Envato appoints prominent company director and leadership expert to board
Dr Kirstin Ferguson has more than a decade of non-executive director experience on private, public and government boards
By David Scott
Envato has expanded its Board of Directors with the appointment of prominent Australian company director and globally recognised leadership expert, Dr Kirstin Ferguson.
The inaugural independent Non-Executive Director position will bring the number of seats on the board to five, with Dr Ferguson being the first external appointee to the company’s top governing body.
Envato co-founder and Chair of the Board, Collis Ta’eed, said: “We’re thrilled to have Kirstin’s combination of wisdom, deep board expertise, personal values and down to earth nature as part of our board as our first independent director.”
“As an independent company in its fifteenth year of profitable existence, we felt we were ready to bring some fresh perspective, experience and voice into our Board to expand and improve our governance for the years and growth ahead.”
Dr Ferguson initially joined Envato 12 months ago as a Board Advisor as the company was finalising its B Corp accreditation process and transitioning to its first independent CEO. “It was a process that really prompted us to think about what best practice looks like, top to bottom, and we’d known for a while that bringing in more independence into the Board would be super helpful,“ said Collis. “It just so happened that we found not just a heavy-hitting, experienced director but one who was also an Envato customer!”
Dr Ferguson said she was looking forward to joining the Envato board.
“I am honoured to be joining the board of such a values-led, purpose driven organisation where people and purpose are at the heart of how we measure impact.”
“Envato is a true Australian success story of a digitally focused business continuing to make a significant impact within the markets it operates. I am excited to work alongside the founding directors and executive team to continue the extraordinary growth of the company.”
“I am really looking forward to continuing to support the entire team at Envato to be the best they can be while we both grow Envato as a company but also the impact we can have around the world.”
An award-winning leader, executive coach, writer and speaker, Dr Ferguson has more than a decade of non-executive director experience on private, public and government boards. She is the former Acting Chair and Deputy Chair of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and currently sits on the boards of ASX listed companies SCA Property Group Ltd and EML Payments Ltd.
A passionate advocate for women, diversity and inclusion, Kirstin is the co-author of the award-winning book, Women Kind and also writes for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. In 2021, she was the only Australian to be named by the UK-based Thinkers50 as one of the world’s top 30 “Thinkers to Watch” for her work in leadership and culture.
