Catherine Easton
Strategic Advisor
Catherine is able to come into an organisation and work out what the starting point of a project needs to be and work autonomously from there. She is collaborative and an excellent communicator with great feedback and process mechanisms. Catherine is able to negotiate at a high level and is successful at achieving the desired goals of the work at hand.
Jocelyn Bignold AM,
CEO, McAuley Community Services for Women
Catherine Easton is a trusted strategic advisor to boards, CEOs and executive teams in the areas of governance, transformation and change.
Catherine excels at building effective relationships to understand the issues and opportunities facing organisations and works collaboratively to develop solutions and recommendations. Her work is informed by 25+ years as an executive and board director working across the finance and community service sectors.
Catherine has an innate ability to consider opportunities and issues from a strategic and whole of organisation perspective, and ‘what it takes’ to implement with clients and teams delivering the services as front of mind.
Capabilities
Transformation and change
- organisational restructures
- mergers and acquisitions advisory
People, culture and wellbeing
- organisational change strategy / management
- position description development / clarification
Strategy, risk and governance
- strategic planning / review / retreats
- board evaluation / development / mentoring
- board recruitment
- stakeholder management
Organisational and business planning
- strategic planning
- operational planning
Clients
McAuley Community Services for Women
NFP Aged Care Provider
Arts Project Australia
Qualifications and recognition
Company Directors course (including assessments), AICD
Bachelor of Business (Distinction), RMIT
Masters of Strategic Foresight, Swinburne University
Creating Collaborative Solutions: Innovations in Governance, Harvard Kennedy School
Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)
Women on Boards, member
Melbourne Forum, member
Deputy Chair, First Step
Executive Colloquium, Cranlana
Non-Executive Director, You Matter
Former Chair and board member; Arts Project Australia, Linden New Art
Former Committee member, Palais Theatre Community Fund
Mentor, Fitted for Work
Policy & Planning Committee, Arts Project Australia
Folio Community Leadership Program, Leadership Victoria
Catherine's expertise sits in ensuring good governance for non-profit organisations, strategy and policy development, and developing strategic relationships across the sector. I would (and do!) recommend Catherine to any non-profit organisation requiring advice and/or support with governance, strategy and planning, and policy development. She is a consummate professional who really takes the time to understand an organisation and its needs and her breadth of knowledge of the sector and its challenges is vast.
Sue Roff,
Executive Director (2009-2023), Arts Project Australia
Catherine assisted in navigating significant change as our operation was merged into a larger body. Catherine provided assistance with project management, communication and change management as the merger was negotiated, communicated and implemented. She further assisted in the integration of the entities and in communication with external stakeholders. Catherine was hard working, diligent, professional and effective throughout the process. She provided great assistance to both our board and CEO, while assisting in handover to the new entity. We would recommend Catherine to any organisation that requires project management or support with any organisational change, including mergers.
Board Chairperson,
NFP Aged Care Provider
