Fiona Hutton Founder & Managing Director Fiona is a highly sought after experienced executive search professional and keynote speaker, with extensive leadership networks and deep insight into the current and future landscape of education. As the founding Director of Hutton Consulting Australia, Fiona successfully transitioned from a career in school leadership into executive search. Her client portfolio includes leading schools in the Independent, Government and Catholic sectors in addition to education related organisations at a system level. Fiona is actively involved in developing leadership capacity specifically at Senior and Executive levels through bespoke PD programs, individual career conversations, 360 degree reviews and constructive feedback from search processes. Fiona is passionate about addressing the gender gap in educational leadership, and as such, has invested time and expertise into encouraging female leaders to step up into senior leadership roles. Nominated for Telstra Business Woman of the Year (2019) and shortlisted for (2020) in the small business category, recently, Fiona was recognised by the Australian Business Journal as one of the top 20 influential educational leaders in Australia to watch (2021).
Fiona holds a Bachelor of Education in Music from Melbourne University and a Master of Education (Leadership & Management) from Monash University, and currently is a Victorian Branch executive member of the Australian Council of Educational Leaders. Mark Sowden General Manager / Manager - Advisory Services Mark combines a 10 year career in education with extensive experience in leadership consulting at a national and international level. Mark’s journey began with roles in independent boarding, faculty leadership and a role as Director of Sport in a leading UK Co-educational independent school. Mark then moved into corporate consulting and has developed expertise in the areas of leadership development and culture change. Mark has worked with some of Australia’s top organisations at an executive level, developing their leadership skills, with a main area of focus on deep personal leadership and purpose. Mark’s work in aligning strategy and culture, has led the profiling and succession planning process with a number of top CEO’s in Australia; he brings extensive knowledge in workforce planning and development initiatives. Mark also operates as a leading coach and advisor to senior leadership teams.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) Sport and Health Science, Psychology and a Postgraduate Certificate of Education. Darren Roylett Manager - Executive Search Darren is an experienced educational leader who has worked in senior executive roles within independent schools for over 15 years prior to joining Hutton Consulting Australia. He has expertise in development and management of Boarding and wellbeing programs, Professional Learning and Indigenous Education.
Darren has also designed and delivered professional development programs and presented at both national and international educational conferences on topics including developing leadership in boarding, developing staffing models and building leadership capacity.
Darren has previously served on the National Board of the Australian Boarding Schools Association (ABSA), during which time he played a significant role in drafting the National Boarding standards.
At Hutton Consulting Australia, Darren takes on the role of Senior Educational Consultant, working with schools in the areas of Executive Search, Leadership Development & Coaching. Darren holds a Master of Education, Leadership; Graduate Diploma Secondary Education and a Bachelor of Social Science. Rob Sieben Manager - Operations Rob has held a number of senior administrative positions in a career spanning over thirty years in education. He has also worked as a consultant in matters of curriculum delivery, timetabling, school administration and school network infrastructure.
He has contributed nationally and internationally with articles on leadership, coaching, STEM integration, evidence-based decision-making and educational research, and with Dr Brendan Bentley from the University of Adelaide, presented at the 2018 International Cognitive Load Theory Conference in Beijing on using Cognitive load theory to enhance learning in a minimally-guided STEM-rich activity.
Rob is the current secretary of the SA Branch Executive of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders and is a member of the Board of Directors for Educators SA. He was a 2019 recipient of the ACEL National Fellowship Award for significant contribution to educational leadership at the state and/or national level.
At Hutton Consulting, Rob has the dual role of Operations Manager and Educational Consultant, working with schools in the areas of Executive Search, Leadership Development and Administrative Reviews.
Rob holds a Master of Education, Educational Leadership and Administration; Diploma of Education, Secondary Education and teaching; and a Bachelor of Science, Mathematical Science at University of Adelaide. Jann Robinson OAM Senior Education Consultant In 2005 Jann was appointed as Principal of St Luke’s Grammar School, Dee Why, a multi campus Anglican school, where she successfully held the position of Principal until July 2020.
As an leading educator, Jann is committed to the development of the whole person; having co-authored with Guy Claxton a number of leadership books; “Powering up your school” an approach to school leadership. Jann is an experienced search consultant, leading executive searches in the independent sector at a Deputy and Principal level.
Jann holds a Masters in Educational Leadership, a Bachelor of Education majoring in English and History and a Diploma of Education. She is a member of the Australian College of Educational Leaders (MACEL). She has been the Chair of the Heads of Independent Co-Educational Schools (HICES), the Chair of the NSW/ACT Branch of the Association of Heads of Independent Schools Australia (AHISA) and a member of the Board of AHISA, Australia. She holds life membership of AHISA. She currently sits on the Board of the Anglican Education Commission and on the council of an independent school in Sydney. In 2022 Jann was awarded an OAM for her services to education, and has experience in change management, mentoring, leading programs for emerging leaders and is certified by the Leadership Circle Profile. Kirsti Hitz-Morton Senior Education Consultant Kirsti has been in the education field for over 30 years. Her career has spanned teaching and leading in government, independent and international schools. She is an experienced International Baccalaureate (IB) workshop leader and school evaluating team member. Kirsti specialises in leading primary pedagogical practice, with particular experience in training and implementation of the IB Primary Years Programme. Kirsti is passionate about selecting leaders who prioritise the importance of building a school culture based on establishing and maintaining effective relationships. She promotes cultural and pedagogical fit as being crucial elements to selection success. Her expertise in leadership and curriculum design, allows her to be well placed to support aspiring and existing leaders and schools in meeting both their leadership search and development needs. Kirsti has a Bachelor of Education at Charles Sturt University and a Diploma of Education at Mitchell College Australia. Dr Amanda Samson Senior Education Consultant Amanda has worked in leadership across a range of sectors including secondary and tertiary education, nationally and internationally. In addition to leadership search, her focus is on developing the talents of educational leaders and supporting schools to create environments where creativity and innovation can flourish. Since joining Hutton Consulting Australia, Amanda works closely with schools in the Independent, Catholic and Government sectors to source suitable candidates for roles that include Principals, executive team members and middle leader roles. She also works with leadership teams on reviews and identifying the development needs of teams. Amanda has co-authored a number of publications and books, and has a deep knowledge of contemporary student wellbeing programs in schools. As part of her role at Hutton Consulting Australia, Amanda has developed the Middle Leaders Program which incorporates the signature DARE learning framework. She currently convenes the Leadership Development seminars and career consultations and has successfully obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Therapeutic Counselling at the University of Greenwich, Coaching accreditation from Growth Coaching International, Masters in Educational Leadership & Management at the University of Melbourne and a Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne. Christophe Menagé Senior Education Consultant Chris is an award winning educator and learning design innovator whose purpose is to grow healthier communities. Chris builds capacity in human and social capital by identifying and empowering talent. It's an approach informed by over 22 years work experience across sectors. He has held leadership roles nationally and internationally for two Federal government agencies, was instrumental in establishing a private enterprise abroad, and for the past 16 years has been a school leader in co-ed and single sex schools in Western Australia and Victoria. Chris' perspective has also been shaped as a migrant to Australia who actively contributes to education and community in a number of roles as HundrED.org Ambassador and Catalyst2030 Associate, a past and current member of Not-for-Profit boards, a secondary school council and local group committees. He holds a Master of Education (Policy & Leadership) from Monash University, a Graduate Diploma of Secondary Education and Teaching and a Bachelor of Commerce in International Business from Curtin University and joins Hutton Consulting as a Senior Education Consultant. Aine Maher Senior Education Consultant Aine joins Hutton Consulting as a Senior Educational Consultant working specifically in the area of leadership search and recruitment. Until recently, Aine held the position of Director – Education Services for Independent Schools Victoria, where she led the design and delivery of customised professional learning programs with a strong focus on career and leadership development in addition to curriculum planning and design, pedagogy and professional learning. Her role required her participation in a number of state and national advisory and representative committees. She has delivered a significant number of workshops and conference papers in Australia and overseas.
Aine has been privileged to hold a number of senior leadership positions in key independent schools in Melbourne, including Head of Faculty, Head of House, Head of School and Vice-Principal. Aine served as an executive board member of ACEL Victoria for six years and is a recipient of a 2020 National Fellowship for her contribution to the improvement of student and organisational outcomes.
Aine holds a Bachelor of Arts (Natural Sciences) and Diploma in Education from Trinity College, Dublin and a Masters in Educational Policy from Monash University. Tanya Thornton Executive Assistant - Directors An experienced and passionate Executive Assistant, Tanya has followed her interest in education through supporting senior leadership teams in a variety of schools and organisations. With strengths in relationship building, communication, organisational efficiency, event management and human resource functions, Tanya enjoys bringing a warm, professional and purposeful approach to all that she executes. Tanya has strong values around transparency, loyalty, confidentiality and enjoys a constructive team approach to collegial decision making. Tanya’s strong background in training and development sees her ability to contribute creative ideas and progressive thinking around the ever changing needs in the education sector. Tanya assists the Directors of Hutton Consulting Australia to be the best they can be in their roles.
Tanya is currently studying a Diploma of Human Resources at the Australian Institute of Management. Helen Bardell Administration Officer Helen provides administrative support across all areas of Hutton Consulting Australia. Her natural warmth and professionalism is evident from the point of first contact with clients and candidates, instilling an immediate sense of confidentiality and integrity. In particular, she ensures that both candidates and clients are well informed, prepared, and confident in advance of interview processes, making the experience for all involved valuable and productive. In other areas Helen assists where required, her flexible approach maintaining the company’s agility to respond to clients effectively.
Helen has worked in administrative support for a number of independent schools in Melbourne, and has successfully obtained a Diploma of Professional writing and editing and a Bachelor of Science (Honours).
Looking to the future, Hutton leads the way in many of its work practices and Helen continues to adapt and evolve the administration services to support this. Ray Christou Communications & Marketing Coordinator Ray is a versatile Hutton Consulting Australia team member with experience in the finance industry, education, and wellness within the service sector. Throughout her career, Ray has successfully managed numerous marketing campaigns, facilitated targeted projects, and led administration functions. With a natural ability for effective communication, she has successfully built and maintained relationships with clients, stakeholders and cross-functional teams. Her customer centric lens translates directly into a positive client experience on every occasion. Ray studied at Swinburne University completing a Bachelor of Business – Marketing. At HCA, Ray works closely with the national team on communication and marketing initiatives, as well as supporting the Senior Education Consultants of Victoria and South Australia on all facets of administration and customer service. More than anything she understands that good people and culture are the key to success for business. Christopher Trodden Manager - Marketing and Communications Chris has proven abilities to create and execute national and state-based marketing strategies; using research-driven insights to maximise the funnel, curating CX journeys, and focusing on the customer's experience of the brand. He loves the creative process, working with teams, and all things marketing. Chris is a marketing manager that excels in achieving organisational outcomes, growing brands, leading teams, and delivering projects. Chris is a lifelong learner with an MBA specialising in Marketing Management, professional certificates in Digital Marketing, Brand Management from Melbourne Business School, a mini-MBA in Brand Management from Marketing Week, in addition to a theology degree for good measure. As a marketer of 14 years, he has a broad range of skills developed for both mass and targeted marketing, including customer experience and journey mapping, project management, working with agencies, budget control, content creation, managing ad spend, leading teams, email marketing, online and offline activations, print, digital, and video production and event management. Chris currently is a Director on the Board of Aitken College, an independent co-educational school situated in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and an active mentor for students and professionals in RMIT’s career mentoring program. Peter Hutton Finance Director Peter began his working life as an accountant working in insolvency and small business management with Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC). With a passion for education reform, Peter moved into teaching Economics, Accounting and Business Management, and over the next 25 years built a leadership career in schools, culminating in his role as Principal of Templestowe College, Victoria. In 2018, drawing on the latest research and his unique experiences at creating and leading one of the most innovative schools in Australia, Peter formed the Future Schools Alliance (FSA). Internationally recognised as a leader in Innovative Education and Transformation, Peter is an experienced keynote speaker at conferences, has featured on ’60 minutes’ and is a regular panelist on ‘The Project’ and ‘The Drum’. His TedX presentation has been viewed over 300,000 times. Peter has a Bachelor of Economics and a Masters in Education from Monash University. FIONA ROB JANN KIRSTI AMANDA DARREN MARK AINE TANYA HELEN RAY PETER CHRIS CHRISTOPHE
