Experience
Athalie Williams is an international business executive with more than 35 years of leadership experience across telecommunications, resources and financial services in Australia, Southeast Asia and the United Kingdom. She blends strategic insight with a people-focused approach to deliver enterprise-wide change at scale.
She began her career at Accenture (1991–2005), advising major clients on strategy, operating-model design and large-scale change programs. As General Manager of Cultural Transformation at National Australia Bank (2005–2006), she reframed leadership behaviours and culture to resolve regulatory remediation six months ahead of schedule.
In 2007, Athalie joined BHP in a series of senior roles before her appointment as Chief People Officer (2015–2022). Partnering with two consecutive chief executives, she unified more than 80 000 employees under a single global operating model, led CEO and executive-team transitions, and drove an industry-leading diversity initiative that lifted female representation from 17% to over 30% in five years. Concurrently, she restructured the HR function, reducing cost and headcount by over 40% while building capability for future growth.
From 2022 to 2025, Athalie served on BT Group’s Executive Committee as Chief HR Officer during the company’s transformation from a traditional telecom provider to a technology-driven organisation. She partnered with the Chair on CEO succession, refreshed the executive-team, shaped workforce strategy for 115 000 employees, and designed a long-term plan to realign 45 000–55 000 roles by 2030 while embedding digital capabilities and future-ready skills.
Alongside her executive career, Athalie has held a range of board and advisory roles. She was Director of the BHP Foundation (2016–2022), member of the Employers Advisory Board at King’s College London’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership (2020–2022), member of the Australian Government Department of Defence Gender Equity Advisory Board (2019–2021), member of the Business Council of Australia’s Skills, Education & Flexibility Committee (2017–2021) and member of Korn Ferry’s European Advisory Board (2023–2025).
These cumulative experiences now underpin her portfolio career as a non-executive director, executive coach and strategic advisor, supporting boards and senior leadership teams to navigate complex business and performance issues with clarity, alignment and lasting impact.
My Approach
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