Women of Grace and Power — Meet Emma, Katie, Lyn & Ash
The famous Cher once rightly said — ‘Women are the real architects of society.’
It’d be futile to argue that one, for sure.
International Women’s Day can be a tricky one — a day which for years has been used as a time to give a simple thumbs-up to the women we know, live, or work with; to bring them cupcakes and buy them a $7 card, a day when flowers are supposed to disregard every other time they’ve been disrespected and… the list of tragic interpretations can go on.
But every year, women and women allies all over the world do their bit to highlight the essence of the day, underpinning it to be a time to discuss systemic issues, a time to recognise and celebrate women, and a time to discuss their achievements, both personal and professional. This list of wonderful interpretations, too, can go on.
At LUNA, we strive to do this every day. We embed it in our culture, our behaviour, and our values. Because the women that make LUNA what she is are brilliant. Their kindness, grit and tenacity are unparalleled. And what they bring to the table is what helps the rest of the team grow.
And while those of you who work with them know this to be true, some of you might not have heard about them.
Which is why we thought of bringing you the stories of 4 such women — Emma Ferguson, Katie Higgins, Lyn Hill, and Ashleigh Camm.
First up, we have Emma Ferguson.
Emma’s trajectory at LUNA is probably the most unique.
She came to us after spending over 3 years at one of Australia’s leading law firms. Having joined LUNA as a Senior Lawyer in November 2018, she swiftly made her way through more responsibility – first as Legal Team Manager in December 2019, then as Head of Legal in January 2021, and now as our Chief of Staff + Legal Director as of August last year.
And if that wasn’t enough, she also turned Senior Lecturer at Monash University last year to help deliver LUNA’s Venture Capital course.
We asked Emma what exactly it was that made her switch from corporate to startups worth it, and what she considered a turning point in her career.
“I knew that making that jump was worth it when I realised just how fast paced and fun the environment was. I continue to be amazed at how incredibly engaged and entrepreneurial people are, and how committed they are to building and creating businesses of the future.
I truly began enjoying it when I realised that I could get comfortable with constant change and disruption. Don’t get me wrong, startups are messy, and things are in constant flux. The highs are high and the lows can be really low. But once I accepted that this was all part of the growth process, it felt like an Aha! moment. And to be honest, I’d be dead bored with anything less than the chaos of startups.”
We know Emma thrives in chaos. Ask her about the times she’s had to handle multiple M&As, personal deadlines, and coaching team members, all while juggling some very serious party planning for the team. Which begs the question, which part does she enjoy the most?
“The diversity and flexibility is what moves me. No day looks the same – one day I’m switching between reviewing complex legal documents and ideating on a new way-of-working initiative for the team, and the very next I might be ordering a mechanical bull for our Christmas party. It’s the shift in gears and mix of content that I love the most – stepping back and seeing all the moving parts that come together to make LUNA how great she is.”
“It’s the shift in gears and mix of content that I love the most – stepping back and seeing all the moving parts that come together to make LUNA how great she is.”
Emma’s also been a huge proponent for fairness in the workplace. A major force behind LUNA’s IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility) team, she talks about leveraging tech and innovation to bring about impactful change in our day to day work. “I’m looking to continue building on the existing available tech to eliminate gender bias in the workplace. We currently use Applied for all our hiring needs to strip out any bias in the process, but we’re always keen to understand and learn how we can use tech or innovate to ensure that we’re setting LUNA up to be the worlds’ most inclusive workplace. We’ve got some really exciting things brewing in terms of shaking up how we deliver services to our clients. And I’m eagerly looking forward to fully spinning out this new change.”
With Emma on the team, the future of LUNA feels real good. Her self-assurance is reassuring, her work ethic is one to be studied, and her commitment to bring us all along on the journey to make LUNA the most epic place to work is why we think she’s a force to be reckoned with.
From one legendary LUNA woman to another – this is Katie Higgins.
Katie’s the person that everyone looks at and says – “How does she do it?”
She’s been shaped by one too many people and places, but the very first influence can be traced back to Captain Planet (not kidding). A through and through environment and sustainability enthusiast, Katie was the kid that drove her parents up the wall when she disappeared for hours on end, picking up neighbourhood rubbish and switching off all the lights. Her late teens were all about protesting, which is why when given the choice to choose between art and the planet, she chose the latter.
An environmental studies degree in hand, she travelled the world – volunteering in Thailand and across Europe, Turkey, the Middle East and Africa. And with time, when her passion grew, so did her level of involvement. She worked with the UN, Al Gore, AYCC, and Greenpeace.
There’s nothing Katie can’t do.
In pursuit of becoming an environmental lawyer, she went on to bag a Juris Doctor in law – but ended up in litigation after all.
“I hated being a litigation lawyer because I wasn’t having any meaningful impact on the world, and it was eating into my soul. Which is why I went out on a limb and quit my job with no other offer – risky when I think about it now. I found LUNA soon after. And it’s been 4 years since. Litigation was all about fighting and tearing companies apart, but LUNA’s where I get to help build impactful startups and scaleups that are doing phenomenal work.”
“Litigation was all about fighting and tearing companies apart, but LUNA’s where I get to help build impactful startups and scaleups that are doing phenomenal work.”
A fair insight into why she made the jump from corporate law to the startup ecosystem, Katie’s one of those people for whom personal and professional passions meld seamlessly. Her childhood yearning for environmental impact ties into her work at LUNA – she’s our NFP and social enterprise specialist, and works with numerous climate focussed and sustainability tech startups and programs such as Subak and Little Green Panda.
When asked what success means to her, she says, “For me, it’s a measure of the impact that I can have on the people and world around me.”
Katie has an impact – and she has it on the daily. We know this because she never tires of extending her expertise to others – she’s a mentor for female founders across the Aussie startup ecosystem, and recently added ‘Senior Lecturer at Monash’ to her suite of roles. “I’m looking forward to educating the next gen of change leaders, they’ve got such great energy, ideas and questions – it’s something that I’m really excited to be leaning into this year.”
See, we told you. There’s nothing Katie can’t do.
And now, meet Lyn Hill, LUNA’s go-to-girl.
We’re not kidding – that’s literally what she’s called.
There is not a single ideation session, proposal, client relationship or team party that hasn’t been made better by Lyn’s presence. She’s simply the go-to resource for us all.
Lyn hasn’t always been in the startup space though. In fact, far removed from it. A qualified chartered accountant, Lyn started her career in an M&A role at KPMG, serving clients on the big end of town. But after a few years of running on the frantic deal treadmill, she was done.
“I felt disillusioned and disconnected with the value of the work I was doing. The GFC became a catalyst for me to slow down and step out of the corporate world to explore a number of other roles that leveraged my skill and experience in a completely different capacity. Work has taken me from modern skyscrapers to rural villages in Africa, and I have now found my passion – investing in and supporting early-stage businesses to evolve and grow.”
Lyn’s stimulus to break into the startup ecosystem had clearly been building over some time. “I think it’s just too easy to get caught up in the corporate hierarchy and the belief that this is what’s needed to define you. Ultimately, no fancy corner office or tailored suit was ever going to make me feel more passionate about the work I was doing. On reflection, the first career pivot is always the one that takes the most courage. It took an economic crisis in my early working life to slow down and realise that I didn’t enjoy the corporate ladder that I was on. It took being vulnerable to face this reality, and bravery to take the first step without knowing where it was all heading. I remember going to the dentist soon after this turning point and filling in ‘unemployed’ in the job box. A humbling moment – but one I never regret. That’s when I learnt that you are not defined by the title you hold, so go out and find something that fills your soul.”
“I remember going to the dentist soon after this turning point and filling in ‘unemployed’ in the job box. A humbling moment – but one I never regret. That’s when I learnt that you are not defined by the title you hold, so go out and find something that fills your soul.”
You can feel the passion when you speak to Lyn. You hear it in her voice, and see it in her work. It pushes you to be better because she’s simply that good.
“I’ve had the chance to work with a diverse group of team members who bring such different skill-sets and perspectives on the same challenge. How can I not love that? Because let’s be honest, you only need so many accountants (or lawyers) in one room!
I’ve loved working hands-on with startups and VCs, and I’m now in a space where I’ve aligned my values and passions, and have a tangible connection to the value of the work I’m doing.”
Talking about how Lyn sees herself personally contributing to bringing about change in the tech and innovation space for women, she says, “I’m keen to explore delivering workshops or short video content that could be used as a resource to mentor women and girls on a range of topics, both practical and technical. It’s so needed.”
Lyn is like chicken soup for the soul.
Trying to figure out what makes her tick in her personal realm – and it’s her family. “As long as I can focus on making sure that my 2 little guys develop into the most positive male role models that this world needs more of, if they can be carbon copies of their dad, my work is done! And as a working mom, I hope I can be a role model to current and aspiring parents.”
On the work front, success looks rather wholesome too. “For me, success means working on impactful projects in a team that values and respects me, and who I honestly enjoy spending time with. You can’t pick your relatives, but hopefully you can find at least one job in your life that feels like the perfect fit!”
Lyn’s got it down pat. And if she hasn’t, she sure as heck makes it look easy. A mother, a mentor, and a teammate who we’re lucky to call one of our own.
Now you know what we mean when we say she’s our go-to-girl.
And finally, our newest and most sage addition to the team – meet Ashleigh Camm.
Ash’s story spans time, continents, industries, and more.
We didn’t know what to ask her first, so we started from the start.
A half-city, half-country girl, Ash grew up riding horses across NSW. Equestrian sports were her favourite pastime before she decided to pursue a Bachelor of Economics at Sydney University. Her first job saw her as a Finance Grad at Westpac, 18 months post which she went to Macquarie to work in Corporate Finance, now MacCap Advisers.
“I worked in the Financial Institutions Group, so we were advising companies and PE on potential mergers, acquisitions, divestments and IPOs in the FIG space. It was hard work but a lot of fun too, if Investment Banking can be fun?! But the confidential nature of the work won’t let me share much more. I then moved in-house to do a mix of Strategy, M&A, and investor relations at a listed wealth manager.
Eventually from this position, which was 10 years ago now, I left it all to broaden my horizons beyond Australia and moved to London, without a job locked in first. I got told by my favourite fund manager that this was definitely the wrong strategy (and they were right!), but it was all worth it when I eventually landed a role with the African Private Equity & Venture Capital Association in London. We were all about promoting the private investment industry in Africa, which is much more nascent compared to ‘developed’ countries, but it also meant it was a great arena for innovation which could leapfrog incumbent legacy technologies. I looked after our growing member base here which included GPs, LPs and service providers, and also ended up writing the first-ever published ‘Guide to Private Equity in Africa’ as a preliminary industry overview for those new to the industry and geography.”
This isn’t even the tip of the iceberg when we talk about Ash’s work history.
With that much experience to her name, she then went on to work at a LSE-listed FTSE 250 where she was responsible for investor relations amidst other corporate support in a very fast-paced and unique environment.
Ash’s working life has had a major impact on her – both good and not-so-good. She has worked with some brilliant minds, done a variety of projects, and made a huge dent doing so, but also gave so much of her energy to her work that she faced burnout more than once. In doing work that didn’t fully align with her values and being exhausted by it all, she decided to move back to Australia and start her own business called Life Wild – a grassroots circular economy ecommerce business selling zero waste lifestyle products. She knew Life Wild would take her in the direction she wanted to work in and it did just that, and soon after, Ash moved to Byron to be immersed in its sustainable, nature-based community.
“I was then lucky enough to get the dream job in the dream location, working as an Expert in Residence facilitating a regional pre-accelerator program and designing and delivering business skills workshops for our community.”
When Ash realised she’d found something she loved, something that brought together all her skills and her love of helping people, she sold Life Wild to its next brilliant custodian and focused on deepening her support for Byron’s beautiful community. She’s called Byron home for 4 years and is now cultivating life that combines all the pros of city living with Byron. Now, she’s here with us at LUNA, in our Melbourne Studio, as our Innovation Consultant.
“I am so grateful to be here with all these incredible people who are doing really interesting things – I absolutely love it.”
We love you too, Ash.
Discussing what it is that moves her when it comes to work – it’s helping people. “It’s my highest joy, being able to help others see their intelligence, grace and potential. And on the other end of the spectrum, I also love understanding an organisations’ strategy and helping them tell their story, synthesising their aspirations with market expectations, and vice versa. When it comes down to it, this is all about helping people too.”
Ash too, recognises the power in mentoring. Perhaps because she knows how much having more women role models would’ve helped her as she grew. “You can’t be what you can’t see, which is why it’s so important to hear and share stories – stories of journeys, successes and failures, and be able to witness them in day-to-day real life too. And a lot of this is to do with mentoring.”
“You can’t be what you can’t see, which is why it’s so important to hear and share stories – stories of journeys, successes and failures, and be able to witness them in day-to-day real life too. And a lot of this is to do with mentoring.”
There are so many layers to Ash – it’s hard not to continue asking questions. But with only a couple minutes left on the clock, we get to one last one – her personal interpretation of success. “Success to me is a happy, healthy, values-aligned life, one where I have plenty of time to spend with the people I love in the places I love.”
We’re immensely lucky to have someone like Ash on the team. It’s her balance, her mindset, and her ability to weave in the many facets of her experience that make her so great. We can’t wait to see the next brilliant thing she does.
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If you’re keen to learn more about Emma, Katie, Lyn and Ash’s work at LUNA, or would simply love to get in touch with them, reach out below.
✉️ Emma Ferguson - Chief of Staff
✉️ Katie Higgins - Senior Lawyer & Startup Advisor
✉️ Lyn Hill - VCFO Team Lead
✉️ Ash Camm - Innovation Consultant
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By Nikita Lamba
