Strategy under pressure: How leaders navigate disruption

Accomplished and strategic leader with extensive experience in implementing business methods and process improvement changes that increase quality and enhance yields while reducing bottom-line costs.

Harley has worked at Nielsen for over 20 years in multiple areas of the business, including sales & account management, project management, Lean Six Sigma process improvements, and operations.

For the past 9 years Harley has been involved in managing regional and international operations teams (based throughout APAC, Ukraine, India, and Mexico). Most recently he has been responsible for transitioning work and roles to a new Global Capacity Center in India, transitioning global support roles, overseeing training schedules, and ensuring that during this entire process all KPI’s continue to be met by the teams. This change process has been successful, and the new team managers are continuing the process of process improvements and increasing team capacity.

Currently Harley is in a supporting role for APAC operations as change continues to be the norm for Nielsen, helping senior leaders with financial analysis, overseeing improvement projects, and continuing to develop new leaders in the business.

On a personal note, Harley is originally from the USA and is married with one child. He enjoys travel, reading, and finding ways to help others become better leaders. Since 2022 he has published regular posts on growth and development on his website simple-ideas.info.

Brooke Cramond-Darvall is the Course Development and Quality Manager and Deputy Academic Director at UBSS, with over a decade of experience in higher education leadership, curriculum design, and business consultancy. She holds qualifications in training and development, business administration, and is pursuing postgraduate research in education, blending academic expertise with industry insight.

Brooke oversees course quality, curriculum innovation, and strategic projects, serving on the GCA Academic Board, Curriculum Advisory Committee, Teaching and Learning Committee, and chair of the Moderation and Grades Committee. Her career includes academic leadership roles at TAFE NSW and Le Cordon Bleu, alongside 15 years as an entrepreneur, and 35 years in hospitality and consultancy.

Recognised for her learner-focused approach, Brooke has led major initiatives such as accreditation submissions, digital transformation, and workforce capability development. She lectures in Business Management disciplines, including Leadership, Strategic Management, and Marketing. Brooke continues to shape higher education through research and strategic innovation.

Toby brings more than two decades of experience in Independent Schools to his role as CTO at NetStrategy, where he has been since 2015. At NetStrategy, Toby’s responsibilities include overseeing NetStrategy’s education strategic consulting, as well as developing NetStrategy’s Managed Services offerings which assist numerous leading Independent Schools. He also serves as a non Executive director of an educational not for profit and several independent schools.

Prior to NetStrategy, Toby was responsible for conducting the ICT Strategy Reviews and ICT ICT Strategy Development projects for AISNSW’s Partnerships in Education project in conjunction with Macquarie University, and continues to speak at conferences on Strategy Development. Toby led the ICT function at Swan Christian Education Association in Perth, and Oxford Falls Grammar in Sydney, as well as advising leadership and ICT teams in Independent schools throughout Australia.

Toby has a passion for enabling schools to extract the most value out of their technology investments so that they can provide excellent outcomes for their staff, students, and parents