CPO to Board: Impact and Influence

Please join us for a panel discussion that addresses the CPO pathway to Non-executive Director and how CPOs can ensure unfiltered people insights reach the boardroom.

Date: Thursday, 13 Auguest 2026
Time: 4.00pm for 4.30pm panel discussion, 5.45pm drinks and canapes, event concludes at 6.15pm
Location: Level 14, 333 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
Light lunch:  Please advise your dietary requirements when booking

Join us for a late afternoon Panel Discussion followed by drinks on the topic of CPO to Board: Impact and Influence

TRANSEARCH International and Prima Group are pleased to invite you to a late afternoon panel event designed for senior People and Culture executives who are curious about or actively pursuing a pathway to board directorship, and who are interested to learn how best to ensure undiluted people information makes it to the Board.

Together, we have brought this event to life as a reflection of our shared commitment to the development and advancement of senior executives at the highest levels of organisational life.

The transition from CPO to Board Director is a significant and nuanced career move for a senior People and Culture executive. It demands a shift in perspective from operational accountability to governance oversight and a confident understanding of how to contribute meaningfully in the boardroom beyond the people function. As a CPO on this pathway, it’s also invaluable to learn from non-executive directors about how a CPO can best impact and influence at the board level.

This event will feature a panel discussion with four experienced board directors who will speak candidly about their own journeys, the realities of board life, and what genuinely makes a CPO a compelling board candidate.

PANELLISTS

• Meahan Callaghan – Board People Sub-Committee member at Melbourne Football Club and founder of Melbourne Mentoring Club, Meahan is a former Chief People Officer at Afterpay and Redbubble.
• James Kelly – Chair of Hamlet Living, James is a former CEO of Dennis Family Corporation and Co-founder and Managing Director of ASX 200-listed Lifestyle Communities.
• Kate Temby – Managing Director at MetLife Investment Management and Non-Executive Director and Chair of the People & Corporate Sustainability Committee at Netwealth, Kate is a former senior leader at Goldman Sachs and PwC
• Sheena Wilson – Chair of Women on Boards Australia and an experienced Non-Executive Director, Sheena is a former Global Head of Talent Strategy at Bank of New York Mellon.

The panel will be hosted by Silvana Pardo, Director – TRANSEARCH International, and Peter George, Founder and Managing Director – Prima Group and moderated by Anita Ziemer, Executive Director – TRANSEARCH International.

A facilitated Q&A will follow the panel, with drinks and canapés served from 5.45pm, offering guests the opportunity to continue the conversation in a relaxed and collegial setting.

Conversation will be frank, grounded in lived experience, and directly relevant to where you are in your leadership journey.

Seats at this event are limited, so please register now to secure your place!

We look forward to an afternoon of genuine insight, connection and conversation.