Read more about Tamsin’s experience.

Biography

I grew up in rural Australia, inspired by my Dad; a reverend in flip flops who was the epicentre of the community, passionate about social justice and always meeting people where they were—starting a church in a pub, or a skate park.

There I was watching Nelson Mandela on TV, Gandhi films, and reading Martin Luther King sermons in the outer suburbs of Adelaide.

By the time I was at university, I was selected for an internship with the opposition leader and went on to become the Premier’s policy advisor in South Australia at 23. I was exposed to the highest levels of decision-making in government and helped craft policies that made the state a leader in environmental sustainability and the arts.

Despite being earmarked for a future in politics, I cared more about the issues than the numbers, and I knew that to become the leader I wanted to be, it was time to expand my experience across other realms and regions that called me—urban regeneration, public health, leadership, impact investment, innovation and entrepreneurship.

I took what I’d learned in politics and applied it to spaces where people couldn’t always see the bigger vision of what was possible. As Country Director for an organisation supporting pregnant women living with HIV, I secured funding for expansion, growing the team from 5 staff to 140, creating life-changing impact with more children born without HIV. I co-founded Workshop17, awarded the best coworking space in South Africa and globally. What started as a pigeon-poop-covered industrial shed became an architectural dream of glass and wood, purpose-built for imagination, creativity, and interaction between the 250 entrepreneurs and community who inhabit it.

I moved into engaging with the business and investment communities, working for CDC (now British International Investment) to help establish a pan-African network of CEOs under 45. I then raised £1.6 million and co-founded a business to place the leading network of board-ready women across Africa, unlocking opportunities for leadership and influence at scale.

I was working flat out and seeing results, but despite being at the top of my game, my body was saying no. I was navigating a system that demanded suppressing intuition and emotion, overriding values, and favouring purely transactional approaches—stifling possibility and causing systemic and personal strain. Reconnecting with my body revealed the wider impact of disconnection on both people and the planet. Hundreds of board women echoed the same: in this dynamic, they couldn’t lead on what they most cared about.

I realised the need to articulate and build a business case for a more interconnected way of leading. Despite research showing the benefits of relational leadership, it was not valued or taught in the business world. I went on a deep dive—studying at The Somatic School, hosting dinners with C-suite women at the Conduit Club in London on leading, working with global icon on gender lens investing, Suzanne Beigel on increasing LP investment in women led funds, and spending time in Bhutan at the Centre for Gross National Happiness. I also joined a collaborative to co-found The Rallying Cry, bringing together voices on the front line responding to climate challenges with investors, forming a shared vision for the highest possible future. I also became a champion for the Conduit Club in London, focused on women in leadership.

In 2021, I received a call Australia. In 2022 I left London to help build the then emerging Small Giants Academy focused on building the next economy. I was to lead its flagship global year-long program, the Mastery of Business and Empathy. In this time, we expanded the team and impact through developing a range of program and convening offerings including a Climate Leadership Accelerator and Wisdom and Action Forum, which has supported 2000+ executives to commit to their own visions for a more safe and just future, amidst AI and what is being called the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Our latest forum was on Trust in the Age of AI.

Simultaneous to the Academy, I responded to my frustrations in the global political dynamic and lack of investor leadership on gender equality by working working closely Australians Investing in Women on a new Gender Lens Investing Collaborative, which has united 71 funds and philanthropists (and growing) to drive more gender-smart investment in Australia.

What has emerged at each stage is my authentic life’s work. As a business strategist, ecosystem innovator, and leadership catalyst, I help people, organisations, and investors to see themselves, the world and the models that underpin their work as whole and interconnected—mobilising creativity, relationships, and resources to deliver tangible impact on climate, society, and governance.