In this episode of Vistage LIVE, Stephanie explores leadership, resilience, and high performance with Brad Thomas, technology executive, board leader, and three-time Paralympian.

Brad shares his journey from elite Paralympic sport to leading global technology businesses, drawing powerful parallels between athletic performance and business leadership. From competing on the world stage to transforming an ASX-listed company into a high-performing SaaS business. Brad unpacks the disciplines that underpin sustained success: clarity of vision, disciplined execution, accountability, and continuous feedback.

The conversation also dives into Brad’s leadership philosophy; why great leaders resist being the smartest person in the room, how coaching unlocks performance and why high-performing teams thrive on trust, openness, and constructive challenge. Brad also reflects on his transition from CEO to Vistage Chair, and what growth-focused CEOs can expect from a peer advisory environment.

• Lessons from Paralympic sport on resilience, mindset, and performing under pressure

• Why clarity of vision is the foundation of execution — in sport and business

• Turning feedback into a competitive advantage without taking it personally

• The shift from “leader as decision-maker” to “leader as coach”

• Why high-performing teams need trust, challenge, and accountability

• Brad’s passion for growth, innovation, and taking Australian businesses to global markets

In this episode of Vistage LIVE, futurist Dr Ben Hamer—recently named the #1 thought leader on the Future of Work in the Asia-Pacific—joins Stephanie Christopher for a powerful conversation on what leaders must pay attention to now to stay future-ready.

Ben explores curiosity as the defining capability of high-performing leaders and organisations, explaining why it outperforms any single technical skill in a world marked by volatility and rapid transformation. He breaks down what futurists actually do, how leaders can scan for meaningful signals of change, and why the goal is not prediction—it's preparation.

From the rise of AI agents to demographic transformation, declining workforce participation, and the realities of an ageing and increasingly multicultural population, Ben offers a clear, pragmatic lens on the mega-trends shaping the next decade. He also challenges the efficiency mindset that discourages exploration, and argues that leaders must build foresight into their everyday decision-making.

This episode will reshape how you think about workforce strategy, leadership, and long-term planning—and why the future now demands big, bold, transformative thinking rather than incremental tweaks.

Key Insights:

• Curiosity is the #1 future-ready capability—across people, strategy, discovery and leadership.

• Signals precede trends — leaders should pay attention to the “huh” moments.

• Backcasting beats forecasting when working 10 years into the future.

• Mega-trends beyond AI: demographic shifts, cultural diversity, ageing populations, skill shortages.

• AI will be essential, not a threat — we’ll need it to fill workforce gaps.

• Productivity is a flawed measure in a knowledge economy.

• Generations are a frame, not a solution — it’s about understanding individuals.

• The future of work requires redesigning jobs, not tweaking the old model.

In this energising episode of Vistage LIVE, Stephanie Christopher sits down with keynote speaker, coach and creator of Brain Blinkers, Anthony Bonnici, to explore how our own thinking often limits our potential.

Drawing on more than 20 years of global speaking and leadership coaching, Anthony reveals the three key mental barriers that hold people back and how leaders can identify and remove them. From tackling limiting beliefs to breaking patterns of self-sabotage, Anthony introduces his practical COFFEE model — six ways we unconsciously undermine our success:

Catastrophising, Overgeneralising, Filtering, Forecasting failure, Emotionalising, and being at the Effect of problems instead of the cause.

Anthony and Stephanie discuss how reframing even one limiting belief can shift behaviour, why recognising the right problem is crucial before solving it, and how small daily mindset changes can transform performance.

Whether you lead a sales team or a company, this conversation will help you challenge unhelpful thinking, take ownership, and get “above the line” — focusing on solutions that move you and your team forward.

Key takeaways:

• Identify your own “brain blinkers” — the beliefs and habits that narrow your thinking.

• Replace self-defeating thoughts with small, realistic reframes.

• Use the COFFEE model to spot common self-sabotage patterns.

• Stop reacting to problems — diagnose the real issue, then act.

• Lasting change requires consistency, self-awareness, and action over time.