Purpose gives our lives meaning and consequence.
Chyloe Kurdas is a highly regarded leader with significant expertise in inclusion, belonging, high performance and transformative change. She is celebrated for her significant contributions to the inception and execution of the AFLW, the regeneration of Australian women’s golf, and inclusive sporting communities.
As a child of migrants from Hungary and Turkey, Chyloe experienced the value of sports in building community, the impact of sports on belonging, and the power of having an ally on your side. It also proved to be where she realised she would never be deemed good enough to play football professionally because of her gender. This realisation as a 5-year-old girl set Chyloe on a course to finding her ultimate purpose and powerfully informed her career, driving inclusion and belonging. She still credits being one of the first women to play football on the MCG as one of best days of her life.
Chyloe is a trusted advisor to the Australian Institute of Sport, Australian Sports Commission, and AusCycling, tasked with creating high-performance athlete and organisational outcomes by leveraging belonging and inclusion.
As a Melbourne Business School Associate, Chyloe has delivered over 100 leadership sessions on how to drive meaningful and impactful change for the Department of Defence and numerous corporate entities. Also an experienced educator, facilitator, and executive coach, Chyloe now leads the Australian Red Cross’ inclusion and diversity efforts, directing senior leaders to enable belonging as a core leadership practice.
Chyloe has parlayed her career history and communication skills into her role as a respected television and radio sports commentator and TEDx Sydney presenter.
Chyloe’s keynotes showcase her immense passion for values and purpose-led leadership by candidly sharing her personal stories of navigating adversity and driving change in sporting institutions. A powerful storyteller, Chyloe’s rich personal and professional journey is the foundation for her unique perspective on leadership, inclusion, and transformative cultural shifts.
Her presentations explore leading self and others intentionally and with purpose, how belonging & inclusion are enablers of high-performing outcomes, how to build an inclusive personal leadership brand, how to drive organisational and individual change, nurturing resilience, and the profound impact of fostering belonging for all of us as a lasting leadership legacy. Chyloe draws on the wisdom gained in not always getting things right to how she instigates change in the hearts and minds of others, empowering audiences to do the same.
Talking Points
Creating a Culture of Belonging: Leadership for Lasting Impact
Belonging is a fundamental human need for achieving our potential. As a specialist in purpose-driven and inclusive leadership and having directed cultural change at institutions such as the AFL, Golf Australia, and the Australian Red Cross, Chyloe believes cultivating and leveraging the power of belonging is the missing piece in many organisations' diversity and inclusion strategies.Creating a Culture of Belonging: Leadership for Lasting Impact
In this presentation, Chyloe will showcase how organisations can be empowered by a culture of belonging and how to position it as everyone's right and responsibility. She will also share the key enablers of belonging beyond diversity and inclusion and suggest strategies for your organisation to centre belonging to your culture.
Chyloe will also share strategies for fostering inclusive leadership.
Key Takeaways:
- Understanding the profound impact of fostering belonging for all of us as a lasting leadership legacy
- Understanding the key enablers of belonging
- Understanding how to be a truly inclusive leader
- Learn how to teach and foster inclusive leadership across your organisation
- How to create buy-in of belonging
- Competitive advantages of inclusive leadership
The Bottom Line of Diversity
Chyloe's presentation will explore why diversity of experience is a high performance non-negotiable and how we can build diversity empowered leadership teams and organisations. Chyloe will unpack how organisations can reframe diversity of experience as a strategic advantage as well as what opportunities are lost if we fail to meaningfully engage diverse people within our decision-making spaces.The Bottom Line of Diversity
Chyloe will leverage experiences from her leadership journey in driving gender equality in Australian sport particularly in Australian football and golf and share her frameworks from achieving progressive change in these institutions.
Empowering Organisational Change
- How to be a champion for organization/industry change for women and actions we can takeEmpowering Organisational Change
- How to build organisations that are supportive and empowering for women and other underrepresented people
- Leadership frameworks for leading cultural change
- The responsibility of leadership in leading cultural change for everyone
Inclusion and Advocacy
- How men can be gender equality allies and advocatesInclusion and Advocacy
- Exploration of practical things that build a space where women feel empowered and confident
- How to be an inclusive leader
Navigating Challenges and Sustainability
- How to navigate resistance, marginalization, and challenging career pathsNavigating Challenges and Sustainability
- How to sustain effort in challenging journeys
- Practical things we can do to empower ourselves and others
- The power of purposeful leadership and maintaining a healthy relationship with purpose
- How to leverage purpose for good
Leadership and Communication
- How to manage up to facilitate cultural changeLeadership and Communication
- How to engage and retain people in inclusive culture conversations
- The importance of empathy and meeting people where they are
Video
Unfilted: Chyloe Kurdas | 'You don't stop coming out as a same-sex attracted person'
AFLW expert Chyloe Kurdas discusses her experiences growing up as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, all thanks to Telstra.The power and potential of the women's game | Chyloe Kurdas | TEDxSydney
What if we could build a national competition? In this moving and inspiring talk, Australian Football League Women's (AFLW) Pioneer Chyloe Kurdas, details the barriers to success that she overcame to build the fastest-growing sporting participation movement in Australia.Chyloe Kurdas | TEDxSydney 2018 | Ideas of Note Speakers Series
This video takes you on a journey to uncover and share Chyloe's key turning points.Building the AFLW | Chyloe Kurdas | Saxton Speakers
Chyloe Kurdas shares her journey in building the Women's Australian Football League (AFLW), overcoming gender barriers, and redefining sports leadership from within a male-dominated structure. From her early experiences as a passionate young footballer facing the reality that professional play wasn’t an option for girls, to her role in shaping AFLW, Chyloe highlights the importance of male allyship, resilience, and strategic thinking. She reveals the critical steps she and her team took to establish AFLW, including grassroots development, performance programs, and empowering female athletes to control their own narratives.Growth Mindset | Chyloe Kurdas | Saxton Speakers
Chyloe Kurdas explores the transformative power of a growth mindset, sharing valuable insights for anyone leading teams, inspiring youth, or striving for personal growth. Chyloe breaks down three core principles: focusing on process over outcome, prioritising work rate over talent, and embracing challenges as opportunities. She encourages us to redefine "not good enough" as "not good enough yet," creating a powerful shift towards resilience and hope. By embracing these ideas, Chyloe empowers audiences to see their time and place as a platform for change—an opportunity to define their own legacy.Lessons on Leadership | Chyloe Kurdas | Saxton Speakers
Discover lessons on leadership from Chyloe Kurdas in this engaging keynote. Chyloe shares her insights on leading with purpose, clarity, and authenticity. Through personal stories and actionable frameworks, she unpacks the importance of knowing your values, fostering psychological safety, and embracing servant leadership to empower others. From overcoming adversity to cultivating resilience, Chyloe’s practical advice equips leaders to inspire their teams and leave a lasting legacy.Audio
Incredibly professional, timely and easy to work with. Chyloe's message was powerful, tailored for the audience and resonated with all delegates in attendance. I too took great value out of ... keep reading Rainmaker Financial Standard
Chyloe brings a passion and powerful message based on her remarkable experience. It is an inspiring story that resonates with people of all ages.
Chyloe was a superstar! I was amazed by how tailored the content was to our company and to the missions of the respective network groups that had organised the event. She was a dream to work with - professional, efficient, and an inspiring storyteller.
Chyloe responded to our brief and her delivery was fabulous. The audience loved her!
Chyloe spent so much time and effort to ensure that her key note address complimented our evening and was relevant to the audience's needs. Chyloe was incredibly easy to work with and discuss ideas and direction. She was well prepared and it was obvious that she has tailored her presentation for our event. Her key note address was not only professional but more importantly it was passionate, intelligent, articulate and inspiring. Chyloe's involvement on the panel provided great insight and knowledge and she worked brilliantly alongside her follow panellists. She was very generous with her time and engaged with the audience after her appearance and provided an integral role in the success of our event.
