Today on the Take on Board podcast, I’m speaking with Derryn Heilbuth about ESG considerations for boards.

Derryn is the Exec Chair of BWD, which she founded over 30 years ago and which now has offices in Sydney, Brisbane, New York, Penang and Raglan in New Zealand.

When Derryn founded BWD she understood then – as now – that communicating strategy requires an ability to think strategically, tell a compelling story and write, design, illustrate or animate messages in a way that connects intellectually and emotionally. Studying French in Paris and English literature under author J.M. Coetzee instilled a love of language. Covering women’s issues as a newspaper journalist in apartheid South Africa taught her to question orthodoxies. Working on magazines and in television brought an appreciation of how each communication medium requires similar fundamentals: well-expressed, engaging content. And running Westpac’s publications team introduced her to corporate storytelling.