Speaker Highlight: Heidi Duncan

We are thrilled to feature Heidi Duncan , a dynamic finance leader with a wealth of experience and a passion for people-centric leadership, ahead of her appearance at the World Finance Forum Sydney! This is a fantastic opportunity to gain insights from a professional who has navigated a diverse career path and is dedicated to developing the next generation of finance leaders.

Heidi's expertise in team building, navigating change, and leading with values will be invaluable to attendees. Ahead of her appearance at World Finance Forum Sydney on Thursday, Heidi shared some of her story with us.

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you've ended up where you are today.

I grew up in Wollongong, where I stayed until I began my first role at EY as an undergrad at 20 years of age. I found myself pivoting through a variety of roles and organisations, jumping at opportunities as they arose – and it was scary at times, but those leaps paid off.

Over the years, I’ve realised that staying true to my values is a deal-breaker, and I’ve made some difficult decisions when these have been challenged in situations where there was a misalignment between my own values and an organisation’s DNA.

It’s been a winding path with some twists and turns along the way, but that’s life! My industry experience is diverse, and that has made my career exciting, as I thrive on change and challenges.

I’ve become increasingly more attuned to what I enjoy and what I don’t, which has led me to feeling very happy about where I’m at today.

I’m passionate about the organisation that I am a part of, working in an exciting industry with great people who value my input, and I’ve grown as a person as a result of my experiences. I couldn’t ask for more.

What's the biggest challenge finance leaders are facing today?

The biggest challenge finance leaders are facing today is shifting from a traditional finance team with the usual functions and outputs, to being one that provides a whole new variety of services to the business in the new world of technology, big data, and AI.

The associated skillsets required to provide value-adding services within this broader scope are vastly different, and therefore, there’s a steep learning curve in many cases for leaders and their teams.

What skills would you like to see finance leaders focus on more?

The role of finance leaders is becoming more and more broad, and so the critical skills I’d like to see more of are:

1. The ability to connect with those around you and build rapport and trust quickly;
2. Understand problems from a multi-faceted lens and be able to work with the team to provide effective and timely solutions;
3. Appreciate the impact that you have as a leader on your team and ensure that you are behaving in a way that makes people feel valued and cared for.

How are you developing yourself as a leader, and how important do you think it is to spend time doing that?

Development as a leader is a never-ending journey that is key to remaining relevant and fresh.

I enjoy participating in a broad range of activities varied so that I stay interested and keep learning. Some of these activities include listening to audio books or podcasts when driving to work on a range of topics, attending networking events to meet new people, and volunteering as a non-executive director on a for-purpose Board.

Feeling inspired by this insightful interview with Heidi? You won't want to miss her live appearance at the World Finance Forum Sydney on Thursday! She'll be leading our panel looking at Building your brand as a Finance leader.

Register for your pass today and secure your spot alongside other leading finance professionals. This is a unique opportunity to learn from a true industry expert! ?? https://events.futureforums.com/world-finance-forum-sydney#/buyTickets/