Chief of Staff · Governance · Strategy · Communication · AI Savvy

Danielle
Storey

GAICD

I help boards, executives and leadership teams make sense of complexity. Whether the role is Chief of Staff, Company Secretary or Board Director, I bring clarity, structure and confidence to organisational decision-making.

Get in touch
Danielle Storey

About

Translator.
Connector.
Leader.

I take what people do and turn it into stories everyone can understand, clear reporting, practical frameworks, and the conditions where leaders make good decisions and people do their best work.

That work takes different shapes. As Chief of Staff, it means being the connective link around a CEO or executive team, translating strategy into action and keeping the right things moving. As Company Secretary, it means building the governance frameworks that let boards do their job well. As a Board Director, it means bringing sound judgement and a steady, connective presence to the table.

Across corporate, not-for-profit and government settings, I've built a career at the intersection of governance, communication and performance. From shaping board and executive reporting in an ASX50 technology division and a sports and hospitality NFP, to leading an innovation hub through a pandemic as CEO, I bring strategic breadth and hands-on delivery.

I'm at my best where governance, communication and performance intersect, and where I can help people find their way and feel confident about what comes next.

25+
Years of leadership across corporate, NFP and government
ASX50
Board and executive reporting at The Lottery Corporation
6
Years as CEO of a metropolitan innovation hub
GAICD
Graduate, Australian Institute of Company Directors 2026
5+
Years as a Board Director
3
Tiers of government board and committee experience - local, state and federal
Marketing
Advanced Certificate of Marketing

What I bring

Key Capabilities

Chief of Staff & Executive Partnership
Acting as the trusted right hand to a CEO or executive, running the cadence of decisions, meetings and priorities, and connecting the dots across a leadership team so nothing falls through the cracks.
Governance, Compliance & Risk
Governance frameworks, compliance oversight, ASIC lodgements and statutory obligations across boards and committees.
Board & Executive Reporting
Board papers, agendas, minutes, and executive reports that give leaders real clarity and decision support.
Performance Dashboards & Metrics
Designing KPI frameworks and performance dashboards that give senior leaders visibility of what matters.
Stakeholder Engagement
Building trust and connection across government, industry, boards and community. Translating complexity into shared understanding.
Strategic Planning & Operating Models
Supporting strategy, OKRs, operating model design and organisational change that improves how leadership teams work.
Financial Stewardship
P&L, cashflow and budget management. Hands-on financial oversight as a CEO, Director and Company Secretary.
AI-Assisted Reporting & Decision Support
Applied use of AI tools including Claude, Claude Code, Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Studio to improve reporting quality, speed and team capability. Also skilled with Canva, Midjourney, HTML, Xero and Jira.
This website was completely built by Danielle using Claude Code in one day.
Leadership & Culture Development
Building team capability, chairing cross-functional forums, and creating the conditions where people and organisations thrive.
Communication & Facilitation
Professional speaker, published author and experienced emcee. Bringing clarity to complex ideas in every setting.
Director Duties & Governance
Understanding and applying director obligations, governance frameworks and board-level responsibilities across corporate, NFP and government settings.
Board Advisory
Providing strategic counsel and advisory support to boards and executives navigating complexity, change and growth.
Partnered with: NFP Success
Developed a partnership with NFP Success, a national consultancy 100% dedicated to support smaller not for profit organisations across a range of services such as Strategic Planning, Board Support, CEO Support and Organisational Reviews.

Leading with AI

AI Evangelist & Practitioner

Staff AI training

Designed and delivered AI training for teams, building practical confidence with everyday tools rather than just theory, so people leave able to use AI in their own work straight away.

Early adopter, ahead of the curve

Adopted generative AI tools well ahead of mainstream uptake, exploring capability early and translating that experience into practical guidance for colleagues and organisations.

AI image generation

Uses tools like Midjourney to produce original imagery for branding, communications and presentations, applying AI creatively as well as operationally.

Built with Claude Code

This website is a working example of applied AI skill, designed and built end-to-end using Claude Code in a single day, from structure and content through to styling.

AI guidelines & governance

Supported the development and adoption of responsible AI use guidelines, helping organisations balance innovation with the governance, risk and compliance considerations AI raises.

AI in hackathons

Brings an AI-first mindset to hackathon and innovation events, using AI tools to accelerate ideation, prototyping and delivery under time pressure.

What I've delivered

Key Achievements

Board & executive reporting at ASX50 level

Shaped board and executive reporting for the technology division of a demerged ASX50 company, improving clarity, insight and decision support for the CIO, leadership team and board-related forums.

Governance uplift across a $15M golf and hospitality estate

Enhanced governance, reporting, board papers and communication for Sandhurst Club, a $15M golf, hospitality and residential estate, working with two boards and three committees.

Performance dashboards for a national technology division

Built performance dashboards and metrics frameworks to improve visibility of initiatives, programs and KPIs for senior technology leaders, supporting faster and more accurate reporting through automation.

Led an innovation hub through the pandemic

As CEO of Eastern Innovation, maintained financial stability through COVID-19, kept the centre open for essential businesses and retained all staff while others faced closures.

Built a regional innovation ecosystem from the ground up

Grew a small business incubator into a regional innovation centre with thousands of industry connections, supported by strong partnerships across government, universities and international networks.

Grew a family business to multi-million dollar turnover over 17 years

Co-owned and led a multi-brand retail business, building three online brands and managing sales, marketing, supplier relationships and team management before a successful sale in 2021.

Governance in practice

Board & Advisory Roles

Chair
Eastern Metropolitan Partnership (Victorian Government) · 2012–2022
Led regional engagement advising State Government on priorities, programs and pandemic response. Designed and conducted the prioritisation of the Partnership's funded initiatives, including initiatives on homelessness in women over 55 and Indigenous culture art trails.
Director, Secretary, Treasurer & Public Officer
Monash Precinct Network · Raised $500K in seed funding
Established governance frameworks, including constitution development, across five years.
Director & Treasurer
Flexible Workspace Australia Ltd · National coworking peak body
Set up governance, including constitution development, and financial reporting, achieving breakeven in year one.
Committee Member
Regional Development Australia (Federal Government)
Advisory Board Member
Greater South-East Melbourne (GSEM) and Upparel
Board Director & State President
National Speakers Association of Australia

What others say

Testimonials

"

In my role as a Board Director and Treasurer of Eastern Innovation (EI), I have worked closely with Danielle (EI CEO) for five years on all issues of finance, particularly annual budgeting and reporting, as well as general strategic and operational issues. Danielle exemplifies a strong business acumen, particularly so in the innovation acceleration space. Her finance and budgeting skills are well honed and she maintains a laser like focus on cash flows across all dimensions of the business. Beyond the finances, Danielle maintains clear perspectives and balance across other critical business imperatives including strategic intent, process management, people leadership, and stakeholder engagement. Her positive outlook, magnetic personality and growth mindset add the polish to this most accomplished professional. Danielle is that golden nugget sought after by all future focussed, progressive organisations. Simply, a pleasure to know and to work with and a delightful human being at every level.

Dr Jeff Chamberlain
Eastern Innovation
"

Danielle has genuinely been both a mentor and a great person to bounce ideas off this year. She's the kind of person you can think out loud with and walk away with a clearer view. Overall it's been fantastic working with Danielle. She's a great mentor, a great thinking partner, and someone who clearly cares about making things better. She is a real asset to a team.

Dell Jones
The Lottery Corporation
"

Danielle is one of the most professional and supportive colleagues I have worked with. She consistently demonstrates a proactive and collaborative approach, always willing to assist and ensure outcomes are achieved. Danielle has a strong ability to provide thoughtful, well-timed suggestions that add real value, and brings a positive and approachable demeanour, making her a pleasure to work with.

Gary Elliott
The Lottery Corporation
"

I love working with Danielle for these reasons: her passion, curiosity and drive to make things better. She has an incredible energy that makes her easy to communicate with and always responsive. Keep doing what you're doing, you are an absolute delight to work with.

Heidi Uytendaal
The Lottery Corporation
"

Danielle stays across what's happening in different areas and understands what people and teams actually do, often more than she needs to. It's one of her strengths. She is someone people feel they can talk to, and she genuinely wants to be part of the team's success. Her influence on culture and engagement is real and authentic.

Yasmin Cameron
The Lottery Corporation
"

I had the pleasure of working under Danielle's leadership at The Lottery Corporation and found her to be an incredibly supportive, approachable, and capable leader. Danielle consistently created a positive and inclusive team environment where people felt valued, supported, and encouraged to succeed. She was always willing to share her knowledge, provide guidance, and make time to help others, no matter how busy she was. Her ability to build strong relationships, adapt to different situations, and bring people together made her highly respected across the business. Danielle also had a strong talent for gathering information, understanding complex issues, and communicating clearly with stakeholders. She leads with both professionalism and genuine care for her team, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with her.

Emily Fulford
The Lottery Corporation

Career history

Experience

Present
Senior Project Consultant
NFP Success · Contract
  • Developed a partnership with NFP Success, a national consultancy 100% dedicated to support smaller not for profit organisations across a range of services such as Strategic Planning, Board Support, CEO Support and Organisational Reviews.
Oct 2025 to Present
Company Secretary (Contract)
Sandhurst Club Ltd & Sandhurst Holdings (Australia) Ltd · Part-time
  • Created governance frameworks and reduced the time to finalise minutes down from one week to one day.
  • Streamlined reporting across the Board and three Committees to support clearer decision-making.
  • Uplifted meetings and improved Committee Member experience by implementing easier paper submission processes.
  • Created and chaired cross-functional Committee meetings to improve information sharing and build trusted relationships.
  • Designed and delivered a Board skills and behaviour survey, then facilitated follow-up training based on the results.
  • Company Secretary duties for four companies in the Sandhurst group, building governance frameworks from the ground up.
Oct 2022 to Jun 2026
Senior Manager, Technology Business
The Lottery Corporation (ASX50)
  • Led board, committee and executive reporting for the technology division of a newly demerged ASX50 company, reporting to the CIO, collating and leading more than 50 board and executive reports.
  • Designed and delivered performance dashboards and a broader metrics framework for the CIO and GM cohort.
  • Set and tracked KPIs for the CIO and six GMs over three years, and ran OKR training to build a stronger performance culture.
  • Chaired dozens of operations meetings and hosted leadership forums and alignment sessions to steer the CIO and GM cohort through three operating model restructures.
  • Lifted leadership capability across the technology function and drove technology literacy across the business.
  • Solved a significant technology bottleneck by acting as a trusted connector across portfolios, improving cross-functional collaboration.
  • Co-developed GenAI guidelines and created the technology hackathon framework, and founded a grass-roots Technology Book Club to introduce a practice of courageous conversations.
Feb 2016 to Sept 2022
Chief Executive Officer
Eastern Innovation
  • Led governance, financial management, operations and strategic direction, reporting to an 11-member board.
  • Advised founders from seed through to scale-up, building deep knowledge of the startup journey and the Victorian innovation ecosystem.
  • Delivered regular board packs, agendas and papers, and conducted director workshops to support annual strategic planning, keeping the Board informed for faster decisions.
  • Maintained financial stability through the pandemic, keeping the centre open and retaining all staff.
  • Grew the organisation from a small business incubator into a regional innovation centre with thousands of industry connections.
  • Built strategic partnerships across government, universities and international innovation networks, wrote successful grant applications and designed profitable sponsorship and partnership initiatives.
  • Managed operations of a 2,100 sqm innovation hub including suites, labs, meeting rooms and coworking space.
Jan 1999 to Jun 2021
Director & Marketing Director
The Cartridge Family / TonerMART / Image-Nation
Co-owned and grew the family business to multi-million dollar turnover over 17 years. Led sales, marketing, supplier relationships and team management. Built and marketed three online brands before the business was sold in 2021.

Find your fit

How can Danielle help?

Sound like a fit? Scroll down to get in touch.

Let's talk

Open to the right conversation

Whether you're looking for a board director, company secretary, senior governance professional, or someone to help your leadership team work better, I'd welcome a conversation.

danielle@daniellestorey.com
0437 854 723
linkedin.com/in/daniellestorey

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