Jamila Gordon

Jayride

Jamila Gordon arrived in Australia having escaped the Somalian civil war, via Kenya, on her own. At the age of just 18, she set about learning English before studying IT at La Trobe University.

Jamila’s intelligence, aptitude and determination have led her on the journey to a global career with has included roles with some of the world’s biggest brands including Group CIO of Qantas and CIMIC (formerly Leighton Holdings) and with IBM Europe. The latest chapter in her story is a Non-Executive Director of Jayride, an e-commerce marketplace for travellers to compare and book ground passenger transport, which plans to IPO soon. She is also on the advisory board of VentureCrowd, Australia’s leading alternative assets crowdfunding platform.

An inspirational and motivational speaker, Jamila speaks with honesty, humour and dignity. She uses her story to deliver memorable messages about the importance of dreaming big, the keys to effective leadership amidst change, and the crucial role of resilience and positivity. Jamila is passionate about diversity and helping refugees integrate and find opportunity in Australia.

Jamila Gordon speaks about:

The power of dreams and having the courage to pursue them – Jamila’s personal goals have constantly expanded and grown. As a young girl, her dream was simply to avoid being married off at the age of thirteen, as most of her cousins had been. In Kenya, her dream was simply to survive. Today she is living her greatest dream yet: steering the rapid growth and global expansion of a best-in-class publicly-listed tech & digital businesses as well as unlisted startups.

Leading effectively through challenge and complexity – Jamila has built her career on her capacity to bring diverse groups together and drive transformational change, at scale. She shares the leadership principles that have served her well.

The role of resilience and positivity – Jamila’s has faced major challenges throughout her life, yet she has always found that the greatest adversity also brings the seed of opportunity. It is the developable capacity to bounce back and remain positive that is crucial to success.