Bastion has appointed Nicole Speers as chief people officer, reporting to Group CEO, Cheuk Chiang.
Speers will lead the people agenda across Bastion globally as the independent marketing and communications agency continues to develop its integrated model for clients.
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She brings more than 20 years of experience across HR strategy, organisational transformation and leadership development. Most recently, Speers was chief people officer at Adore Beauty Group, where she led people strategy and organisational development.
Before joining Adore Beauty Group, Speers held senior HR leadership roles at Meridian, Powershop and Telstra. In those roles, she worked with executive teams and led transformation across corporate functions.
Strengthening people and culture
Chiang said the appointment was an important step in strengthening Bastion’s approach to people and culture.
“Nicole has a proven ability to build organisations that are not only high performing, but structurally aligned to deliver consistent commercial outcomes,” Chiang said.
“As we continue to grow, the way we design, enable and lead our teams becomes a real point of difference. Nicole’s experience across transformation, leadership and organisational design will ensure we are set up to move faster, operate more effectively and continue delivering work that puts our clients in a position of strength.”
Chiang said Speers’ experience would support Bastion as it enters its next stage of growth.
“Her perspective is grounded in execution, not theory. She understands what it takes to embed capability, drive accountability and build cultures that translate directly into business performance. That’s exactly what we need at this stage of our growth.”
Scaling Bastion’s global model
Speers said she was joining Bastion at a time of momentum and opportunity.
“Bastion is a business with clear ambition and a strong foundation, and I’m excited to join at a point where there is real opportunity to scale that further,” Speers said.
“I’ve always believed that high-performing cultures are built deliberately, where people, capability and strategy are aligned to drive meaningful outcomes. I’m looking forward to working with teams across the business to continue building an environment where people can do their best work and where that translates into stronger outcomes for our clients.”
Bastion is Australasia’s largest independent full-service marketing and communications agency, with more than 350 staff across Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington, Los Angeles and New York City.
Its client list includes L’Oréal, Kellanova, TAB, Cancer Institute NSW and Whittaker’s.
Top image: Cheuk Chiang & Nicole Speers