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August 14, 2025
Laila
Coulton
she/her/hers
Head of business transformation
North Island
Brand statement
Career Journey
Career Story
I've always been thrown in to solve complex problems or to help teams to navigate out of a mess. I set up clear strategies (with benefits tracking) and develop roadmaps of prioritised initiatives. Each initiative has a clear articulation of what needs to be delivered and by when as well as the benefits the work will deliver.
Career Highlight
Career Goal
Experience
Experience 1
Experience 2
Experience 3
[{"role":"Head of Design, Research and Accessibility Operations","company":"Xero","endYear":"2025","endMonth":"4","location":"Remote","startYear":"2023","startMonth":"5","currentRole":false,"description":"<p>Led a team of eight operations specialists to support Design, Research, Product, Engineering, and Marketing teams. Consolidated research tooling, halved recruitment time with the Xero Customer Research Panel, optimized employee experience for Designers and Researchers, established strategic direction for Research and Experience teams, and embedded accessibility in Product and Engineering processes.</p>"}, {"role":"Head of Digital Accessibility","company":"Xero","endYear":"2023","endMonth":"4","location":"Remote","startYear":"2021","startMonth":"2","currentRole":false,"description":"<p>Established a Digital Accessibility team and embedded Digital Accessibility into the definition of done. Achievements included Be.lab recognition, implementation of accessibility usability scoring, Xero Web Application standards, WCAG2.2 AA conformance, Xero risk assessment framework, and digital accessibility statement and policy.</p>"}, {"role":"Delivery Manager: Digital Experience and Accessibility","company":"Coles Group","endYear":"2020","endMonth":"9","location":"Remote","startYear":"2016","startMonth":"5","currentRole":false,"description":"<p>Led user experience design, digital accessibility, service design, and optimization across all Coles Group brands. Established the Human Centred Design team, managed digital strategy, customer journey mapping, service design, and digital agency relationships.</p>"}, {"role":"Principal Generalist Consultant","company":"Telstra Retail Strategy and Planning","endYear":"2016","endMonth":"4","location":"Remote","startYear":"2014","startMonth":"12","currentRole":false,"description":"<p>Provided internal consulting leadership across Telstra Retail. Managed the Strategy and Planning inputs of the Financial Planning process, and identified opportunities to accelerate security monitoring sales. Developed methodologies to embed strategy into project execution.</p>"}, {"role":"Consultant","company":"Accenture London and Accenture Australia","endYear":"2014","endMonth":"11","location":"Australia","startYear":"2005","startMonth":"6","currentRole":false,"description":"<p>As a consultant for Accenture, first in London and then in Australia, my primary focus was in strategy and project delivery for clients across resources, utilities, retail, government, and telco. I began as a strategy graduate, performing in-depth analyses of geopolitical environments, competitor markets, and key performance indicators. Over time, I transitioned into project management roles. I led the development of project strategies and business cases for new systems, managed large-scale deployments and directed teams of up to 30 people.</p>"}]
Career & Personal Growth
My career goal is...
My goal is to work with organisations to set up the systems, processes and tools to enable them to deliver inclusive digital experiences. If I could do this 3-4 days per week I'd be living the dream!
My personal goal is...
Vision of Success
What success looks like to me..
In five years time, I want to be...
Pursuits
What I want to make or do...
I want to take on more...
Red Flags & Focus Areas
Stop me if I ever...
I want to take on less..
Contact Information
Phone
02040193061
Email
laila.coulton@gmail.com
LinkedIn Profile
CV
Work Preference
Prefered Working Location
Work Preference
WIP
Expertise & Skills
Primary Expertise
Strategy
Secondary Expertise
Design
Seniority Level
15 - 20 years
Key Skill
Business Operations,Communication,Decision making,Effective presentation,Design Thinking,Management consulting,Planning,Problem solving,Program management,Reporting,Speaking,Storytelling,Strategic planning,Strategy,Streamlining,Team building
Impact
What type of impact are you interested in making?
Impact By Numbers
Flair
Beyond the Bio
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Learning
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