Steve Vamos is one of the world’s most trusted voices on leadership and the human side of building high-performing organisations.
With more than four decades at the helm of global technology and digital media companies, he has guided leaders through the frontlines of every major shift and shock since the 1980s while helping them turn disruption into opportunity.
A trailblazer across industries, Steve has held senior leadership roles at some of the world’s most iconic companies. As former CEO of Xero and NineMSN, he has led thousands of people worldwide, scaling businesses to industry leadership and billion-dollar revenues. Earlier in his career, Steve rose through the ranks at Apple, Microsoft and IBM, gaining firsthand knowledge of what it takes to drive growth, innovation and alignment on a global stage.
As a sought-after global keynote speaker, Steve has delivered transformative talks at SXSW Sydney, Xerocon, Chartered Accountants ANZ (London), CPA Australia and Creative Innovation Asia Pacific. His TEDx talk, Digital Disruption is a Human Thing, has reached nearly 100,000 viewers worldwide. Steve speaks on building championship teams, enabling innovation, leading through uncertainty and the hard but essential work of driving alignment. His message is clear: leaders must take ownership, confront neglect and create clarity if they want to unlock growth for their organisations and themselves.
Twice named one of the Top 5 Most Influential People in the Australian Technology Industry and featured as the cover story of the Australian Financial Review’s Business Person of the Year, his work has appeared in Forbes, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, CEO Magazine, SmartCompany and The Australian Financial Review.
He is the author of Through Shifts and Shocks: Lessons from the Front Line of Technology and Change (2024), a book that distils his decades of leadership into practical insights for today’s executives. The book captures Steve’s unique perspective from leading organisations through disruption, offering leaders a roadmap to navigate complexity, build resilience and create alignment in times of uncertainty.
Today, Steve helps CEOs and executive teams align strategy with culture, turning misalignment into momentum, ambition into execution and leadership into legacy. He empowers leaders to do the hard work of driving alignment so they can build championship teams, accelerate performance and thrive in both business and life.
Talking Points
Leadership in Times Like No Other & Creating and Enabling Innovation at Work
The world is now a highly connected and fast-changing economic and social system, as are the organisations within which we work.Leadership in Times Like No Other & Creating and Enabling Innovation at Work
Information and communications technology has amplified the potential of people (and the organisations they work for) as the internet, low-cost computing devices and communications networks connect people with others of common interest and new sources of knowledge and information.
People, their knowledge, relationships and the extent to which management encourages and enables them to create and innovate increasingly determine how value is created for their organisation. This is a big change to embrace because traditionally, we hired people to do what they were told, and now we want them to create, collaborate and innovate.
Technology doesn't innovate – people do! Technology isn't disrupting your business; people are!
As a result, organisations that don't focus on enabling their people to create the future and innovate will find it tough to succeed in the future.
Steve Vamos will discuss the leadership and management consequences of the changes in the world and outline approaches business leaders and their teams can employ to drive creativity and innovation in their organisations.
Change is a Human Thing, Not a Technology Thing
In a world where change is constant and accelerating, successful leadership means understanding that change is fundamentally a human issue, not just a technological one. Global tech leader Steve Vamos brings over 40 years of insights from the front lines of technology and organisational transformation, highlighting how people—not systems—drive successful change. Steve dives into why change efforts often stumble due to resistance and unmet potential in teams. His approach focuses on equipping leaders to inspire genuine engagement and guide their teams to embrace change effectively.Change is a Human Thing, Not a Technology Thing
Key Takeaways:
- Understand why change is more about people than technology, and how this impacts leadership and team dynamics.
- Learn practical strategies for overcoming resistance and fostering a team culture that thrives on change.
- Gain actionable insights on how to improve both individual and team responses to change, enhancing productivity and unlocking potential.
- Gain tangible tools to drive sustainable, people-focused change within organisations, boosting overall productivity and engagement.
Video
From Microsoft to Xero: Steve Vamos on Leading Through Tech’s Toughest Moments
From Microsoft to Xero: Steve Vamos on Leading Through Tech’s Toughest Moments In this episode of Lead On Purpose, I sit down with Steve Vamos—former CEO of Microsoft Australia, Apple Australia, and Xero—to unpack what it really takes to lead through disruption, pressure, and change. We explore: How to lead through crisis with calm and clarity Why alignment—not strategy—is the key to execution The power of emotional self-awareness in leadership How feedback can shape growth (if you let it) What it really means to "be" versus "do" as a leaderDigital Disruption is a human thing - Steve Vamos at TEDx Melbourne
Steve believes that now more than ever the old way of doing things is hurting more than helping. Digital disruption requires new ways of thinking. Here he explains why. Steve advocates that we need to think about how much of our conditioning at work is about doing what we're told rather than about how to create the future. He believes having an adventurous mind means being willing to try new things and perhaps failing and to be a learn it all not know it allSteve Vamos at Creative Innovation 2013 Asia Pacific
Non Executive Director of Telstra, Medibank and David Jones, Steve Vamos stresses the importance to recognise the potential of your employees and to define success. Steve also asks what will leadership success look like for Australia, and urges us to act now in order to stop the inertia.Steve Vamos has a remarkable presence when connecting with a group. He has the ability to relay his stories of his career with candour and ease that gets people's attention. He is a truly au ... keep reading KDT Consulting
It was an engaging presentation delivered with ease - which demonstrates not only a deepunderstanding of the content but resulted in a great connection with the audience.
Steve was great. His talk hit the mark and was both insightful and delivered in comfortable style that was perfect to engage the audience. There were plenty of takeaways for the team to think about.
Steve was the stand-out speaker of the day, we have had fantastic feedback about his presentation and content and style.
Delegates thought that Steve Vamos was incredibly down to earth and very dynamic.
I would like to thank you for your inspirational and engaging presentation. The feedback from the staff about your presentation has been fantastic. They really enjoyed hearing about your personal journey in the workforce and the messages and stories you shared were very valuable. Hearing your journey helped spark in-depth discussion about issues that affect us all and I know the female staff were able to relate to many of your experiences. The day concluded on a high note with many solutions and suggestions being tabled. Being the first of many forums we will hold for our staff, your contribution was pivotal in making the day such a great success. It has helped to empower and engage our staff in being part of the solution.
Steve is an exceptional speaker and thought leader. He is spearheading a new school of thinking around leadership that enables others to reach their potential, and challenges us to think differently/adopt a new, collaborative mindset that is critical to the success in a rapidly changing and connected world. A perfect message for anyone leading today and into the future. Steve is ahead of his time and leaders of today need to catch up if they wish to remain competitive in the future.
Steve was very engaging and able to tailor his content to our organisation. He was very giving of his knowledge and spent time with our Execs for a pre-event briefing + followed us on our discussion points from the event. This is the second time we have engaged Steve this year due to his professionalism.
Steve's contribution to our offsite was invaluable. He started the conversation regarding change and was a critical part of the journey we took our audience on to normalise change, look at the change we are facing (technological) through a 'people' lens, which socialised the issue in a way that everyone felt they could contribute to. His anecdotes and presence made the audience comfortable. 10/10.
