How we got here
In 2016, two former HR directors and a management consultant pooled their savings and rented a small office on Amber View Road in North Amelie. The idea was straightforward: build a training company that only delivered programs they would want to attend themselves.
That meant no death-by-PowerPoint. No icebreakers that make grown adults cringe. No facilitators reading from a script they did not write.
The first client was a mid-sized engineering firm in Adelaide that had just promoted eight people into management roles and watched all eight struggle. We designed a six-session program around the specific situations those new managers faced: running their first performance reviews, handling a team member who used to be a peer, setting priorities when everything felt urgent. Five of those eight managers are still with the company today, and three have since moved into director-level roles.
Word spread. By 2019 we were running programs in every mainland state. The pandemic forced us to develop a virtual delivery model, which turned out to be useful for clients with distributed teams across multiple time zones. We kept it as a permanent option.
Today the team has grown to seven facilitators, each with at least ten years of industry experience before they joined us. We have delivered over 340 programs for 78 organisations, from ten-person startups to ASX-listed companies. The office on Amber View Road is bigger now, but the idea has not changed.
What guides our work
These are not slogans on a wall. They are the criteria we use when deciding whether to take on a project, how to design a program and how to measure whether it worked.
Specificity over generality
We do not sell off-the-shelf modules. Every program is built around the actual problems a client describes in their briefing call. If we cannot connect a training exercise to a real workplace scenario, we cut it.
Measurable change
We survey participants before and after every program and again at the 90-day mark. If scores do not move, we redesign the program for the next cohort at no extra charge. About 12% of our programs have been redesigned this way, and we are not embarrassed by that number.
Practitioner-led facilitation
Our facilitators have managed teams, run departments and made budget decisions. They have been on the receiving end of the problems they teach. That experience makes the difference between advice that sounds right and advice that actually works in a Monday morning meeting.
Honest scope
If a client asks us to fix a problem that training cannot solve, such as a structural reporting issue or a compensation gap, we say so. We would rather lose a sale than deliver a program that was never going to work.
The people behind the programs
Every facilitator on our team spent at least a decade in industry before joining. Here are the three founding members who still lead most of our engagements.
Megan Harlow
Megan spent 14 years as HR director at two ASX-200 companies before starting Elite Corporate Coaching. She specialises in leadership transition programs and executive coaching for newly appointed C-suite leaders.
Tom Birkett
Tom ran operations at a national logistics firm for eleven years. He brings that background into every strategic planning facilitation he leads. Clients describe his style as direct, structured and occasionally uncomfortable in a productive way.
Priya Anand
Priya was a management consultant for twelve years, working mostly with mid-market firms going through growth transitions. She designs most of our custom programs and leads our change management coaching engagements. She also built our 90-day follow-up measurement system.
Key milestones
A short history of how the business has grown since we opened the doors.
2016
Founded in North Amelie, South Australia. First client engagement: a leadership development program for eight newly promoted managers at an Adelaide engineering firm.
2017
Expanded into team communication workshops after three clients asked for help with cross-departmental friction. Hired our fourth facilitator.
2019
Reached 50 client organisations. Started delivering programs interstate, with regular engagements in Melbourne and Sydney.
2020
Developed virtual delivery format during COVID-19 restrictions. Capped remote sessions at three hours per day based on participant feedback about attention and engagement.
2022
Launched the 90-day follow-up measurement system. Introduced the redesign guarantee: if post-program scores do not improve, we rebuild the program at no cost.
2024
Passed 340 programs delivered for 78 organisations. Team grew to seven facilitators. Opened partnerships with conference venues in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney for off-site programs.
Want to know if we are the right fit?
Tell us about your team and the problem you are trying to solve. We will be honest about whether training is the right answer and, if it is, what a program would look like.
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