the experiences and lessons presented along the way Luke has evolved the vision for Yuki Threads to be much bigger than the products it makes and hopes that this vision can be shared and inspire the community   We talk about Luke’s upbringing in Melbourne. His first job as a mechanic but finding his tribe among the snowboarders and skiers on the mountains. We delve into the origin story of Yuki Threads and and then as the business progressed, how his aims shifted to the ‘why’ rather than the ‘what’. How sustainability, fair-trade and making sure the business is fuelled by an ethical supply chain came to the fore.   Luke has an incredible story to share. Thanks for listening

This episode of the podcast features Kizzi. Kizzi is the owner of Kenneth Geofferys, a barbershop in Collingwood Melbourne. I first got to know Kizzi,  in the barber's chair chatting with her while she trimmed my beard. After listening to her story, I felt I need to have her on the podcast..so here we are. Her story exemplifies making the best of the hand that you were dealt with. For Kizzi, barbering wasn't a calling, but she made it one. Coming from a troubled background, being kicked out of school, not making it in various other jobs, it looked like a lost cause for a brief second. Until a mentor (and her own grit) helped her focus and build a career as a barber. Cut to today and she is the owner and proprietor of a thriving business. I learned a lot from Kizzi and I really enjoyed speaking with her. And I hope you enjoy this conversation. Thank you for listening For more updates, please visit disruptivebusinessnetwork.com

Welcome to the first episode of 2021! And I am really excited about this one as it features my good friend Mykel Dixon. Someone whose rise I had the privilege of witnessing first hand.  Mykel describes himself as a musician by trade, a gypsy by nature and a fierce non-conformist. He is an award-winning speaker, learning designer and now author of 'Everyday Creative' He works with senior leaders and teams of fortune 500 and ASX 200 companies to unlock breakthrough creativity. Some of his clients include Google, Youtube, Schneider Electric, CBA, Telstra..amongst many others In this conversation, we dive deep into Mykel's story, his numerous adventures and inspirations that led him on his current trajectory. Hope you enjoy!    

This episode of the podcast features Emily Hazell, the founder and owner of Serotonin Eatery, Exercise + Education. She is also an Interior Architect and Graphic Designer. She opened her Happiness Centre with a vision of changing minds and lives with mental health education and awareness. She hopes for Serotonin to become a leading facility in happiness and health education. She has a passion for living and promoting a plant-based lifestyle through her Happiness Centre. In this episode, we cover Emily's story from her childhood, her early career, the setbacks that forced her to reexamine her priorities..that eventually lead to the founding of Seratonin. I had an amazing time speaking with Emily and I hope you enjoy this episode.  For more information on past and future episodes of the podcast as well as other events please visit disruptivebusinessnetwork.com  

This episode of the podcast features CJ, the co-creator of s p a c e, a conference-festival hybrid in Byron Bay (the 2020 version will be virtual) that has launched businesses, best-selling books and collaborations that changing communities for the better.  S p a c e has been described as a conference, an un-conference, an event, a gathering of disruptive thinkers to challenge world views. However it may be described, it has been life-changing to those who attended. This episode traces CJ's story from his childhood in Rotorua NZ, his hospitality career in NZ and London, his stint as a purser on a cruise ship, his foray into high-end luxury events and onto his creation of s p a c e. I had a blast speaking with CJ and I hope you enjoy this episode. About CJ Holden An experientialist at heart, CJ is passionate about building engaged communities through immersive experiences. His vision is to build a collective of Australia’s most un-like-minds all making a global impact. CJ has created experiences in London, Miami, Marrakesh, Cape Town, and Iceland and has established himself as a true disruptor in the events industry Hope you enjoy With Thanks, Rahul rahul@disruptivebusinessnetwork.com

This episode of the podcast features Uppma Virdi, the founder of Chaiwalli, a business that not only sells tea blends but also aims to "educate people on the genuine beauty of Indian teas and spices" Chaiwalli is the Hindi word for Tea Lady. And that is what Uppma embodies. She left a promising legal career to answer her calling to share her family tea blends with the world. And so starting from blending tea in her parent's basement while working full time as a lawyer she now has customers the world over and several award-winning and well-renowned masala chai and spice blends. I hope you enjoy this story of Uppma's journey

In this episode, we speak with Demetrio Zema who is the founder and director of Law Squared. Law Squared has been named 'Australia's most innovative law firm' and with good reason. Demetrio has flipped the script on how the law should be practised putting purpose, clients and outcomes as the focus of what they do. The need for a new way of doing law having sprung from his disenchantment with the way traditional law is practised. In this episode, we speak about that journey. We speak about the profession of being a lawyer, what needs to change and how Demetrio is going about instigating that change Hope you enjoy!

In this episode, we speak with Louka Parry. A learner, a teacher, an innovator. We discuss his journey from growing up in suburban Adelaide to becoming a teacher, principal at age 27 and from that going on to becoming a real innovator in education. He now spends his time helping educators around the world create environments where students can have the best foundation for learning.