CEO, CHAIR, BOARD DIRECTOR | STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION ADVISORY PTY LTD
Premila Jina
Premila Jina is a visionary leadership strategist and award winning digital transformation leader with over 20 years’ experience at the intersection of technology, human behaviour, and organisational change. As CEO of Strategic Transformation Advisory and a Board Director and Chair, Premila specialises in turning complex technical environments into people first, high performing cultures – exactly the shift at the heart of the Expert to Leader signature program. What makes Premila unique is the blend of deep tech and product experience with human-centred design, organisational psychology, and lived experience as a woman of colour navigating global corporate systems. Premila is known as a “tech whisperer” who can translate between engineers, executives, and customers, and for creating psychologically safe spaces where high-performing experts feel safe to be vulnerable, experiment, and grow as leaders. She is the author of The Leader Unwritten, a book amplifying the stories and leadership, and a regular writer and content creator on leadership, belonging, and human-centred transformation. She is a sought-after speaker on Inclusive Leadership, having presented at the Women in Leadership Public Sector conferences and the Women in Leadership Summit, partnered by UN Women. She frequently appears on podcasts and at tech conferences, sharing insights on leadership, culture, Innovation, Technology and DEI. Premila is regularly featured and profiled through WiTWA, WAITTA and other media, highlighting her role as a disruptor, truth teller and advocate for women, youth, neurodiverse and First Nations innovators in tech.
Presentation: Adapt, Align, Accelerate: How to Master the Shift to Leadership
Have you ever felt that the very traits that fueled your success as a technical expert—precision, deep knowledge, and hands-on problem-solving—are now holding you back as a leader? You are not alone. In fact, research shows that 90% of technical professionals promoted to leadership roles receive no formal training for the transition. In this engaging session, Premila Jina explores the “shift you weren’t told about”: the critical evolution from being the go-to expert to becoming a strategic leader who empowers others. What You Will Learn:
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Adapt Your Mindset: Why technical mastery is like a boat that gets you across the ocean but becomes a burden when climbing the mountain of leadership.
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Align with Strategy: How to pivot from “technical talk” to business language that connects with stakeholders and drives decisions.
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Accelerate Impact: Practical strategies to stop “winging it” and start coaching your team, ensuring you don’t solve their problems at the expense of their growth. Join us to discover why “what got you here won’t get you there” and walk away with a clear roadmap for evolving your expertise into impactful leadership. This session is ideal for Business Analysts and technical professionals ready to elevate their influence and lead with confidence.