THE GAME-CHANGER
Bourby
I believe each and every one of us has the power to change the world. I do this through telling stories, sharing my leadership journey, taking inspiration from my two passions - sport and music - and from the lessons I've learned in my corporate career! Sharing these experiences through speaking, mentoring and facilitating is one of the biggest joys of my life. Do take a look around my website to find out more about me, and why music is the soundtrack to my world, and can be for yours, too!
THIS IS MY STORY
Rule breaker, game changer, women's advocate, motivator, leader, are just some of the words people have used to describe me. As an experienced CEO, concert promoter, creative director, event producer, professional musician, elite athlete, reviewer, mentor and consultant my proudest achievement is Founder of the ground-breaking Perth Symphony Orchestra, one of WA’s largest and fastest growing arts companies.
My first job in accounting supported my post grad viola studies. During my study, I answered an advert and ended up in a girlband. When that didn't work out, I moved to Perth, Australia, as far from London as I could get, with a plan to learn as much as I could about business. I had realised talent has no voice without an understanding of how the music industry (or any industry for that matter) works.
Further study (an MBA) and several amazing jobs in diverse industries from sport to engineering built my confidence and enabled me to start Perth Symphony Orchestra. My time at the helm taught me many lessons, but most importantly made me aware of how much the world needs to change, and how Australia will benefit from a seismic shift in how we view ourselves, the arts and its place in our lives.
I am now on a path to be the driver of this change.
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MY PASSIONS
ARTS ENTREPRENEUR
I am the founder of several ground-breaking arts companies, including Perth Symphony Orchestra. North Street Music (NSM) is the company I use as an umbrella to start new initiatives. It is a creative production and artist development company producing incredible experiences that aim to appeal to the widest audiences. NSM also helps individual artists and creatives to achieve their goals through mentoring and advice. Through NSM I set up and ran the Perth Symphony Orchestra from 2011 until 2022, growing it from a dream into a major arts company in Western Australia. The newest venture is "The RARE Company" (aka The Really Awesome Regional Events Company) based in Toodyay, Western Australia. The company takes pocked-sized arts and culture to regional communities via an innovative business model, offering incredible experiences for those who can rarely access it providing a critical social and economic boost.
PROFESSIONAL MUSICIAN
My viola is called Brian. I’ve had him since I was 15. He has toured the world with me to venues such as Wembley Stadium. I’ve played in several bands, including as founder member of ‘bond’, a platinum-selling electric string quartet, and in ‘bojème’ a 7-piece strings and rhythm section band that supported artists such as Simply Red at Leeuwin Estate Concert Series and Ten Tenors in Kings Park, Western Australia. Performing regularly is important to me and I am a member of the classical West Australian String Quartet. My life isn’t complete without playing.
ELITE ATHLETE
Rowing is a huge passion. My role as cox includes steering, communicating and motivating eight extraordinary athletes to win. The sport became a huge passion at Oxford University where I was a member of Somerville College Boat Club, eventually becoming Captain in my final year. I switched to coxing as the blisters on my hands were interfering with my viola playing, and never looked back. My crew (which included most of the then British Women's VIII) won Gold at Henley Women’s Regatta in the Open VIIIs in 1997. I was selected as the first female cox in 106 years to cox the WA Men’s Open VIII in the Kings Cup at the National Championships in 2002. Winning Silver was an honour. I am the current cox of the Black Swans, a men’s masters VIII boasting numerous world champions and Olympic medallists of whom I'm in awe.
MUSIC PROMOTER
Bringing thousands of people together for a unique, meaningful shared musical experience is incredibly rewarding. As Founder of Perth Symphony Orchestra, I set out to change the perception of an orchestra, by changing every element, except the music! We performed in car parks, warehouses, basements, an air craft hanger and more. We changed the set lengths, start time, what the orchestra wore, how concerts were lit and how they were presented. I created and produced a number of ground-breaking productions to reach a new audience including performing and reimagining the music of Nirvana, The Doors, Eurythmics, David Bowie, George Michael, Pop and Rock Divas, Stevie & Aretha and more. I am currently working on a project to tour these shows across Australia and Asia.
EDUCATOR
Teaching practical business skills to artists and creatives can unlock extraordinary potential! Seeing people discover their ability to succeed at something in which they’re really gifted is incredibly rewarding. Through North Street Music I continue to run workshops, courses and one-on-one sessions to help talented people get where they want to go.
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Helping companies work with clients they love on projects that inspire them, creates truly sustainable, meaningful businesses. With 25 years of professional experience growing businesses, including my own, I love the strategy behind successful business development. It’s all about storytelling (to get people interested in what you offer or do and see how it can work for them); relationships (no relationship can start or grow without trust); and exceeding client expectations (meeting is never enough, you have to blow people out of the water with not just what you do, but how you do it). If the project interests me, and I see I can add value, then working with companies large and small to reach their own goals, is really satisfying.
HOW DID I GET TO THIS POSITION?
An MBA from the University of Western Australia, an MA in music from Oxford University (yes, it does feel like living on a film set), and Post Graduate Diploma in Performance (viola) from the Royal College of Music in London have each given me skills, perspectives and knowledge that help me in my career.
In 2022 I was named in Business News’ inaugural 'Power 500' list and in 2014 I was a winner of a Business News 40 Under 40 award for Entrepreneurs. In 2018 and 2019 I was a finalist in the Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Awards (WA).
Being recognised as Western Australian of the Year (Arts & Culture) in 2019 is possibly the most humbling accolade of my life!
I am a founding member of the UK-based electric string quartet ‘bond’ that originally signed to Decca Records (everyone should have a stint as a recording artist - it's eye opening!) and am a medal-winning, international-level coxswain. I was the first female cox in 106 years of the WA Kings Cup State Rowing Crew in 2002. All these incredible experiences and acknowledgements have made me who I am today.
CLIENTS
