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Lead Partners

Nick Northcott

Partner & Managing Director
BSc, BCom, MBA, GAICD

Nick founded and leads Chrysalis Advisory, providing Governance, Strategy, Leadership, Culture and Business Development services. Chrysalis supports Boards, CEOs and senior leaders in designing their strategy, business model and facilitating their team to deliver. With deep sector expertise in health, education, research and professional services, Chrysalis has a particular speciality in organisational change and transformation.

Allison Northcott

Partner & Executive Director
BA, MLLR

As an experienced workplace investigator, Allison is passionate about working with her clients to get to the bottom of the most challenging workplace matters. Allison has held senior HR/ER roles in blue chip companies in both Australia and offshore, including Westpac, Credit Suisse and Rio Tinto. Allison holds a Masters of Labour Law from Sydney University, and is an accredited mediator.

expert advisors

Bob Fryer

Expert Advisor
B Ec Dip Ed (Economics and Psychology)

Bob is a seasoned HR and corporate executive with extensive experience both in Australia and overseas. Most recently, Bob held long term executive HRD positions with Energy Australia in Melbourne, Downer EDI in Sydney and with Shell International, where he spent more than a decade based in the Netherlands and London.

Claire Bibby

Special Counsel
PRIMed, GAICD, FGIA & FCIA, FIML, Grad Dip Company Secretarial Practice, LLB (Hons), BCom (Finance)

Claire is an award-winning Senior Lawyer and Mediator, offering over 25 years expertise in providing a range of strategic, governance, legal and dispute resolution expertise. Having built her executive career in corporate and commercial law, and spent a decade advocating for her clients in the Australian courts, Claire has an exemplary reputation. She is highly skilled in achieving business goals and strategies, her experience having been gained through senior management appointments with some of the world’s largest companies and at top-tier local and international law firms.

Prof Nik Zepps

Expert Advisor
BSc (Hons), PhD (Surgery & Pathology)

Nik brings over 15 years experience in oncology research including pathology based biomarker studies and clinical trial development. As a founding board member of the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance and former member of both the Research Committee and Australian Health Ethics Committee of the NHMRC, Nik has extensive experience in clinical research policy and implementation

A/Prof Robert Gorkin

Expert Advisor
PhD, MBA

Rob is an engineer and entrepreneur passionate about transforming innovative concepts to commercial reality with a strong focus on social good. His experience includes work on five continents with world-class institutes and companies, varying from international corporations to entrepreneurial startups and not-for-profits. His work has navigated the academic-industry interface through research, project management and advocacy for advanced manufacturing and biotechnology. His track record includes direct involvement in disruptive startups leading to investment, products and sales as well as contributing to over 100 publications (2500+ citations), international grants awarded from both academic and commercial positions.

our values & behaviours

Creating long term Trust-based relationships with our clients, Chrysalis enhances transformational growth.

Freedom to
be great

  • We believe in ourselves and others.
  • We take courageous action to deliver our vision.
  • We inspire with our desire for excellence.
  • We care intensely about Chrysalis’s success.

Call it as
you see it

  • We value truth and transparency.
  • We are candid and direct.
  • We are quick to admit mistakes.
  • We identify root causes, and get beyond treating symptoms.

Seek out other
perspectives

  • We listen well and seek to understand.
  • We value diversity of thought.
  • We look for the adjacent possible.
  • We challenge assumptions and suggest better approaches.

Learn
fast

  • We learn fast and eagerly so we are always improving.
  • We see setbacks/challenges as an opportunity to learn.
  • We embrace and initiate change.
  • We keep trying new things until we succeed.

Be committed
to success

  • We delight our clients and colleagues.
  • We accomplish an amazing amount of important work.
  • We consistently demonstrate a bias to action.
  • We are tenacious and don’t give up.

Always do the
right thing

  • We always act with integrity.
  • We look for opportunities to build sustainable systems.
  • We make time to help colleagues.
  • We share openly and proactively.

testimonials

"Can’t thank you enough for the superb facilitation Nick. It exceeded my already high expectations. It was world class. The clear strategic plan we achieved and the communication techniques you showed us are already making a huge impact here. I feel privileged to get this opportunity to work with you and observe the mastery in process."

Dr. Michael Winlo, CEO, Linear Clinical Research

“Nick has worked on several occasions with our Leadership Team of 14 individuals from very diverse working and cultural backgrounds. Through Nick’s skilled coaching and excellence in this field, he has taken our organisation on a positive journey to strengthen our purpose and vision, putting strategic plans together to enable us to strive towards our mission. He has brought about a positive cultural change within the organisation and enabled us to form a cohesive team that continues to build trust in each other. The skills learnt through Nick’s positive, empowering coaching skills have given the Leadership team insight and clear direction of our culture values. The bespoke training manual that he created for the staff continues to be used as a tool for achieving positive outcomes. Due to his skilled coaching, Linear has a united, trusting leadership team, working together with unified purpose.”

Gail Clement, Clinical Unit Manager, Linear Clinical Research

“Chrysalis Advisory provides an extremely professional and comprehensive suite of business services. Nick Northcott is a rarity. He always delivers, goes the extra mile for his clients, and is generous with his time, energy and contacts. In a matter of months, Nick has become my most trusted advisor. He is genuinely interested in assisting others to achieve their goals. I recommend Nick and his team without hesitation.”

Laura Keily, Barrister and Entrepreneur, BSc, LLB (Hons), MCommrclLaw, GAICD

Nick Northcott expertly facilitated a one-day meeting and workshop bringing together a diverse range of stakeholders across the clinical trials sector. The meeting was the first of its kind and Nick ensured the meeting delivered above and beyond on all objectives, including scoping six high quality projects and setting the tone and high expectations for future events. Nick also provided professional advice and assistance in meeting preparation as well as consolidating the meeting output and crucially identifying a pathway to action via an instructive report. We really look forward to working with Nick again!

Leanne Weekes, Programme Director, Clinical Trials Impact & Quality

“I engaged Nick’s services in 2017, to assist me in transitioning from a technical expert role into one of being a manager and executive team member of a large organization. It was a great decision. Nick is an attentive listener, he is honest and thoughtful. I trust him wholeheartedly. His broad knowledge, experience in organizations and authenticity have helped me develop the skills needed for my role, many of which were new to me – strategic recruitment, change and project management and having difficult conversations, to name a few. He has always made himself available to me during the challenging moments I have faced. I recommend his services as a coach for any new executive manager without reservation.”

C-level Executive of an ASX 100 company,

"Nick has presented as the ‘complete package’. This is a rare blend of technical expertise, emotional and social quotient, higher educational insights, challenging behaviour and the display of a genuine interest in what we want to achieve."

Jenny Taylor, Director of People & Capability, Curtin University

“I have recently worked with both Allison and Nick at Chrysalis Advisory. I consider myself to be a hard taskmaster and I am very impressed. Firstly, I was kept up to date on the status of the matter and with costs at all relevant times. This is very important to me when I brief out a matter. Communication and feedback is essential. Secondly, Allison and Nick are extremely professional and efficient. We conducted a lot of meetings over video on the computer, which was productive and less costly. Thirdly, the matter they dealt with was complex, with a significant degree of technical language and operational networks and also intricate cultural issues. I was impressed with the way they were able to easily master the core issues within a short period of time. Fourthly, the report that was produced at the conclusion of the matter was of a high standard. It was thorough and easy to understand, with supported reasoning. I would recommend Chrysalis Advisory to anyone seeking a professional and high quality workplace investigation to be conducted. Last but not least, both Allison and Nick are delightful people and working with them is a pleasure.”

In-house Counsel Employee Relations National Tourism/Hospitality company,

"Allison handled my case with care and sensitivity, wanting to ensure that me, and the other party, were treated fairly at all times. She was very well-prepared with a robust process that seeks to establish the facts through a series of in-depth interviews and a review of other artefacts."

Senior Global IT Business Director, Complainant in a bullying/harassment matter

"Chrysalis Advisory was very responsive to an urgent request we had to help us investigate a complex staff harassment matter. Allison and her team were professional, thorough and worked through the issues in a reasonable timeframe for all concerned."

Board Member Global Not for Profit organisation,