Live the life you’ve imagined.

Hey there!

I'm Cath.

Founder of 
Don't be ARSD® & Gender Gap Gone

This is my Story

If you'd like the crib notes version, I'm the naturally optimistic high performer who was brought to her knees, rebuilt & found success in some unexpected places. Aren't we all?!

Growing up in a seriously happy working class family in Sydney's West, I was the optimistic high performer for a long time. Coaching and advocating for gender equality from age 16. Oh I need a laugh emoji!

I raced through my Uni degree in languages & by 22 I'd landed in the HR space. My Recruitment career started in the naughties (00's), when the work-hard, play-hard culture meant drugs & blow jobs weren't uncommon, to get ahead.  On my radar: right out the gates, I could see the unequal playing field for career builders. Life is easier for the confident- & some groups have more of that than others.

I was successful, but it didn't fit. Cue career crisis- if not this, then what? (really not surprising in hindsight!) I found a Coach & discovered Coaching was 'my thing'. So I happily veered, working both sides of change. Coaching individuals, & also consulting with organisations to build their talent. I learnt my Coaching craft through study & high volumes of clients in brands like ANZ, Government, Fosters, Tabcorp & Disney.

Then I hit a personal crisis with DV. That fight back was harder, I guess because the fall was harder & the path forward deeply confusing.

I learned that true courage doesn't happen in life threatening moments- you get adrenaline for that. True courage happens in the quiet. TRUE COURAGE IS SAYING WHAT YOU WANT FOR YOURSELF AND ADVOCATING FOR THE UNDERREPRESENTED.

So my personal fight back meant creating a system for courage & resilience. Moving away from toxic gratitude, or even self-care & finding self appreciation. When I shared that system with my corporate clients, it transformed individuals & then teams. The feedback has been incredible. Over & over.

In 2020 when my industry shut up shop, I got writing- around home schooling :) Then at 8pm, amid the silly season chaos of December 23rd, Publisher Dave called me: "Geez Cath you won't believe this - your books only launched 3 hours ago, they've just hit #1 best-seller!"

Fast forward again & I now have 4 #1 bestselling books, on how to build the standout skills you need, to be a confident, impactful leader of people & ideas. My most recent book was a few months ago.

A collaboration with 23 other business women, it was picked up as part of the red carpet goody bag at the Oscars! Denzel Washington has a copy, so does Kristen Stewart, Stephen Spielberg, Nicole Kidman, Billie Eilish...!! Pinch me!!

In between the milestones, I kept working to build inclusive leaders- via global speaking events, courses & 1:1 Coaching. I'm now a multi award winning Coach. One was a People's Choice award for my leadership coaching, another for my work as a change maker for women.

But life is not all work, is it? I'm Mama to my 3 gorgeous kids, they're 8, 10 & 12. And unexpectedly, love found me again. My Sam has 2 older kids, a son-in-law & we have a mini groodle called Bronte. So, like you, 'spare time' isn't a common thing for me :)

I guess that's where systems allow me to ignore the distractions & keep the focus on what matters most.

I've had a long term affair with my passport & on home ground, we're by the water or in the water in Sydney as much as possible.

It might surprise you given the amount of talking I do (I literally 'wore out' my voice at one point!!)... but I actually have some deep preferences for introversion. So if I go quiet, I'm likely reading, long-walking Bronte by the coast... or bingeing a TV series with a pretty pot of green tea.