Step into leadership with clarity, confidence, and calm. In this engaging keynote, Ashley Herd shares The Manager Method—a practical, proven 3-step framework built around Pause, Consider, Act—to help managers navigate challenges, motivate teams, and make better decisions under pressure.
Most managers are promoted because they excel at their jobs—but the moment they step into a new leadership role, they’re expected to know how to motivate teams, navigate tough conversations, and drive results with little to no guidance. Manager Method fills this gap, and provides managers at any level with practical, real-world strategies to help them lead with clarity, confidence, and impact—without burning out.
Drawing on her experience as a former Chief People Officer and General Counsel—and after training more than 250,000 managers worldwide—Ashley brings a refreshingly direct, actionable approach to leadership. Attendees will walk away with a clear process they can apply immediately to lead effectively, build trust, and drive results—without losing themselves in the process.
Every company talks about burnout. Few understand why it disproportionately impacts their highest-performing midlife women—or what to do about it.
This session reveals the biological reality behind the "broken rung": the documented pattern where women's promotion rates drop precipitously in their mid-40s. Drawing on neuroscience, endocrinology, and workforce data, Dr. Manna Semby—a former Goldman Sachs VP turned functional medicine doctor—explains why untreated perimenopause is depleting organizations of their most experienced female talent at exactly the moment they should be ascending to leadership.
Attendees will learn:
- The science of what's happening to women's brains and bodies during the midlife transition (and why it impacts performance)
- Why the symptoms (brain fog, exhaustion, mood volatility) are consistently misdiagnosed as burnout, depression, or "not handling stress well"
- The business case: retention costs, productivity loss, and the leadership pipeline impact when 80% of midlife women are struggling without support
- Practical interventions: what progressive companies are implementing to support midlife women and keep them on trajectory
- What individuals can do right now (whether their workplace supports them or not)
This isn't a wellness talk. It's a business and leadership imperative for building cultures that support sustained performance at every age.
In a time of relentless change, many women leaders feel rising pressure to do more, prove more, and carry more. In this session, Margie Warrell issues a clarion call to women to embrace their difference and own their value—fully, authentically, and unapologetically.
Drawing on compelling stories, including her own as a ball-dropping mother of four who has defied doubt countless times since her childhood in the Aussie bush, she reveals why the real work of leading change in an anxious world begins where comfort zones end. She shares practical tools to rise above imposter beliefs, fear of judgment, and over-functioning—the very forces that widen the “Courage Gap” between who we are and who we can be … in our work, leadership, and life.
This dynamic session will inspire braver action - equipping women to stop leading from self-doubt and start leading from conviction—grounded in purpose, anchored in self-trust, and able to cultivate collective courage across teams and culture. The result: less proving, more presence, and leadership that finally reflects their true potential.
What does it really mean to be a female CEO? The answer is as varied as the women who hold the title. Leadership isn’t a straight climb—it’s a winding, exhilarating, and sometimes solitary road.
In this powerful discussion inspired by Revered: The Power of Female Leadership, author Jamie Moraga—who started, grew, and sold a business in a male-dominated industry—brings together women leaders from diverse sectors to share their authentic experiences at the highest levels of leadership.
From farms to Fortune 500 boardrooms, these women have navigated challenges, setbacks, and triumphs that reflect a shared thread of resilience, grit, and determination.
This conversation will explore:
Honest, behind-the-scenes stories of women leading in every phase of business—from start-up to succession
Balancing ambition, identity, family, and self-doubt in pursuit of success
Lessons learned from thriving in spaces where women have often stood alone
How to empower and support the next generation of female leaders
This isn’t a highlight reel—it’s a deeply human look at what it takes to lead, lift others, and redefine what leadership looks like for women today. Whether you’re a CEO, an aspiring entrepreneur, or dreaming of your own seat at the table, this session offers validation, connection, and inspiration to take your next bold step.
Every journey is different—but the courage to begin is what we all share.
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