Helen Hamilton-James, the 407th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is managing partner of Deloitte’s Western Sydney office. Before that, she had a life-changing experience serving in the same role for Deloitte’s Papua New Guinea office. From a professional perspective, the role compelled Helen to adapt to a very different [...]
Rachel Clissold, the 406th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has an unusual gift. Time and time again, strangers who meet her feel the urge to open up and reveal intimate experiences. Part of the reason is that Rachel is an excellent listener; also, she asks thoughtful questions that give [...]
Sarah Leonard, the 405th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, moved to Australia for the whisky. Sarah, who’s from Ireland, developed an appreciation for whisky from observing her grandfather’s love and respect of the beverage and later working in bars. After completing a university degree in food marketing and entrepreneurship, [...]
Ryan Grace, the 404th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, was rowing across the Atlantic Ocean with three friends, when disaster struck. It was after midnight, they were caught in a storm, their boat was being buffeted by huge waves – and then they capsized. Three of the crew found [...]
Frances Ban, the 403rd person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is a former prosecutor who stumbled by accident onto a very unusual business. Frances was living in Shanghai with a young child, when she discovered, through some other mothers, a special type of children’s book known as a ‘busy book’ [...]
Brett Summerell, the 402nd person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has spent the past 35 years working for one of Sydney’s most beloved organisations, the Botanic Gardens of Sydney. Brett joined the organisation in 1989 as a plant pathologist, or “tree doctor” as he describes it. Today, Brett serves as [...]
Malcolm Auld, the 401st person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is one of Australia’s great marketers. When Mal was only 28, he became the youngest ever managing director of an Ogilvy & Mather office throughout the world. As a result, he got to meet the legendary David Ogilvy – whom [...]
A quarter of a century ago, Sandy Macken, the 400th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, was working as a PE teacher and was very unhappy with the career path she’d chosen. One night, Sandy happened to bump into a group of paramedics and instantly realised this was the job [...]
Marie Alessi, the 399th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, received a phone call that changed her life – the coroner was calling to inform her that her beloved husband, Rob, had died unexpectedly on a work trip. Immediately, Marie thought of a conversation she’d had with Rob three years [...]
“What could go right?” Ursula Crowley, the 398th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, likes to ask herself. That shift in mindset encourages Ursula to override her risk-averse lawyer’s brain and try things that might deliver novelty, happiness or growth. Ursula is the founder of Armara Advisory, which provides general [...]
