Self-belief and the unorthodox path: Forging your own way
Jan 15, 2021
Kerry Ryan’s board career may have been unplanned, but her unorthodox legal career and the time she spent working offshore groomed her for the gig.
Today she is an experienced Non-Executive Director for Richmond Football Club, Aligned Leisure, Retail Food Group (ASX listed), Mental Health First Aid International and Kids First Australia. Her comprehensive legal career has seen her as commercial partner at the international law firm, Norton Rose Fulbright, and in-house counsel with the Packer Group in India. Her appetite for international business dealings has translated to her passion for diversity in her board roles from professional services (law and accounting), to retail and franchising, to sport, education, fitness, health and wellbeing.
At the time of the pandemic, Kerry fondly speaks of the Richmond Football Club’s stellar championship and the key characteristics that make the Club a formidable force in the Premiership. Most noteworthy is the Club’s commitment to inclusion and diversity, their relationship to community and their responsibility to make a difference.
At the same time, the retail industry hit near collapse in many parts of the world and to support both employees and customers alike, Kerry and the boards of Retail Food Group and Aligned Leisure were instrumental in advising fee relief, opening up negotiations with landlords, strategising COVID safe plans and endorsing health and safety measures.
Listen to Claire Braund and Kerry discuss the compulsion for boards to get too involved in times of crisis, why pigeonholing is detrimental to a board career and how to forge your own pathway.
Kerry Ryan
- Non Executive Director at Richmond Football Club, Aligned Leisure, Retail Food Group (ASX listed), Mental Health First Aid International, Kids First Australia
- Previous board and advisory board roles include CPA Australia, Lexvoco and International Legal Services Advisory Council (ILSAC).
LinkedIn: Kerry Ryan | Claire Braund (host)