Ashley Fell

Effective leaders prioritise people.

Profile

Ashley Fell is a social researcher, TEDx speaker and the Director of Advisory at McCrindle. She is the author of two books on leadership and generational insights, titled Work Wellbeing and Generation Alpha. She is also the host of McCrindle’s podcast, The Future Report.

In addition to delivering keynote presentations at conferences, Ashley is booked to conduct training days, facilitate panels and deliver workshops across an array of industries. From generational change to the impact of technology, from key demographic transformations to social trends, Ashley delivers research-based presentations analysing global megatrends.

With academic qualifications in communications, an ongoing role in deploying and analysing national research studies, and with her position leading the advisory team at McCrindle, Ashley brings robust, research-based content to her engaging presentations and consulting.

Expertise

Talking Points

Changing times, emerging trends

This session gives an analysis of our fast moving times and a snapshot of the key trends redefining our society. It will deliver an overview of the changes and insights to help organisations not just respond to the trends but to shape them. From technological trends to demographic shifts, from social change to generational transitions, this session will define and strategically respond to each of these mega-trends.

A demographic snapshot of Australia: Now and towards 2030

To engage with people and connect with communities, we need to understand the data and the demographics. Population analysis tells a fascinating story of Australia today and reveals clear trend lines. In this session, Ashley uses the latest demographic data to give a snapshot of the changes, the trends, the challenges and the opportunities for your brand, organisation and sector.

Understanding the Future Consumer

The new world of work; Understanding the emerging workforce, adapting to the new workplace

Over the last couple of years the world of work has undergone a massive transformation. From portfolio careers to teleworking, from the gig-economy to the growth of the start-up culture. How, where and why we work has significantly changed. This session looks at how to recruit, retain, manage and train top talent, and how to create a workplace culture and engage a diverse workforce to bring about greater productivity and engagement.

Understanding and engaging with Generation Z

Today's generation of teenagers and children are the first generation to be wholly shaped in the 21st Century and so are our first truly digitally integrated, wirelessly connected, global generation. However they are more than just students; within the next decade they will comprise over 1 in 4 of our workforce and they are currently consumers with customer influence well beyond their economic footprint. This session will equip attendees with the knowledge and skills to engage this post-literate, multimodal and tech-savvy generation.

Digital communications for changing times; Thriving in the screenage and engaging with online communities

In an era of message-saturation, the challenge for organisations is to deliver quality content that will get cut-through. In this session, Ashley Fell, who leads the communications strategy at McCrindle, will share the latest research findings into media consumption, emerging technologies and the key influences on decision-making. She will define the elements of effective communication, means to maximise retention, and the trends in online communities.

Bringing research data to life

The emerging generations of business leaders are digital, visual, and global in outlook, and they expect information to be presented in compelling ways. While the last few years have introduced big data to business, the challenge is interpreting the data and communicating the trends and insights effectively so that leaders can make strategic decisions. Just as a picture tells a thousand words, an infographic presents a large number of data points in an easily accessible visual format. As pioneers in this emerging data visualisation area, and as Australia's leading research visualisation experts, Ashley and the McCrindle team are able to interpret the key data and present the summarised insights in innovative and visually accessible ways.

Recruiting, retaining & training the new generations at work

The future of industry is shaped not just by the technological changes but also the sociological changes. Indeed what defines our 21st Century is the massive technological change which combined with the huge demographic change is reshaping the business landscape. Our world is experiencing the biggest generational change since the birth of the Post-war Baby Boomers. Increasingly Baby Boomers are downshifting, Generation Xers and Ys are the emerging managers, and the Gen Zeds are today's new employees. Therefore it is critical to understand the attitudes, values and expectations of the diverse generations comprising today's workforce.

This session will outline the new demographics and the social trends which have shaped Gen Y and Gen Z. This session will identify the HR implications of these new attitudes, values, and workplace priorities of today's employees. Ashley will highlight applications of this to effective employer branding, attraction and retention strategies, workplace communications and effective management styles.

Leading, innovating and thriving amidst transformative times

Only occasionally in history do massive demographic changes combine with huge social shifts, ongoing generational transitions and unprecedented technological innovation so that within the span of a decade society altogether alters. Australia is currently in the midst of one such transformation. While such change impacts everyone and every organisation, the leaders that will future proof their organisations are those who understand the times, influence the trends and shape the future. In this session Social Analyst Ashley Fell will navigate the megatrends transforming Australia and the financial services sector to deliver a snapshot of 2025. She will discuss the key implications of these changes on clients, employees and the broader community and how financial advisors through collaboration, innovation and adaptation, can thrive in these times of change.

The top 5 trends transforming buildings and the industry

From an ageing population to changing household structures, from population growth to generational change, and from housing mobility to growing expectations, our society continues to change rapidly, with big implications for the building industry. In this session, social researcher Ashley Fell will analyse these changes and give an overview of the Top 5 trends that continue to shape our society, looking at their implications for buildings, building codes, and the industry as a whole.

The top 5 trends transforming the Aged Care sector

The future of industry is shaped not just by the technological changes but also the sociological changes. Indeed what defines our 21st Century is the massive technological change which combined with the huge demographic change is reshaping not just Australia as a whole but the aged care landscape specifically.

In this session, social researcher Ashley Fell will analyse these changes, the trends, the challenges, and the opportunities for the aged care sector and give and overview of the Top 5 trends that continue to shape our society and the sector. She will unpack McCrindle's latest research and segmentation analysis of Baby Boomer and Builder generation, outlining the generational and attitudinal shifts taking place and the lifestyle expectations of today's retirees.

A snapshot of the changes transforming real estate

Only occasionally in history do massive demographic changes combine with huge social shifts, ongoing generational transitions and unprecedented technological innovation so that within the span of a decade society altogether alters. Australia is currently in the midst of one such transformation.

While such change impacts everyone and every organisation, the leaders that will future proof their organisations are those who understand the times, influence the trends and shape the future.
In this session Social Analyst Ashley Fell will navigate leaders in real estate through the megatrends transforming Australia and deliver a snapshot of 2025. She will discuss the key implications of these changes on property, housing demand, generational change, marketing and communications.

Engaging with today's students, communicating with prospective parents

Nowhere is generational change more evident than in Australia's schools. Generation X are the emerging leaders and school-parents, Generation Y are the new teachers and Generation Z comprise today's students, the most global, visual, and technological generation ever. Never before have the generational changes, social trends, and demographic shifts combined to impact schools in such significant ways. In this session, Ashley will outline Australia's growing and changing population, household shifts and emerging family structures, socioeconomic changes and redefined household budgets, parents as customers and their independent schooling expectations, and how social media and digital integration is transforming learning spaces, places, and styles.

Future proofing careers; How educators and employers can equip the next generation to thrive in changing times

From an ageing population to changing household structures, from population growth to generational change, and from housing mobility to growing expectations, our society continues to change rapidly, with big implications for careers and the workplace. In this session Ashley will provide an overview of the key megatrends transforming the workplace and careers of the future. She will deliver a snapshot of Australia now and by 2025, giving a forecast of the transformative changes and insights into how to engage, develop and lead the new generations.

The Future of Education

This session provides an outline of the current structural changes and emerging trends impacting education now and over the decade ahead. For universities, TAFEs, private colleges, and independent catholic and public schools, education is undergoing seismic shifts. This session will give an overview of the technological, global, financial, generational, and social shifts in the education sector today.

Work Wellbeing: Leading Thriving Teams in Rapidly Changing Times

Over the last few years, wellbeing has risen to the top of the agenda. It is one of the key challenges and opportunities that our society faces. In any given week, we spend more than a third of our waking hours at work, so it is the place we most need to get well-being right. It is also a key priority for workers, with 83% saying it is up to the employer to facilitate well-being in the workplace. Based on the new book by Mark McCrindle and Ashley Fell titled Work Wellbeing: Leading thriving teams in rapidly changing times, this session will help leaders and organisations understand and navigate the future of work, intergenerational teams and why prioritising employee wellbeing is a non-negotiable for the future. It will provide a practical, data-driven and engaging guide to workplace wellbeing; equipping leaders, managers and employees with a thorough understanding of what work wellbeing is, why it's important and how to achieve it. As they write in the book: It turns out that business is ultimately about people, and the people, if well supported and led, deliver superior products, services and business outcomes.

Understanding the Impact of Big Tech on Australia’s Economic Future

Only occasionally in history do massive demographic changes combine with huge social shifts, ongoing generational transitions and unprecedented technological innovation so that within the span of a decade society altogether alters. Australia is currently in the midst of one such transformation. While such change impacts everyone and every organisation, the leaders that will future-proof their organisations are those who understand the times, influence the trends and shape the future. This session will look at Australia’s economic landscape and the role of big tech companies. It will explore the impact of these on Australia’s economy and the tech-enabled future we are moving towards.

Topics

Business

Innovation

Motivational Speakers

Politics & Advocacy

Intergenerational Leadership

Media

Video

Ashley Fell | Professional Presenter Showreel

Why storytelling is so powerful in the digital era | Ashley Fell | TEDxUniMelb

Feedback

Ashley was polished, succinct, poised and in every way, a truly professional speaker that engaged at a deep and personal level with my clients. The content matched the brief perfectly, and o ... keep readingf the 20 speakers I engaged this year, Ashley ranks among the best, if not the best. Financial Institution

Ashley was absolutely amazing. The feedback has been fantastic. Everyone loved her presentation and the way she delivered it. Ashley was informative whilst maintaining a good pace and also injected some humour throughout. She provided great insights for our team. Some comments from attendees: "Terrific insight provided by Ashley with her presentation. Entertaining and very topical. Great choice of speaker" "Ashley was brilliant! " "She was a great presenter and had very useful information for our industry and how we can approach the future of sales and marketing. Loved it" "Very informative and got us engaged with humour and interesting facts. She was so good we will be using her services in the future".

Auto Manufacturer

The feedback about Ashley has been fantastic and we were really happy with both of her presentations - engaging, fun and full of great conversation starters - exactly what we were after.

International Professional Services Network

Ashley is a fantastic presenter. She is warm and engaging, smart and brings humour to what could be dry content. You can always tell how good a presenter is come question time and this is where Ashley shines, no question is too curly for her! She is always very well received by our delegates.

Aged Services Provider

Ashley's presentation was outstanding, vibrant, engaging and fascinating. Presenting to a group of talented and curious educators is no small feat but Ashley held the audience beautifully and had an audience of intelligent teachers captivated.

Australian Private School

Ashley is a wonderful presenter who engages the audience. She is able to be flexible around the learning for the event and communicates very well. Excellent!

Maroochydore State High School

Ashley was fantastic. Her content was relevant, interesting and most importantly captivating. Ashley's ability to engage with our audience left the entire team very impressed.

Levande Pty Ltd