Biography
Peter Baines OAM, developed his unique leadership style by leading international identification teams into Indonesia and Thailand following acts of terrorism and the 2004 South East Asian Tsunami. He would go on to work in the counter terrorism area of Interpol, spent time with the United Nations Office of Drug and Crime and also worked in Saudi Arabia and Japan after natural disasters hit those countries. But it was his work in Thailand that brought the biggest change. After meeting the children left orphaned by the Tsunami, Peter felt compelled to act and founded an Australian charity called Hands Across the Water which has gone on to create opportunities for hundreds of children across Thailand.
Today, Peter has a successful consulting business building engagement through corporate social responsibility and presents across the globe to major corporations and governments on Leadership. He is the author of two books, Hands Across the Water, and Doing Good by Doing Good which provides a blueprint for building experience led engagement programs with a focus on shared value.
In January 2014, Peter Baines was recognised in the Australia Day honours with the awarding of the Order of Australia Medal for his International Humanitarian work. In 2016 he received the Most Admirable Order of Direkgunabhorn awarded by the King of Thailand for his devotional services to the Kingdom of Thailand.
Testimonials
Peter was an excellent speaker and tailored his talk to our people.
St John Ambulance
Overall, you had a rating of 80%. We had some big names on the program so you should be very pleased with your performance. Following is a selection of the comments from the delegates:
Excellent presentation it opened my eyes listening to Peter.
It was very inspiring. It was also good how humour was incorporated into his presentation considering the seriousness of the issues discussed.
Excellent presentation with good leadership points tissues should have been provided.
Amazing story, very insightful and emotional.
One of the most emotional presentations I have ever attended. The emotional empathy with the client or customer when doing business was well highlighted. Very well done inspiring.
You are doing a great job and will get plenty of work with your life experiences and skills as a presenter"
Manager
Local Government Managers Australia
The value in this testimonial and report from The Manager is how I was rated by the delegates against the other presenters. Peter Baines is an inspiration. It was clear when recently attending a breakfast function where Peter was speaking that many of the audience were moved as much as I by the experiences he described. Peter’s down to earth, straight forward style hits just the right note to get his message across. Listening to Peter describe how he and his team make a difference in exceptional circumstance leaves people humbled, and thoughtful, but also conscious to consider how they might personally make a difference.
Lomas Executive Pty Ltd
I just wanted to tell you personally that your talk was the high point of the three days for me. I have thought of it often and am still stunned at the work that you and your colleagues do, and the level of commitment that you bring to the job. I was also impressed with your skill in presenting a difficult and emotional topic in such an impactful way. I have been a professional communicator for over 20 years and really appreciate the skill in others when I see it. And so much of what you had to say has lessons that can be used in the leadership work I do with our senior executives here at the CBA. I would have liked to say something to you at the end of the session but couldn't really trust myself to speak.
Leadership Development Manager
Commonwealth Bank
Peter Baines' presentation was one of the most original I have heard in a long time. After all, it is not every day that you meet someone who has worked at ground zero of two of the most significant events in our recent history. Peter is the quintessential 'good Aussie bloke', and the warmth and humour he brings to his presentation is a perfect balance for the confronting and challenging nature of the stories he has to tell. At times we laughed and at others there wasn't a dry eye in the room, but through hearing Peter's examples of strong leadership in a true crisis, we all learned many valuable lessons that can readily be applied within the comfort of our own professional lives.
Director
Success Strategies, author of Your Best Life
I want to particularly call out that the talk you gave touched my team beyond belief. We sat there stunned with your honesty and the level of compassion and humanism you displayed. The team are still talking about your session. Thank you for an amazing experience.
Commonwealth Bank
Peter Baines is an inspiration to us all. The experience, skills and knowledge that he has gained from managing high-pressure situations in disaster zones allows us to put our own “stressful” lives in perspective. We can all benefit from his simple yet engaging message, and we can be inspired by his stories of human courage and bravery!
Think Global Consulting
When hearing Peter Baines speak on Crisis Management I was alerted to a whole new world of issues - what we call crisis is often a small hitch! Peter's ability to communicate and entertain while discussing such a vital message was engaging. The message and photos from the Thailand Tsunami and Bali bombing were something most people should never have to deal with, - luckily people like Peter do deal with these issues and can bring back lessons learnt in times of extraordinary difficulty. The keynote was entertaining and inspiring and the message a vital to today's business leaders.
Peak Partners
Excellent truly inspirational, although story was incredible powerful and thought provoking Peter was able to link it to what we can do in our everyday lives to make a difference. Brilliant, when you think your own life is complicated and challenging listen to Peters story and put your own life in perspective
Yum Restaurants
Excellent, Incredibly engaging, brilliant story teller. He took the audience through a whole range of emotions – grabbing you by the heartstrings to laughing out loud. All done with humility and he really practices what he preaches.
Proteus Leadership Centre
Peter was exceptionally brilliant, his presentation had the entire audience captivated, not one dry eye in the room. Quiet an emotional presentation and really touched the hearts of everyone. Fantastic.
National Australia Bank
I wanted to write and thank you most sincerely for the inspirational address you gave to our Management Team at our Annual Management Conference last week. We all felt that the authenticity of your leadership messaging and the poignancy of the story you had to tell, touched both our hearts and our minds and had a very significant impact on us all. It was definitely the highlight of our conference!
Toga Hotels
I really enjoyed the thought provoking message of your session at Deloitte this morning and especially how you delivered this with such sensitivity, passion and positivity for a subject that is very sensitive by nature. The story of Alex the 15 month old boy really hit home for me as my son is the same age and I can't even imagine the pain of losing him in a disaster. Definitely there is a lot of CHANGE that needs to be brought about and needs to be sustained in these communities and ours at home. Appreciate your time this morning and you have definitely inspired me to reflect and make some changes for me, my family and my professional footprint.
Westpac
I must say that I was incredibly touched by the presentation from a truly 'great man', an inspirational & pure of heart human being... The presentation & the journey or should I say the life experience he took us on for that short time was really confronting & struck a deep spiritual chord with me. I remain thinking as I write this, on just how resilient, pure & selfless some people can be despite experiencing first hand the unimaginable... & what some can do in adversity to try to enable some balance, restitution in setting the world somewhat right. He has moved mountains & he was able to deliver a very clear message about life, leadership & what we overlook as being just so important!
MSS Security
The most important thing I took from this conference was from the keynote speaker Peter Baines and the issues he spoke about, ie, clarity of purpose, speed in which you act/react, have presence, drivers of passion/motivation.
Charles Sturt University
Peter Baines was beyond excellence. I have a dream and you have inspired me even more to live my dream. Thank you.
Mater, National Leadership and Learning Conference
After having just heard Peter Baines speak, what I have got to offer you is of no value at all and pails into insignificance having heard his story.
Stephen Lundin, author of Fish and International speaker
