Dr Stacey Ashley

Why organisations work with Stacey Ashley

• Direct experience coaching sitting CEOs on the personal practice of leadership, not the org-chart mechanics around it.
• A seven-book body of work on leadership published into the executive market, with each title addressing a specific capability gap rather than restating a single thesis.
• A coach-training programme, The Coaching Leader, that gives client organisations a way to scale her approach beyond the keynote.
• Recognition from credible third parties: 14 International Stevie Awards, Gold for Thought Leader of the Year at the 2023 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, twice on LinkedIn Top Voices, and Thinkers360 Global Top Voice in 2025.
• Holds the senior credentials of both the coaching and speaking professions: PCC with the International Coaching Federation and CSP with Professional Speakers Australia.

Biography highlights

• Author of seven Amazon #1 best-selling leadership books, including Confluence, Big Leadership, First Lead Yourself, and The New Leader.
• 14 International Stevie Awards, including Gold for Thought Leader of the Year, Stevie Awards for Women in Business, 2023.
• LinkedIn Top Voices, 2018 and 2021; Thinkers360 Global Top Voice and APAC Top Voice, 2025.
• Professional Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation; Certified Speaking Professional with Professional Speakers Australia; Fellow of CPA Australia and the Institute of Managers and Leaders.
• Founder of The Coaching Leader, a coach-training programme used to embed coaching capability inside client organisations.
• Has worked with leadership teams across organisations including ABC, ASX, Accor, Atlassian, Boeing Defence Australia, CSIRO, Engie, Hilton Hotels and SAAB.

Biography

Most CEOs are not short of advice. They are short of a structured place to think about how they lead, especially when the demands of the role keep expanding. Ashley’s coaching practice is built around that gap. Her core proposition, future proofing CEOs, treats senior leadership as a capability that has to be deliberately developed, not a status that follows from the job.

The work has produced a body of writing rather than a single book. Confluence argues that the supply of real leaders is no longer keeping pace with what organisations need from them. Big Leadership extends the case into the CEO role itself. First Lead Yourself focuses on self-leadership as the foundation. The New Leader addresses the move from team member to people leader. You’re On Mute and Power Up cover visible leadership in distributed settings and the energy and wellbeing required to sustain senior roles. Each title is positioned at a specific point in the leadership journey, from individual self-leadership through to the macro question of where the next generation of leaders comes from.

Recognition has come from coaching and speaking bodies that screen on substance: 14 International Stevie Awards, Gold for Thought Leader of the Year at the 2023 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, and the Professional Certified Coach designation from the International Coaching Federation. The Coaching Leader, her coach-training programme, gives organisations a way to extend the approach into their own management cohorts.

What makes Ashley useful in a board or executive setting is that she works the practical edge of leadership: the meetings, the conversations, the decisions, the moments when composure becomes a strategic variable. The frameworks are built for application, and the writing is structured to be picked up by someone with twenty minutes between meetings.

Key speaking topics

• Future proofing CEOs
• Self-leadership and executive presence
• Coaching as a leadership capability
• Leading through change and transformation
• Leadership energy, wellbeing and sustainability
• Visible and credible leadership in hybrid settings
• Building high-performing executive teams

Ideal for

• CEOs and managing directors moving into larger or more complex portfolios
• C-suite teams and direct reports working through restructure or transition
• CHROs and chief people officers building a coaching capability inside the organisation
• Senior leadership cohorts on executive development programmes

Audience outcomes

• A clearer view of what senior leadership actually requires of them, beyond the job description
• A practical method for self-leadership under sustained pressure
• The vocabulary and habits of a coaching leader, not just a directing one
• A sharper read on personal credibility and presence in senior settings
• A starting point for embedding coaching capability across their own teams