Lead the way: Leadership Outlook 2026

Jacqueline is Head of Strategic Projects for Asahi Beverages NZ. She is entrusted in driving and deploying various large scale strategic projects through cross functional departments to enable market share and revenue in New Zealand. Prior to Asahi, Jacqueline was a management consultant specialising in Business Transformation with a cumulative 24 year work experience at Accenture, Deloitte and EY Consulting globally. In these organisations, Jacqueline led large teams partnering with top clients from ASX, NYSE and FTSE in managing business transformation programs that enable strategic and operational excellence and sustained operational discipline. A recurring speaker at industry events, Jacqueline has been a professional member of AIM (now IML) since 2003 and is a Fellow of the Institute.

Sam is a seasoned management professional with more than 15 years of leadership experience across the financial services, education, and professional association sectors. He holds an undergraduate degree in economics and postgraduate qualifications, including a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master of Public Policy.

Sam is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of the Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand (IML ANZ), where he has led the organisation’s strategic direction and operations as part of the executive team for the past three years. He is a Certified Practising Manager (CPMgr) with IML ANZ and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD).

Throughout his career, Sam has demonstrated a strong commitment to leadership and capability development. He is passionate about the role that effective management and leadership play in delivering positive outcomes for individuals, organisations, and broader communities. His work is underpinned by a belief in the importance of continuous improvement and lifelong learning.

Sharon Pollard is an MBA qualified leader with over 15 years’ experience in executive management (as Acting CEO, Group COO and as a non-executive Board Director). She has multi-national business experience (Australia and UK), where she primarily focused on developing collaborative relationships and providing effective strategic leadership.

Sharon's leadership style is a balance of achievement focus and self-direction coupled with relationship building and relatability which allows her to develop high performing teams who achieve outstanding results. This success is based on Sharon's passion for development of herself and her teams, and her collaborative open-minded approach to addressing challenges, solving problems, and implementing solutions.

Sharon has extensive experience in the fields of Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Environmental Sustainability, Management of Facilities (hard and soft) and Building and Infrastructure Asset Management. And she has expertise in work health and safety, compliance and governance, budget management and cost reduction, high value contract and leasing negotiation and management, efficiency improvement, service implementation and project management.

Sharon is heavily involved in advocacy for the Facilities Management industry though roles with the peak industry body the Facility Management Association of Australia (FMA). She is an Executive Board Director and Vice Chair of the FMA. Prior to that she was the Chair of the Victorian Branch Committee (awarded Committee of the Year 2019) for five years. She also sits on the National Diversity and Inclusion Portfolio Group (awarded Committee of the Year 2018) and Chairs the Membership and Culture Strategic Task Group.