Lisa Annese was appointed CEO for Chief Executive Women in January 2025. Lisa is striving to create an Australia, where women in all their diversity can achieve their potential and where gender inequality is a thing of the past.

This follows ten years as the CEO of the Diversity Council Australia is the only independent, not-for-profit workplace diversity advisor to business in Australia.

Lisa has contributed widely to the public debate on issues relating to gender pay equity, paid parental leave, women in leadership, cultural diversity and workplace flexibility. Prior to her current appointment, Lisa was DCA’s Programs & Member Services Director where she provided advice and education to DCA members to improve diversity management.

Prior to joining DCA, Lisa worked as a Diversity Practitioner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth and before then, at the Workplace Gender Equality Agency where she developed the first ever census of ‘Australian Women in Leadership’, the first-ever ‘Business Achievement Awards’ and the creation of the ‘Employer of Choice for Women’ citation.

In 2004, Lisa co-authored “Chief Executives Unplugged: CEO’s Get Real About Women in the Workplace” which was named a “must-read business book” by AFR/BOSS magazine in 2005.

Expertise: Workplace inclusion, inclusive leadership, inclusive language, work-life balance/flexible working, parental leave, gender equality/women in leadership, gender pay gap, cultural diversity/the ‘bamboo ceiling’/Asia capability, LGBTIQ+ inclusion, age diversity, mental health, discrimination, sexual harassment, disability and accessibility, family and domestic violence.