Derryn Heilbuth

Studying French in Paris and English literature under author JM Coetzee instilled in Derryn a love of language. Covering women's issues as a journalist in apartheid South Africa taught her to question orthodoxies. Working on magazines and television made her appreciate how each communication medium presents challenges but requires similar fundamentals: well-expressed, engaging content. And founding and building BWD into one of Australia's leading strategic sustainability consultancies confirmed for her what Nitin Nohria, Dean of Harvard Business School said . . . and what she suspected all along: communication is the real work of leadership.