Julie Nerney
Transformation Leader and Chartered Director at Morphology Limited
Corporate
Education: Institute of Directors
London, UK
Biography
Julie has been delivering impactful and sustainable change in organisations for over 30 years in roles that span CEO, COO, Transformation or Change Director, Board Adviser or Critical Friend. She has experience of every stage of the organisational life cycle, from start-up through to disposals and acquisitions; and every type of catalyst for change - from taking new products or services to market, to mergers and their associated integration activities to drive value, and internal transformations centred on operating model re-design, cultural and people change. She has also been called upon to deliver high profile and complex programmes, including a leadership role in the transport operation for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She has worked with over a hundred organisations spanning a wide variety of industries across the private, public and third sectors, providing real breadth and depth to her change leadership expertise. In addition to her change roles, Julie has a varied portfolio of Chair and NED roles. She is a guest lecturer for Oxford Said Business School’s Global Leadership Development programme, for the Institute of Directors on their role of a Non-Executive Director course, is a keynote speaker on a number of topics, and a published author of two business books, including Business Morphology.
Passion
I'm passionate about (and speak on) two main themes:
Change and transformation - not just the what, but also the how - because the how always trumps the what!
Resilience and wellbeing - because my start in life and later mental health crisis saw me develop a level of self-awareness that has helped me become a more authentic and empathetic leader.
Best Story
For change and transformation, I tell stories around three pillars:
- the learning and common pitfalls that organisations fall into
- the power of how being a performance accelerator
- how leaders only have one responsibility - to create an environment where people can be the best version of themselves
For resilience and wellbeing I share my personal journey including:
- being an abandoned child with periods of homelessness
- the drivers of what precipitated a mental health crisis and the learning from that
- the value of curiosity and developing your self awareness
Origin Story
I was an accidental serial entrepreneur - bought a business for a pound in the middle of my A levels which led to me starting, running and selling 14 businesses in the UK and Europe. I then built a Board and volunteer portfolio around my passions and purpose for social justice and social mobility. And I have spent the last 20 years delivering impactful change and transformation of organisations of all types, across all sectors for all sorts of reasons!
Example talks
Inspirational Keynote
This talk covers the journey from a dysfunctional family environment, through the care system, periods of homelessness and an early cancer diagnosis - thought at the time to be terminal - and a mental health crisis, through to a vibrant, successful career. Profound and inspirational story of resilience and managing your own wellbeing to realise your potential. Can be used as a generic inspirational story keynote or to support themes of overcoming adversity, mental health, wellbeing , work life balance and personal resilience. Part of the power is the revelation of the detail, so here are some testimonials from those who have heard the talk:
"Julie is an incredibly impactful and authentic speaker. Her powerful storytelling and passionate delivery captivates the audience. In the four years of our industry conference that I have been party to, Julie is the most talked about speaker that left such a positive impression with our audience. I cannot recommend Julie more highly. "
"We were delighted that Julie could join the team in its conference delivery to senior leaders from across the UK, Ireland & Nordics. Julie delivered her inspiring keynote presentation to a fully engaged audience, exploring the WHAT, and more importantly the HOW of how we show up as leaders and the influence this has on people, their sense of purpose and their performance. Julie shared her vulnerabilities, her own personal story, how this makes her who she is and gives her the skills and strength to encourage others to be the best they can be. If you're looking for a high impact keynote, look no further, Julie's your woman."
"I had the great privilege of attending a keynote speech by Julie. She was an instant hit. I was instantly captivated. As well as being articulate, humorous, intelligent and interesting, the stand out is Julie's authenticity. For me, great leaders, great speakers, come to the stage with a truth, an honesty and a vulnerability, they dare to be authentic. That creates instantaneous belief, you are immersed and you relish the experience. And my final test of a great speaker is that the time flies, the speech ends and you are left wanting more! Would I rock up to see Julie speak again? In a heartbeat!"
Change Done Right
Doing the right things, at the right time, with the right people, for the right reason
Change is the new normal. But all too often, change programmes fall short. They don’t realise their intended benefits as the change is not sustained. And the root cause of this is singular – the failure to bring people on that change journey. Change done right means doing that right.
Change is not linear. It is an iterative evolution not a big bang revolution. The route to your destination will need to adapt and your people need to be continuously comfortable with that. Change requires perseverance and a relentless focus on people. Because when you boil it down, every change programme is about asking people to do something differently. Only by bringing people with you can you realise the benefits you hoped for, and make the change sustainable.
This talk helps the audience understand the steps they need to take to make their change stick, and deliver the intended benefits. It encompasses:
- Absolute clarity on why, providing a North Star to maintain focus and enable the right decisions when things get hard
- Embracing the people and cultural change components from the outset with a strong engagement spine running through the delivery plan
- Supporting people to get to the point where the change is not just adopted, but is advocated by them
Julie is the author of the Amazon bestseller Business Morphology designed to help people navigate change. Her depth of experience leading hundreds of change programmes, in all sectors and industries allows her to see the tangible difference in sustainable outcomes and benefits that can be realised when people are engaged consistently throughout the journey.
Here's a testimonial from one client who booked her to deliver this talk:
"It was an absolute honour to have Julie as our guest speaker. What you get with Julie is grounded, inspirational insights. She's open, willing to share who she is - the hard times and the good. Like Brene Brown, Julie aligns with the belief that vulnerability is our biggest form of courage. Yes Julie is a serial entrepreneur, a non-executive director and she's successfully taken on many change roles - this, as she says, is only the WHAT of who she is. It's the HOW that matters most to her - how she shows up for the people she works with and how this benefits them and delivers results. Julie knows that to be the best leader of a successful team she needs to give genuine encouragement, be curious, have empathy and most especially show that she's human. And ultimately this is the secret to successful change - recognising that everyone is human and bringing your people with you."
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I generally get paid for speaking but make exceptions
Topics
Best Story
For change and transformation, I tell stories around three pillars:
- the learning and common pitfalls that organisations fall into
- the power of how being a performance accelerator
- how leaders only have one responsibility - to create an environment where people can be the best version of themselves
For resilience and wellbeing I share my personal journey including:
- being an abandoned child with periods of homelessness
- the drivers of what precipitated a mental health crisis and the learning from that
- the value of curiosity and developing your self awareness
Origin Story
I was an accidental serial entrepreneur - bought a business for a pound in the middle of my A levels which led to me starting, running and selling 14 businesses in the UK and Europe. I then built a Board and volunteer portfolio around my passions and purpose for social justice and social mobility. And I have spent the last 20 years delivering impactful change and transformation of organisations of all types, across all sectors for all sorts of reasons!
Example talks
Inspirational Keynote
This talk covers the journey from a dysfunctional family environment, through the care system, periods of homelessness and an early cancer diagnosis - thought at the time to be terminal - and a mental health crisis, through to a vibrant, successful career. Profound and inspirational story of resilience and managing your own wellbeing to realise your potential. Can be used as a generic inspirational story keynote or to support themes of overcoming adversity, mental health, wellbeing , work life balance and personal resilience. Part of the power is the revelation of the detail, so here are some testimonials from those who have heard the talk:
"Julie is an incredibly impactful and authentic speaker. Her powerful storytelling and passionate delivery captivates the audience. In the four years of our industry conference that I have been party to, Julie is the most talked about speaker that left such a positive impression with our audience. I cannot recommend Julie more highly. "
"We were delighted that Julie could join the team in its conference delivery to senior leaders from across the UK, Ireland & Nordics. Julie delivered her inspiring keynote presentation to a fully engaged audience, exploring the WHAT, and more importantly the HOW of how we show up as leaders and the influence this has on people, their sense of purpose and their performance. Julie shared her vulnerabilities, her own personal story, how this makes her who she is and gives her the skills and strength to encourage others to be the best they can be. If you're looking for a high impact keynote, look no further, Julie's your woman."
"I had the great privilege of attending a keynote speech by Julie. She was an instant hit. I was instantly captivated. As well as being articulate, humorous, intelligent and interesting, the stand out is Julie's authenticity. For me, great leaders, great speakers, come to the stage with a truth, an honesty and a vulnerability, they dare to be authentic. That creates instantaneous belief, you are immersed and you relish the experience. And my final test of a great speaker is that the time flies, the speech ends and you are left wanting more! Would I rock up to see Julie speak again? In a heartbeat!"
Change Done Right
Doing the right things, at the right time, with the right people, for the right reason
Change is the new normal. But all too often, change programmes fall short. They don’t realise their intended benefits as the change is not sustained. And the root cause of this is singular – the failure to bring people on that change journey. Change done right means doing that right.
Change is not linear. It is an iterative evolution not a big bang revolution. The route to your destination will need to adapt and your people need to be continuously comfortable with that. Change requires perseverance and a relentless focus on people. Because when you boil it down, every change programme is about asking people to do something differently. Only by bringing people with you can you realise the benefits you hoped for, and make the change sustainable.
This talk helps the audience understand the steps they need to take to make their change stick, and deliver the intended benefits. It encompasses:
- Absolute clarity on why, providing a North Star to maintain focus and enable the right decisions when things get hard
- Embracing the people and cultural change components from the outset with a strong engagement spine running through the delivery plan
- Supporting people to get to the point where the change is not just adopted, but is advocated by them
Julie is the author of the Amazon bestseller Business Morphology designed to help people navigate change. Her depth of experience leading hundreds of change programmes, in all sectors and industries allows her to see the tangible difference in sustainable outcomes and benefits that can be realised when people are engaged consistently throughout the journey.
Here's a testimonial from one client who booked her to deliver this talk:
"It was an absolute honour to have Julie as our guest speaker. What you get with Julie is grounded, inspirational insights. She's open, willing to share who she is - the hard times and the good. Like Brene Brown, Julie aligns with the belief that vulnerability is our biggest form of courage. Yes Julie is a serial entrepreneur, a non-executive director and she's successfully taken on many change roles - this, as she says, is only the WHAT of who she is. It's the HOW that matters most to her - how she shows up for the people she works with and how this benefits them and delivers results. Julie knows that to be the best leader of a successful team she needs to give genuine encouragement, be curious, have empathy and most especially show that she's human. And ultimately this is the secret to successful change - recognising that everyone is human and bringing your people with you."