Layla Foord
Former Global head of product development at SEEK
Profile
Layla Foord is a transformative leader and inspiring speaker known for her strategic acumen and ability to drive organizational growth while maintaining a strong company culture. With over two decades of experience in leading high-performing teams in the technology and media industries, Layla shares impactful insights on strategic growth, leadership, and organizational transformation.
Her journey, from her early days as a data entry clerk to becoming Chief Operating Officer, demonstrates her relentless determination and transformative leadership. Layla’s unique perspective, shaped by her diverse experiences, enables her to offer valuable insights on sustainable growth and effective leadership.
Layla’s previous roles as Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Product at companies like Go1, Envato, Seek, and Smiling Mind highlight her proven track record of doubling revenues, driving operational excellence, and leading successful strategic pivots in Product, Technology, and SaaS businesses. One of the first in Australia to manage remote and global product teams, Layla understands the power of connection and diversity. Her story is one of resilience, growth, and a passion for nurturing extraordinary talent.
Layla holds an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and has served as a Non-Executive Director at 100 Story Building. Her educational background and extensive real-world experience enable her to bridge the gap between executive leadership and ground-level operations.
Media
Feedback
Layla did a talk on 'Finding Superheroes for your Organisation' at our Lean Startup Melbourne event. The talk was received very well by the 400 attendees that attended the event. The content of the talk was original and insightful. Her delivery of the talk was very engaging, which the audience responded well to. I would highly recommend getting Layla to speak at your event.
Layla is one of those speakers that delivers truth, because she's actually done the work. She's also witty, disarmingly intelligent and an absolute pleasure to work with. Book her, work with her, befriend her, she's ace. :)
Layla conducted a great fireside chat at the opening ceremony of GIYC2016 with our media executive. Layla interacted really well with the host and also the audience, capturing their attention with worldy examples of her start up and work adventure, and also embracing topics of worklife balance and motherhood which struck a deep connection with the audience. Layla's talk was exceptionally well received and memorable, with fantastic feedback from the audience and also corporate sponsors and other speakers in the room. Layla was a pleasure to work with, really organised, on time and friendly to all our executive and the audience. We loved having Layla talk at GIYC. Thanks Layla!
Layla spoke at our Carsales independent Guild created to showcase women in business and I had previously seen her speak at a start up event.
Layla shared her personal and professional journey and the audience was engaged throughout the talk. Layla is a story teller with the presence of a friend which made everyone feel they could connect with her words. I highly recommend Layla as a speaker and coach.
I attended a presentation skills seminar that Layla ran and found it extremely useful and a lot of fun. Layla's down to earth approach made the seminar very accessible. She provides a range of different tools to help people of all skill levels. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned professional, you'll learn something you can implement immediately from this seminar. Thanks for the course Layla.
