“Leaders have a responsibility to ensure that they can stoop down and allow people to stand on their shoulders. If you are in a position of leadership, don’t take it for granted. Put your people first – lift them – because by doing that, you’ll also be shaping the type of leader they become.”
Mr Charlie Shandil has held leadership positions across the public, private and non-profit sectors. He began his career in the finance sector with General Electric (GE), and then went on to work for some of Australia’s largest banks including CBA, Suncorp and ANZ where he held a variety of roles across loans, insurance and wealth management.
Passionate about giving back to community, Mr Shandil established a small non-profit organisation that showcased theatre productions to raise funds for disadvantaged young people. Within twelve months he had grown a team to 50 volunteers, raising tens of thousands of dollars for sick children and young people in Queensland.
Mr Shandil then went on to hold various executive and directorship positions within several non-profit organisations focusing on health, education and humanitarian causes. He is currently a Board Director with Ondru, a non-profit organisation that utilises art to inspire change on social justice issues. As a result of his achievements in the NGO sector, he received the Macquarie Global Leadership Award for his commitment to social innovation.
Currently, Mr Shandil is a Director at the Australia Government where he has worked on consecutive Prime Ministers’ highest priorities for over a decade. As an executive, he has had the opportunity to work across a range of policy issues including global governance, national security, immigration and innovation. In testament to his public sector leadership, Mr Shandil received the distinguished CA Leadership in Government Award judged by a panel of Commonwealth Secretaries.
Building on his civic sector experience, in 2019 Mr Shandil was appointed as the inaugural Obama Foundation Leader (Asia Pacific) by former US President, Barack Obama. In this role he hopes to bring together leaders from across sectors to work together to make tangible impacts across a range of issues.
