#152 Holly Kramer: American countryside childhood to becoming a respected Board Director at leading corporates

The High Flyers Podcast with Vidit Agarwal

We're joined by Holly Kramer in a very rare public interview appearance. Holly is an experienced non-executive Director and Chief Executive. She is on the boards of leading companies such as Woolworths, ANZ, Fonterra and more. Holly is the former CEO of Best & Less and has more than 25 years’ experience in general management, marketing and sales, including roles at the Ford Motor Company (in the US and Australia), Telstra Corporation and Pacific Brands. She was born in Billings, Montana in the US and currently lives in the southern highlands, just outside Sydney in Australia.

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Learn about Holly’s sunrise in Billings, Montana with a deep connection to nature, and the influences of her parents -- her dad a doctor and mum having scholarships to Ivy League schools but giving that up to be a stay at home mum to Holly and her brother.

In this candid conversation, we cover Holly’s relationship with money growing up, the fascinating story behind her move to Australia post university and the link with the Ford Motor Company, how she met her husband, Transition from the car industry at Ford to telecommunications at Telstra as marketing director (+ working for previous guest Daniel Petre in between those roles).

Particular areas that stand out include:

• Learnings from a former prominent public company CEO and recollecting fascinating stories of dealing with conflict
• How Holly learnt the importance of understanding people, building relationships, having open communication.
• Leaving Telstra to join Best & Less when it was struggling, and why she wanted to manage a P&L and a business end to end, rather than just a function
• The incredible role numerous mentors have played in opening doors for her career moves, often in sectors that she is new to
• Reflecting back on 2012 and setting up foundations for a successful board career since which has included AMP, Australia Post, Woolworths, ANZ, and more
• The desire to build a family
• Rare inside view of how boards operate — aspects that a lot of you may not know about
• Whether she has built more courage as she has become more senior in her career.
• And why the most challenging experience she had was my time on the AMP board.
• And her current focus on helping companies with their climate and sustainability strategy and why that’s important.

It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy!

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The High Flyers Podcast re-imagines the traditional notion of a "high flyer" and is a premier product of the Curiosity Center. The podcast showcases the journeys of relatable role models from their sunrise (childhood) to today. Listeners love the unique and direct inside access to these relatable role models, companies and industries in every walk of life to help us all be 1% better everyday, together.

150+ guests have joined Vidit Agarwal on the show from around the world including Heads of state, Olympians, Business and cultural leaders, Social Advocates, Investors, Entrepreneurs and more.

The Curiosity Center is widely recognised as a leading on-demand intelligence network for founders, investors, executives and students with an audience of over 200,000 across this podcast + Association Series Newsletter and 7-Star Events. Find out more at www.curiositycenter.xyz

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