Joanne Flinn: the whole story
Joanne Flinn: the whole story
Yes, you want to know about the woman who'd lived on five continents before she was twelve.
Four coup d'états and a revolution later, she raised her first million at 23, ran a $10 million business before finishing her law degree, and had the time of her life doing it. Chardonnay included.
She ran PwC's financial services consulting practice through the Asian financial crisis. Discovered that green mango with sugar and chilli is fabulous. Then took a year off for art. And still says the art was harder than all of it.
You're wondering how the same person ends up building a risk intelligence platform covering over 1052 companies across 21 stock exchanges and making wings from Vivienne Westwood silk.
So Thinkers50 got curious. Here's what they found out.
Scroll.
The Adventures of Joanne Flinn
in milestones, not dot points
The first twelve years
Seven countries. Five continents. A couple of coup d'états.
Born in Australia
An upcountry university town called Armidale
1966
1968
Parents moved us halfway around the world
To another upcountry university town, in Canada
We moved again
To Nigeria, just after the Biafran war
1972
1976
Lived through a couple of coup d'états
And got sent to school on yet another continent
Another big change
Halfway around the world again, to the Philippines
1978
The foundations
First computer. First million. First degree. Not in that order.
Got my first computer
Yes, way before the internet
1982
1985
Back to Tasmania
VisiCalc. Lotus 123. A published paper with Dad.
Delivered my first inspirational speech
To 2,000 people
1988
1989
Ran my first $10,000,000 business
While getting my degrees in law and economics
Raised capital
My first $1,000,000
1990
Began my consulting career
With Accenture in Sydney. Having already run a $10M business was not universally appreciated.
Lost my dad
Acted like an Android for a while. Meditation and friends brought me back.
1992
Going international
People are the secret sauce to business success.
Went international again
With Pricewaterhouse
1994
1996
My first big capital + culture project
People are the secret sauce
Led PwC through the Asian financial crisis
Country Head, Financial Services Consulting, Thailand
1998
Discovered
Green mango with sugar and chilli is lovely.
Joined the IT Executive Committee of a major bank
Head of Change, DBS Bank
2001
The integration
Books. Stages. Exhibitions. The same mind at work.
Cofounded the Change Leaders
A global network connected to Oxford and HEC Paris
2004
Started my own company
Transformation, people, and digitisation
My first international keynote: Paris
The UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong soon followed
2005
2006
Took a year off for art
I've never worked so hard. Law degrees, top end of consulting. Nothing on foundation year of fine arts.
My first Oxford Futures Forum
Strategic planning in turbulent times
2008
2009
Grew another $10,000,000 business
Business growth is a team effort
Wrote my first book
The Success HealthCheck (published by Wiley)
2010
Became an internationally syndicated columnist
For CIO Asia
Recognised for thought leadership in business transformation
Off to India
2011
2013
My second book
New Eyes on Change Leadership, a global collaboration
First solo exhibition as a visual artist
I really do see things differently. Booth Aster.
2014
The platform
There are 158,155 TEDx talks. Just seventeen people have done two.
Voila: first museum performance installation
At the Museum of Art and Design
2016
2017
Became a TEDx presenter and Artist-in-Residence
At the ArtScience Museum, Singapore
Launched UNICORNING®
When it's complex and critical to mission
2018
Became an advisor at 500 Global
Growth, capital raising, and disruption
Spoke at Anthony Robbins' Wealth Mastery
All about raising capital
Then did a second TEDx
Because once was apparently not enough.
The world went Ctrl+Alt+Del
I wrote Karma then Karma in Action. To have them become bestsellers within days.
2020
"You see beyond the obvious changes required"
Head of Risk, debriefing a board-level risk review
This chapter
See clearly. Build boldly. Soar.
Published Greensight
Foreworded by an Oxford professor. Endorsed by the Singapore Institute of Directors.
2022
2023
Launched the ESG Institute globally
Ministers, ambassadors, and friends. From Singapore, Australia, the USA, Morocco, and beyond.
StartUp of the Year
AustCham Singapore. Twenty years in, I've finally learnt something.
2025
2026
Thinkers50 Radar
One of 30 thinkers to watch globally. For "Unicorning® Consulting."
ClearSight™ intelligence platform
Over 1052 companies. 21 stock exchanges. Six channels of risk.
Published by the Hinrich Foundation
180,000 subscribers
Wings Westwood
Red silk, Vivienne Westwood + pearls.
See clearly. Build boldly. Soar.
A lifetime of turbulence, uncertainty, and change. Yes. I know what it takes.
Why simply be a horse with a horn when you can have wings?
You may have seen a pattern in what you've just read. I call this pattern Unicorning®. It's the discipline of clearing what no longer serves, centring on what matters, and creating what's needed next.
The hard part is seeing through the 30% that's noise. That's the work. Whether you're running a $5 billion portfolio or making wings from silk ties.
2026
In the Chinese zodiac, I'm a Fire Horse. 2026 is the full 60-year cycle returning. Not a year to be driven by external demands. A year to choose when to run and when to soar.
Magnificently. Spaciously. Delightedly. Fully.
Booth Aster
Booth Aster: the wings
It began with 3am finishes. In consulting, because the client needed it. In art, because the piece needed it. Mastery is simply a practice of doing the great work. In Latin, magnificare. It's the root of my favourite word.
What do I keep? What do I shed? What do I build from what remains? The wings, textile art from silk and repurposed materials, are those questions made tangible.
ESG Institute
Extraordinarily Sensible Governance
When I started working, the business world was bored by sustainability. Then it became necessary. Then it became urgent. A client helped me join my father's life work with my own. And the ESG Institute is what came next.
It has a practical premise: the right people showing up now, create a future worth living. The work: sustainability as a risk-and-value discipline, along with governance and readiness for climate transition.
The Backdrop
Recognition
Thinkers50 Radar 2026
Thought leader on long-term value and transition risk
StartUp of the Year 2025, AustCham Singapore
Two-time TEDx speaker
UN AI Forum panellist
AF.net Global Advocate
Education
Executive MSc Change Leadership, HEC Paris & Saïd Business School, Oxford
BEc, LLB, University of Tasmania
PGDip Finance & Investment, FINSIA
Senior Accredited Director, Singapore Institute of Directors
Proof Points
27.5% portfolio value improvement
$610M+ catalytic capital for a global fund
Over 1052 companies across 21 stock exchanges
Co-founded Change Leaders at Oxford, 2004
Still curious?
Now you know me. Let's find out if we see the world similarly enough to do something about it.
Let's talk