The Business Of School - Brought To You By Cole Connect

People, Purpose and Play with Julie & Karen

Julie Gillespie, Leadership Coach Meet Julie Gillespie, founder of Well-Led Workplaces. Julie works with organisations to build leadership systems that strengthen culture, accountability, and connection so teams can perform well under real pressure, not just when things are easy. Over the past few years Julie has worked with Cole School Experts and our leadership team, helping us introduce frameworks like Adaptive Communication, Language of Appreciation, and DISC profiling to give our people practical tools for working better together. Julie’s work focuses on turning good intentions about culture into clear behaviours that leaders and teams can actually act on every day. Karen Hall, People & Culture Manager Karen is Cole’s resident people-person and culture champion. With a double diploma in Business and Management, and a background spanning events, marketing, and administration, she brings a supercharged skillset that keeps teams organised, engaged, and smiling. She’s passionate about creating workplaces where people genuinely feel they belong, because Karen firmly believes that happy humans do their best work. At Cole, she’s here to help make sure there’s plenty of both. When she’s not shaping great culture, you’ll likely find her cuddling animals, planning a party, or herding cats — sometimes literally, sometimes metaphorically. WHO THIS IS FOR: School Business Managers, Payroll Officers, HR leads, CFOs, Principals and Board members at independent and Catholic schools across Australia and New Zealand. ABOUT COLE SCHOOL EXPERTS We've helped independent and Catholic schools across Australia and New Zealand run smarter for over 20 years — through outsourced finance, payroll, HR, software and strategic services. Built for Business Managers who want fewer fires and more focus. 🌐 Website: https://coleschoolexperts.com.au 🎙️ The Business of School podcast: https://coleschoolexperts.com.au/the-business-of-school-podcast/ YouTube: www.youtube.com/@coleschoolexperts7356 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/5IPIkJBxVpmvnLLCz9MYvl?si=eb7aa2e4ec43455d Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-business-of-school-brought-to-you-by-cole-connect/id1730637946 #SchoolPayroll #PaydaySuper #SchoolBusinessManager #IndependentSchools #BusinessOfSchool

The Unspoken Challenges for School Leadership with Darren Clark

Darren Clark is a strategic advisor, investor, entrepreneur and the founder of Conscious Education, an organisation dedicated to helping schools achieve clarity, alignment and momentum through tailored strategy programs. Darren has led over 40 organisations himself and brings a deep understanding of strategy development, organisational leadership and sustainable growth.At Conscious Education, he leads a multi-disciplinary team, that partners with school leaders, to design and implement strategies that deliver measurable impact, strengthen culture and build leadership capability. Conscious Education supports the development of strategy, leadership and culture programs, coaching and consulting for individual leaders and the whole school, through to ongoing national peak body work. A human approach to developing education strategy and leadership alignment that’s empowering, engaging, simple and sustainable. WHO THIS IS FOR:School Business Managers, Heads of Operations, ICT leaders, Principals and Board members at independent and Catholic schools across Australia and New Zealand. ABOUT COLE SCHOOL EXPERTS We've helped independent and Catholic schools across Australia and New Zealand run smarter for over 20 years — through outsourced finance, payroll, HR, software and strategic services. Built for Business Managers who want fewer fires and more focus. 🌐 Website: https://coleschoolexperts.com.au 🎙️ The Business of School podcast: https://coleschoolexperts.com.au/podcast/ #SchoolBusinessManager #IndependentSchools #SchoolFinance #BusinessOfSchool #ColeSchoolExperts

A Banking Perspective on Challenges & Opportunities for Schools Today with Damien Hoffman

Damien Hoffman has nearly 25 years of banking experience, including client relationship management, operations, risk and organisational redesign roles. For over a decade, Damien has been a member of NAB’s Government, Education & Community specialised banking division, with Independent and Catholic schools being a key component of that portfolio. The insights and experience from Damien’s banking career are supplemented by his not-for-profit board experience within the Community Housing Sector and he is currently the Chair of the Advisory Board for a school within the Brisbane Catholic Archdiocese.

How AI Can Support Business Workflows in Schools - Lee Green

With over 20 years’ experience at the intersection of business, technology, and AI, Lee Green, Sales Director at Ellby, brings a practical lens to digital transformation. In this episode, we explore how organisations can bridge the gap between business needs, AI, and technology solutions, where workflow automation can create meaningful efficiencies, and the common process bottlenecks holding businesses back. Known for his collaborative and solutions-focused approach, Lee shares practical insights into simplifying complex operations, streamlining workflows, and unlocking real business value through tailored AI solutions. Tune in to discover how organisations can work smarter and embrace AI in a practical, scalable, and impactful way.

The Wonders of Outsourced School Payroll

Anne-Maree Ironside is a CPA and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, with experience in finance leadership across education and various other commercial sectors. She has a strong track record in managing cross-functional teams from Finance, HR, Marketing, IT and Facilities Management. Her current role is the Business Manager at The Pittwater House Schools on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.