About Catalyze
What we do
Catalyze works closely with leaders in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to help them do more with less, make impossible trade-offs, optimise their budget, select the best option overall and develop organisational strategy.
We achieve this by applying Decision Thinking.
Decision Thinking is a way of looking at the world through the lens of what decisions need to be made, in order to cause action. When you adopt Decision Thinking, you don’t see problems – you see decisions that need to be made, and a clear way to make them.
Catalyze are experts in applying Decision Thinking to complex problems and seemingly impossible scenarios. We do this by designing, implementing and facilitating structured decision-making processes and programmes that are underpinned by the core principles of Decision Thinking.
Our work commonly falls into three categories: making decisions, assuring decision outcomes and building decision capability .
“Problems are just decisions waiting to be made”
“The process [Catalyze ran] was excellent and we are committed to further refining it and embedding it into our planning and decision-making process going forward. For the first time we have been in a position to make prioritisation decisions against a robust methodology centred around what we’re seeking to achieve across the system and our strategic priorities”
Why we do it
Catalyze is committed to transforming the way leaders make complex decisions that impact our world. We seek to apply Decision Thinking to the greatest challenges we face in our communities, governments, businesses and nations so that the globe benefits from the results of better decision-making.
We are doing this because it’s critical and because we want a world that works, where people are engaged, money is spent wisely, resources aren’t wasted. Without a decision, nothing changes, and with a decision made badly the consequences can be significant.
There is a way to make decisions that stick and to make them well, and we know how – by applying conscious, transparent, collaborative, structured decision making, “Decision Thinking”. Yet time and again we find bad decision making, decisions made by chance not by design, decisions that don’t stick and don’t deliver what’s wanted – we can’t stand by while this is happening.
We won’t rest until conscious, structured decision making is the norm.
Who we are
The Catalyze team is made up of professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience, with one thing in common – we all geek out on decision-making. We live by the principles of Decision Thinking and push ourselves to invite more diversity, transparency and integrity in what we do.
We are a mix of ex-senior public servants and military officers, transformational leaders, communicators, entrepreneurs, academics, tech-adopters and life-long learners.
We celebrate uniqueness in being, view and voice.
Diversity and inclusion are integral to who we are and what we provide.
We nurture equity and connection and embrace the innovation that a diverse culture creates.
We are unified by our shared passion and commitment to excellence.
We promote and value the differences that race, religion, colour, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic disposition, neurodiversity, disability and experience add to Decision Thinking.
We always welcome feedback and are grateful for the opportunity to learn and do better.
Meet the team
Edward Poot
Director, New Zealand & Client Delivery Lead
Shona Bernard-Chandler
Senior Consultant, People and Culture Lead
Kelly Dobson
Consultant
Frances Tomlins
Senior Consultant
Amy Robertson
Project Officer
Bonnie Johnson
Executive Assistant to the CEO and Founder
Bonnie Roche
Consultant
Dr Celeste Bernard Chandler
Researcher / Writer
Paul Gordon
CEO & Technical Director
Paul is a highly accomplished business leader with over fifteen years’ experience leading decision-making transformation. He has facilitated key decision points for major programmes and strategic planning initiatives across a wide range of sectors, including extensively with the Defence and Security sectors in Australia, NZ and the UK.
Paul is committed to collaborative, value-focused decision-making with clear, open communication. As CEO, he leads and inspires the Catalyze team and frequently works with public- and private-sector leaders to build decision capability.
Edward Poot
Principal Consultant and NZ Director Catalyze
Edward has been the Principal Consultant at Catalyze for the last five years and leads the New Zealand work. Edward has skills in assisting groups make complex decisions in a wide range of contexts and settings and regularly leads Catalyze engagements with large organisations and groups of diverse stakeholders. Edward brings experience in advising Ministers through appointments in Ministers’ offices and the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Amy Robertson
Project Officer
Amy is a learned and efficient advisor with experience managing numerous external stakeholder communications. She has a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in International Relations and Marketing. Amy comes to Catalyze from Immigration of New Zealand where she supported the marketing strategies and communications to stakeholders as Marketing Advisor, and has also assisted extensively as a Resolutions Analyst. Amy’s strong communications background coupled with her trilingual ability in speaking English, Japanese and Spanish render her a truly excellent communicator and asset for the Catalyze team and our clients.
Shona Bernard Chandler
Senior Consultant, People and Culture Lead
Shona’s expertise is in communication, education, and project and team management. She has over 30 years’ experience in human resources and cultural change management and is an accredited Indigenous Facilitator. Shona is trained in the ISO Guidelines for Management Consultancy Services and her skills include facilitation, training and development, analysis and strategic design. Shona has consulted internationally, throughout Asia, India and America. She has delivered programs and workshops to more than 20,000 people and has worked closely with all levels of management to create and implement strategies, processes and systems. Shona has worked extensively with government departments, the private sector, and not-for-profit organisations. She has a degree in Human Resources from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Bonnie Johnson
Executive Assistant to the CEO and Founder
Bonnie is Executive Assistant to the CEO and Founder, Paul Gordon and supports client relationships with scheduling, project and task management, travel arrangements and all aspects of office administration, while also supporting our New Zealand and Canberra based Directors. Bonnie is a communication and administration expert with extensive experience in office management and executive assistance with an excellent track record of building relationships with internal an external stakeholders. Bonnie has over 10 years’ experience in marketing and senior account management where she was responsible for the sales development of key accounts, developing insight programs, program analysis and event management to support product launches.
Bonnie has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from James Madison University in Virginia.
Kelly Dobson
Consultant
Kelly brings experience in strategy, research and evidence-based policy to the Catalyze team as a Consultant based in Canberra. She works collaboratively with teams and clients, supporting the delivery of Catalyze projects from initiation through to completion by providing data analysis and workshop support. Kelly holds a degree in Environmental Science, completing a thesis in soil science, and has worked with the ACT Government in areas of climate change, biodiversity conservation and environmental protection.
Bonnie Roche
Consultant
Bonnie is an accomplished management consultant, bringing over 10 years of experience helping clients such as Investa, BHP, Woolworths and HBF to develop their business strategies, understand businesses performance and transform their business models to keep ahead of the market. As a Catalyze Consultant based in Sydney, Bonnie passionately works with clients on stakeholder engagement, data analysis and project management. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce, and a Master of Marketing.
Dr Celeste Bernard Chandler
Researcher / Writer
Celeste is a published academic researcher/writer with over five years experience creating educational modules for CPD. She holds a Bachelor of Philosophy, a Bachelor of Clinical Science and a Doctor of Medicine. Celeste brings her love of academic rigour, communication and transparency to decision making, decision capability and stakeholder engagement.
Frances Tomlins
Senior Consultant
Frances is a highly experiences learning and development professional who helps organisations build their people capability. She has a strong background in both public and private sectors, with a focus on leading the design, delivery and implementation of complex learning programs. Frances draws on a career of teaching, learning design, military and not-for-profit roles to deliver high performance individual and team initiatives that are informed by research based practice.
Our Values
Thrive
We are collaborative, generous, responsible and transparent such that all prosper and flourish. We bring wonder and a sense of fun.
Drive
We are determined, loyal and dedicated to integrity.
Strive
We are committed to mastery, quality and performance.