Meet some of the team

The name Bright People doesn’t just come from our dedication to lighting the way so businesses can navigate the choppy waters of the 21st century.

The Bright in Bright People also comes from the name of our founder and executive director, Ryan. Ryan Bright wields his 2+ decades of experience in HR leadership and global operational strategy in multiple sectors to deliver Bright People’s partners the results they need.

A multi-industry veteran when it comes to Human Resources and Capability Leadership, Ryan is recognised by several professional bodies for his unrivalled expertise and proactive, pragmatic strategies. It was from Ryan’s desire to see his incredibly high standards and deliverables become the norm that Bright People was born.

Whether it’s within mining, government, aerospace, manufacturing, retail, or logistics, Ryan has held executive level positions within industry leading organisations. The Bright People methodology was perfected by Ryan in the crucible of highly competitive industries and businesses, places where failure to deliver measurable business impact wasn’t an option.

Ryan’s unique commercial approach and dedication to aligning business and people strategies is the foundation of his success. For Ryan, un-limiting potential and enabling breakthrough performance is what makes the work worth it.

Every organisation has their key players. You’ll know who they are in yours, they are the people everyone knows doesn’t settle for second best and never fail to make sure the job gets done. Here at Bright People Monique Purcell is definitely one of those people. Monique has been with us since Day 1. She has played an integral part in crafting and defining Bright People as we’ve grown, and we wouldn’t be able to provide the high quality partnership experience we’ve become known for without her years of input.

As our Chief Operations Officer, Monique is responsible for a host of the business critical functions that keep our engine running. When not managing our offices and teams Monique handles our branding and marketing, business development, thorough review of documentation for our practitioners, resourcing for teams and projects, events and workshops, and much more besides.

You’ve probably gathered that Monique has a talent for multitasking. When not working on ensuring we’re the best we can be, Monique still manages to find time to consult with clients on various projects. Her unprecedented levels of knowledge on talent management and capability development ensure that she also maintains her space as one of our lead SME’s in these fields.

Coming from a multi-sector background before walking through our doors, Monique has always been a champion for best practice in talent management, engagement and development. Her passion is something she’s worked into the foundations of Bright People from the very beginning. This combined with her determination and drive to ensure we always deliver an industry defining partnership experience are what make Monique an integral part of the Bright People family.

When it comes to backgrounds and experiences you want in an Organisation & Capability Development Practitioner, Organisational Psychology is up there amongst the most desirable. At Bright People there are few that can rival Mary-Ann Garden in this arena.

Mary-Ann brings over two decades of experience to the table. Sectors she has seen prior success in include mining and resources, government, transport, and software engineering (to name just a few). This experience is global to boot, as Mary-Ann has a seasoned history in both Australia and the UK.

Mary-Ann has you covered when it comes to any capability or organisational development programs. She has earned her reputation as a reliable go-to for everything from design, implementation/facilitation, and project management of development programs that transform organisations to maximise capability and organisational effectiveness.

Using her keen analytical eye, highly efficient planning and management skills, and unfathomably deep knowledge of organisational design, Mary-Ann has helped many organisations and leaders achieve their long term and short term goals. She puts into practice her experience with everything from talent acquisition practices to capability development techniques to be a guiding hand through every stage of their journey.

Mary-Ann has a number of qualifications that compliment her incredible track record. She holds a Masters in Organisational Psychology, Certificate IV in Workplace Training & Assessment, and holds many accreditations in job evaluation and psychometric assessment tools.

Jaculin is an experienced Leader and Human Resources practitioner recognised for bringing practical, innovative, and results focussed people solutions to deliver business outcomes.

Jaculin has a broad background and deep expertise, with a career spanning more than 15 years across line leadership and human resources.  Jaculin has partnered with well-known multinationals across a range of diverse industries including construction, manufacturing and design, pharmaceutical, communications and marketing, and not-for-profit.

Known for her focus on delivering effective, commercially sound and sustainable people solutions, Jaculin has an exceptional track record in delivering human resource strategy and driving continuous improvement across the full range of the HR spectrum with expertise including Culture and Change Management, Performance Management, Remuneration and Benefits, Leadership Development, Organisational Design, Industrial Relations and HR Project Management.

Jaculin has been awarded bachelor degrees in Psychology & Physiology, and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Jhana is a trusted and experienced people and culture leader and practitioner with a comprehensive portfolio of applying strategic and operational HR services when partnering with some of the world’s most recognised brands.

Jhana brings extensive expertise in delivering successful business outcomes leveraging her broad experience including coaching, employee relations, health and safety, transformation, project management, change management, capability and learning & development.

Jhana is a strong change management practitioner, with a preference for agile practices and human centred design, who is renowned for her strong collaboration and engagement practices when partnering with organisations.

Jhana holds a Bachelor of Business (HRM), Diploma in Frontline Management, Graduate Certificate in Change Management and is Prosci certified.

Rebecca is an experienced and certified Project Manager and Change Manager who is known for her enthusiasm, positivity and energy, coupled with an ability to deliver practical and sustainable solution-focussed outcomes.

With more than 15 years functional and consulting experience within roles in the Energy, Mining and Resources sector, in addition to prior experience as a HR advisor to government agencies, Rebecca brings extensive expertise across all facets of Human Resources, with particular subject matter expertise in remuneration and benefits, global mobility and expatriate reward. Rebecca has worked in both major and remote locations across Australia, Singapore and the UK, and has consulted for locations such as Mongolia.

Rebecca is a strong project manager who has managed several global and large-scale change projects that have included service provider procurement and transition, shortlisting and selection of third party service providers, management of tender processes, outsourcing, offshoring and HR IT system deployment and change. Rebecca is passionate about delivering high quality services, diligently managing the people impacts of change, planning and executing projects in accordance with her customer’s needs and delivering process improvements and efficiencies along the way.

Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Business (HRM), is a Prosci certified Change Manager and is Project Management certified in PRINCE2, in addition to having worked within agile project environments.

Gemma brings significant experience across the Banking & Finance, Professional Services and Mining industry sectors where she has built a reputation as ‘a trusted set of hands’ who consistently delivers high quality outcomes for projects she has led, and the organisations that she has supported.

Having operated in strategic, project and operational capacities, Gemma has accrued extensive experience in organisational re-design and transformation, transition management to outsourced providers and offshore captives, talent management, change management, leadership of global teams as well as project and programme governance to board level.

Gemma’s broad expertise, curious nature and relentless pursuit of excellence, enables her to draw on best practice principles and combine them with practical experience to create targeted and pragmatic solutions.

Gemma has experience working in Australia, Malaysia and India and holds a bachelor’s degree with an extended major in Human Resource Management.

Recognised as an inspiring and innovative leader in the field of education, Brianna brings a depth of experience in helping others reach their potential.  The combination of her practitioner experience in secondary school education, coupled with her leadership and mentoring pre service teachers at university, enhances her ability to add value to engagements involving developing and building capability. Brianna leads Bright Peoples’ industry engagement and partnerships with universities and research institute.

Brianna has extensive and practical experience within Education in Queensland, having worked in both the public and private school systems including rural and city locations. Brianna has also further developed her leadership skills and worked for her alma mater, the University of Queensland, as a facilitator and mentor for pre service teachers during their teaching practicums.

Brianna is interested in the value that an experienced mentor can bring to the longevity and career development of a graduate in industry and uses Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (1978) to underpin the value of mentoring within a variety of contexts. Her other area of interest, which formed a major part of her studies within her Masters degree, is bullying and the impact this has on victims and perpetrators as students / family members / employees in our society.

Brianna’s holds formal qualifications in Education including a dual degree in Secondary Education and Arts (History and English) (2000) and a Masters in Educational Leadership (2011).