In an industry defined by complexity, regulation, stigma, and extraordinary change, I have built a reputation for doing things differently. Whilst commercially driven yet deeply empathetic, I represent a shift and style of leadership that challenges the traditional idea of what a successful CEO should look like. For me, leadership is not about being the loudest person in the room, it is about having the courage to make difficult decisions, bringing people with me, and never losing sight of the human beings behind the business, who for me, are the most valuable part of any business.
There are much easier industries in which to build a career and make a difference rather than medicinal cannabis. Australia’s sector is relatively young, very intensely regulated, and difficult to navigate, and this is further hindered by unclear regulatory pathways. Businesses must navigate, complex and evolving regulations, rapidly changing commercial conditions and the lingering social stigma, whilst operating in a healthcare environment with patient care uppermost in our minds.
It takes a particular kind of leader to thrive in that environment and for me, the challenge to thrive in this complex environment was part of the attraction.
Today, I am proud to be the CEO and Co-Founder of EQWELLIBRIYUM, a specialist consultancy assisting medicinal cannabis and alternative-health businesses navigate the Australian market. however, spans far more than one company or title.
My journey however spans more than one Company or title and I have built a career around transformation, building businesses, developing people, challenging conventional thinking, and advocating for a more objective and compassionate approach to healthcare.
Leadership with Humility
When the conversation moves away from titles, my philosophy is simple: people perform at their best when they feel valued, trusted, heard and understood. That does not mean avoiding difficult conversations or lowering expectations; in fact, it is quite the opposite.
I combine empathy with accountability. Leaders must set ambitious standards, make tough decisions, and take responsibility when circumstances become challenging. Critical to being a good leader is understanding what motivates people, recognising that employees have lives beyond their job descriptions, and ensuring work-life balance, these are the building blocks of high-performing teams.
Never have I believed you need to become harder or less human to be a successful CEO. You can expect and receive extraordinary things from people while still treating them with kindness and understanding. Empathy has been described as a soft leadership characteristic, whereas I see it as a commercial strength.
Understanding people and their needs builds loyalty, retains talent, and creates a culture where employees love to contribute their ideas. It challenges thinking and your team take ownership rather than simply just following instructions. And in healthcare, where commercial decisions affect patients, this needs to be the main focus.
A chapter of extraordinary growth
Leading The Entourage Effect demonstrated my ability to combine people-focused leadership with commercial ambition and to scale a business very quickly in a two-year period and it remains a proud achievement.
During a period of extraordinary growth, the company expanded its presence in Australia’s medicinal cannabis market and was ranked ninth in the prestigious Australian Financial Review’s 2024 top 100 Companies to watch and top 3 in the Ord Minnett Companies to watch 2024.
I am incredibly proud of my tenure at The Entourage Effect and everything we achieved. The emphasis here though is that achievements of this magnitude do not happen by themselves. It happens when talented people are trusted, challenged, and given opportunities to succeed together as part of a team.
The Founder of The Entourage Effect Eidan Havas was instrumental in providing that opportunity. Eidan promised me the opportunity and trust to lead, and he followed through. I will always be grateful for his confidence and the freedom he gave me to help shape and grow his business. Alongside myself was Tahlia Bavadra, whose talent, commitment, and support were integral to our achievements.
“Tahlia was an enormous part of our success. We worked incredibly hard together, and that relationship evolved into the business partnership we share today.” For me, the experience represents more than just commercial achievement. It reinforces the importance of trust, shared ambition, recognising the contributions of others and most importantly advancing patient care.
The courage to begin again
Success can sometimes make people comfortable; however I chose another path. With Tahlia’s help we established EQWELLIBRIYUM, combining our strengths and expertise across commercial strategy, market access, compliance, education, marketing, and healthcare.
Stepping away from an established CEO position to build something new required a lot of courage. We started from scratch with no established infrastructure or the security of a weekly paycheck and we relied on experience, our reputations, established relationships, and a strong belief in what we hoped to create. This required not just confidence but humility and resilience. For us success was less about the size of the organisation I lead, and more about the impact we could make on people’s lives.
Business with purpose
My connection to medicinal cannabis is also personal. My experience has given me a great appreciation of the patient perspective as well as an understanding of the industry’s commercial complexities.
Whilst I understand boardroom conversations around margins, market access, regulations, and growth, behind those spreadsheets are patients seeking answers and healthcare professionals (HCPs) making important clinical decisions. And this is why I remain so passionate about challenging the stigma while also advocating for evidence, education, compliance, and responsible commercial behaviour from those in the Industry.
You can build successful businesses and still remember why the industry exists. Ultimately, there is a patient at the end of what we do, and I never lose sight of this.
Women in leadership: Strength in authenticity
One of my strongest convictions is that women should stop believing they must adopt another person’s version of leadership to reach the top. For generations, executive leadership has been defined by traditionally masculine characteristics: authority, toughness, and emotional restraint. I believe leadership has evolved, and that women should resist leaving some of their greatest strengths at the boardroom door. These include but are not limited to empathy, intuition, emotional intelligence, resilience and even vulnerability. These are not weaknesses; they can become formidable leadership qualities.
I have seen incredibly capable women question whether they are tough enough or assertive enough to lead. This needs to change. You can be compassionate yet strong, you can listen and still make the final decision, and you can care deeply and still hold people accountable.”
I have led through rapid growth, navigated a challenging industry, built teams, negotiated, managed regulatory complexity, and stepped away from an established CEO role to build two businesses. I believe my achievements came not from imitating, but from trusting myself and my instincts. For me, authenticity is not simply a personal value. It is central to effective leadership.
What success really looks like
Recognition and commercial achievement matter, but my definition of success has evolved.
My questions now are, did I create opportunities for others? Did people grow because I believed in them? Did we build something worthwhile? Did we demonstrate integrity in tough times?
Leadership inevitably brings criticism, tough decisions, and moments of self-doubt. And being a female CEO in a controversial, male-dominated, and heavily scrutinised industry adds another layer.
My experience has taught me that authenticity and the very qualities women are sometimes encouraged to suppress may be those that make them exceptional leaders.
A passionate advocate of lifelong learning, I believe leadership requires the humility to recognise that there is always more to discover, learn, understand, and improve. But the philosophy underpinning my next chapter is clear.
“You do not have to become someone else to lead. Stay true to yourself—after all, that is what got me to the top.”
Success does not require abandoning empathy for authority, kindness for strength, authenticity for ambition. You can be commercially formidable and still deeply human, and you can lead decisively and still care.
Sometimes the most visionary thing a woman can do is simply lead as herself.
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