Avril Henry graduated from the University of Cape Town in Accounting and Economics, migrating to Australia in 1980, with two suitcases, $500 and a dream to live freely and make a difference.
Making a difference to Avril was about being comfortable with change so she passionately embarked on a career which spanned senior roles in Finance, IT Project Management, Change Management and HR. The companies she has worked for include De Beers, Barclays Bank, Midland Bank, UBS Warburg, Westpac, Merrill Lynch, DMR Consulting and Clayton Utz. She has worked in South Africa, Australia, the UK and USA.
During a time of significant cultural change at Westpac in the mid 1990s, Avril developed and implemented two programs which resulted in two awards for Westpac from the Australian Human Rights Commission. In 1996 she went on to win a Silverscreen award for a video on child care titled "Care for Kids" in Chicago, and received a special recognition award for her role in producing a video titled "What’s Sex Got To Do With It?", which was a finalist at the New York Film and TV Festival awards.
From 1996 to 2003, Avril held HR Director roles at DMR Consulting Group, Merrill Lynch and Clayton Utz, covering the Asia Pacific region with responsibility for developing and implementing business related HR strategies, with a focus on leadership development, people management strategies, cultural change and integration.
Avril is a Fellow of CPA Australia, a Senior Associate of the Australian Institute of Banking & Finance, an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management, a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and Australian Human Resources Institute. Avril is the immediate past Chairperson of the National Diversity Think Tank.
Avril won the Australian Human Resources Award for the Lifetime Achievement in HR
In September 2006, after being a finalist in 2004 and 2005, and in 2002, was a finalist in the Australian HR Awards for Best HR Director. In 2005 Avril was a finalist in the Sydney Business Review Business Woman of the Year and was nominated in 1995, 1996, 2006 and 2007 for the Telstra Business Woman of the Year.
In 2003, Avril sought to follow her passion for making a difference and creating inclusive work environments, by reaching a greater audience. She set up her own business, focusing on Public Speaking and Consulting in Leadership, People and Performance strategies, and Executive Coaching. Avril’s areas of specialisation include Leadership; Communication; Team Work; Motivation, Attraction & Retention; Generational Diversity; Emotional Intelligence; Conflict Resolution and Bullying, Harassment & Sexual Harassment.
Her clients include
Australian Federal Police
Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet,
Australian National Audit Office,
Department of Education,
Science and Training,
New South Wales Police,
Toyota,
CBA,
IBM,
Merck Sharp Dohme,
Eli Lilly
SC Johnson.
In 2006, Avril completed a Ministerial Review into recruitment and retention practices in the Australian Army, Navy and Air Force, having been appointed by the Minister of Defence. Following the review, she was appointed to the Navy Workforce Planning Committee.
Avril is the author of “Leadership Revelations: An Australian Perspective”, released in 2005, “The Who What When and Y of Generation Why?” released in 2006, and has written a chapter on Generational Leadership in the recently released book “Ideas, Original Perspectives from Leading Thinkers”.
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