The Chair’s Mentoring Program is the AICD’s flagship board diversity initiative. This year’s cohort of mentees are women linked by their sense of purpose, digital acumen and innovative ways of thinking.
In an increasingly complex world of business, the careers of directors are being shaped by seismic economic, technological, regulatory, political, environmental and social change that is moving at pace. Yet, in the throes of change, an accomplished group of women directors who will be mentored by experienced chairs nation-wide as part of the AICD’s 2025 Chair’s Mentoring Program, say it’s a moment of great opportunity.
The program comes as the number of women directors on ASX-listed boards is rising. However, few are progressing to chair positions, according to AICD’s latest board diversity data. The research revealed that at the end of 2024, 38.3 per cent of director positions on the ASX 200 were held by women, and 12.9 per cent of chair positions.
Directors participating in this year’s Chair’s Mentoring Program speak about their board careers, their motivation to take on director duties and the forces that shape the boards they serve.
Anna Leibel GAICD
Who or what has inspired you to "March Forward" throughout your director career?
"I'm inspired by boards that can embrace challenges as opportunities, and set the bar to improve the way things are done. I've always been motivated by making a difference. As a director, I do that through bringing my skills and experience to the table to help with strategic decision making and contribute to the overall performance of the organisation."
Anna Leibel GAICD taught herself how to computer code at the age of eight. It was an early sign of a career punctuated by ambitious goals and a passion for technology. While Leibel says her expertise in the tech sector has helped advance her 30-year career, being a lifelong “learner” has helped her advance as an executive and director.
Leibel was appointed to the AMP board in early 2024, alongside Kathleen Bailey-Lord FAICD. Both brought “significant skills and experience in digital transformation, technology and financial services to the board”, according to a statement from the company at the time.
Leibel’s director experience spans public and private sector companies across multiple industries and different regulatory environments. “No director comes to the board with one single skill set,” says Leibel. “That’s what’s very different to being successful in an executive career. It is about how you can contribute to the organisation in terms of implementing their strategy and overseeing that, because the skills matrix of the board should reflect that.”
Leibel has steered her director career with a strong appetite for learning. Keen to obtain more formal governance experience when transitioning from executive roles, she recently undertook a Master of Laws, specialising in enterprise governance, at Bond University, graduating a year ago. In 2017, Leibel completed the AICD Company Directors Course while working for UniSuper as its chief information officer.
“I always like to think through what I’m looking to achieve next, and understand what attributes I need to get there,” she says. “I did that course to understand what the [UniSuper] CEO would need from me, but also what the board would look to me for. I learned a lot around what their priorities and obligations are, which helped me to tailor what I was reporting to the board, the way I communicated with them and what they needed to help make decisions I was seeking of them.”
Leibel’s board career took off from that point, and she has since served on the boards of Ambulance Victoria and Alfred Health. She is also a director at data insights and tech company SERV (Secure Electronic Registries Victoria).
“As a director, I’m motivated by making a difference,” says Leibel. “I had exactly the same motivation when I was an executive. Now I’m wearing a different hat, working on the business rather than in the business, but I’m motivated by being able to help inform and influence strategic decision-making, and bring my skills and the experience I’ve got around risk, tech and transformation to help those organisations to be successful.”
A year into her role at AMP, Leibel says AI has made its way into the boardroom of the ASX-listed financial services firm, which has also created an AI Hub, underscoring the fast-moving tech advances directors must now grapple with.
The leader of AMP’s AI Hub reports directly to CEO Alexis George GAICD. “Our CEO is so mindful of how important [AI] is to the business and the potential that comes with it, that she made the decision to have the leader of AI reporting to her,” says Leibel. “From a board perspective, we get updates on how that’s going, and they actually come and demonstrate what they’re learning.”
Leibel also notes the critical role the board plays in relation to privacy and cybersecurity as AI technologies mature at pace. “It’s making sure we’ve got the right oversight of that through our board committees, and the board itself.”
It also points to the evermore complex landscape in which directors must now operate. “Part of the biggest challenge for boards is the pace of change,” says Leibel. “It’s not just tech change, it’s everything — regulatory change, the political landscape. The expectations of society have changed.”
She notes this poses an opportunity for directors. “I’ve always thought meeting your regulatory compliance... is your ticket to the game. Where boards have the opportunity, [they should try to get] management to aim higher.”
Meet this year’s impressive cohort of mentees in the AICD Chair’s Mentoring Program: Pip Marlow GAICD, Rosina Hislop FAICD, Shirley Chowdhary GAICD, and Gorana Saula GAICD.
AICD’s Chair’s Mentoring Program is sponsored by Allens and Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Find out more HERE.
This article first appeared under the headline ‘Emerging Directors’ in the March 2025 issue of Company Director magazine.
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