Louise Higgins on leadership resilience and cultural integration

“You have to respect the orthodoxy of the culture that you’re operating within, because it will absolutely hold the way in which things are done. And you will know when you come up against that culture—you will feel it.” - Louise Higgins

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In this episode, we’re joined by Louise (Lou) Higgins. Lou joined ANZ in January 2020 as the Chief Financial Officer of Technology and Enablement. She was appointed Chief Financial Officer of Australia in May 2021 and Managing Director of Suncorp Integration in September 2022. In September 2023, she was appointed to lead the Australia Retail Strategic Delivery function in conjunction with her Suncorp Integration responsibilities until February 2024. Lou currently leads the Strategy and Transformation for the Australian retail business.

In this role, Lou partners closely with the Group Executive, Australia Retail, and the Australia Retail leadership team to deliver a significant and complex transformation and prepare the business for the future.

Lou has a diverse set of skills and experience, having worked across multiple industries during her 20+-year career. She commenced her executive career in London before relocating back to Australia to work as an associate director with Macquarie Bank. In 2010, she became the Chief Operating Officer for Nova Entertainment. In January 2017, Lou was appointed Chief Financial and strategy Officer for the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC), where she oversaw the design and implementation of a significant technology transformation of the broadcaster.

Lou also has a diverse Non-Executive Career, having worked for Commercial Radio Australia, Visit Victoria, Qudos Bank, Canteen Australia, OneTwo Finance, and Enero Group Limited.

Our conversation with Lou explores the intricate dynamics of leadership and cultural transformation, set against the backdrop of her recent work leading the strategic Suncorp acquisition.  Her candid insights reveal the importance of empathy, self-awareness, and strategic alignment in driving successful change. 

She reminds us that effective leadership isn’t just about achieving outcomes—it's about how we lead others to those outcomes. 

 

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction

(06:15) Why do you think effective partnerships between finance and technology are so rare?

(11:39) What do you mean by the word transformation?

(15:18) How do you hold the tension between transforming the business and keeping it functioning while you do it?

(21:29) What stood out to you when you travelled the world studying banking acquisitions?

(29:49) How do you balance between knowing the whole answer yourself and slowly finding the answer together?

(35:19) What are some of the tools you use to paint the future for your people?

(41:47) How do you encourage the people that work for you?

(46:53) What’s the role of likeability in leadership?

(53:39) How do you navigate the clash of cultures during an integration?

(56:57) How do you deliver hard messages about the need for change as a leader?

(59:03) What’s the one piece of advice you’d give others approaching significant transformations?