Amanda Chandler, the 300th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has a very important question she asks as part of her job – 'Why?' Amanda is head of risk for a pet insurance company, a role that involves providing oversight of the company's operational processes, to make sure they're done [...]
Domestic violence is a well-known scourge, but one form of DV that is far less recognised is financial abuse, or when people use money to control their partner. Fariha Chowdhury, the 299th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is the CEO of a not-for-profit organisation, Arise Foundation Australia, that helps [...]
Visharadha Peters, the 298th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, has a burning desire to improve the healthcare sector. Not as a medical professional or supplier, but an events provider. Last year, Radha founded NextWave Events, an events company that specialises on the future of the Australian healthcare sector. Radha [...]
During my lunch with expert event organiser Kathryn Garcia, I learnt some unexpected lessons about running events. Kathryn Garcia, the 297th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, taught me there's more to event management than just organising and promoting the event. You also have to be a creative thinker and [...]
Francesca Arcuri, the 295th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, helps others crack the code about human behaviour. Francesca, who owns a consultancy called Crescendo Coaching, is a coach and trainer who guides people to become better leaders. On one level, we know that all of us are unique. Yet [...]
We have the weather to thank for bringing Andy Corbett to Australia. Andy, the 294th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, was living in London, and, like many Britons, dreaming of warmer climes. So, in 2010, he cleverly moved to Sydney, initially temporarily. The pull of family in England was [...]
Danielle Chiel, the 293rd person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, is convinced she’s going to live until well past 100. When you have that kind of long-term horizon, as well as the zest for life that Danielle possesses, you think differently to most people. You’re hungry to embrace new ideas, [...]
Stephen Kee knew it was time to leave crime-ridden South Africa, when, during a traffic jam, four men nonchalantly walked up to his car, smashed the windows, climbed inside, stole his valuables and then left. Stephen, the 292nd person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, had built a successful life in [...]
For a few years, Dalia Joudeh immersed herself in work, seven days a week, as a way to distract herself from unwanted thoughts. Dalia, the 291st person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, had escaped a very controlling husband in another country, but had been unable to bring her young daughter [...]
Jess Matthews, the 290th person I've met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, made an interesting discovery while in detox. When you consciously abstain from something, Jess learnt, you immediately gain a much clearer insight into that thing, including why you needed it, how you used it and how it affected you. In [...]
