Building Resilient Leaders. Thriving Organisations.
We help founders, executives, and leadership teams lead through change and high pressure without passing that pressure on to everyone around them.
500+
Leaders Developed
18+
Years Experience
3
Continents reached
Best Leadership Resilience Consultancy Australia 2026
What We Believe
Change Is Not the Problem. How Leaders Respond to It Is.
Founded in 2017, Vermelho is a leadership and change consultancy focused on how leaders think, decide, and operate under pressure. We work with founders, executives, and leadership teams navigating complex, high-stakes environments.
A leader's inner state is not a private matter. It is the working conditions for everyone near them. Pressure travels, and a leader is either where it stops or where it multiplies. We build the skills that make a leader a fixed point others can steer by.
"True leadership is not about strength. It is about steadiness."
01
Steady For Others
Steady is not a private calm. It is being the person your team can read, rely on and steer by when conditions are most volatile.
02
Clarity Under Pressure
Develop practical and mental frameworks to think clearly, decide deliberately, and act with intention instead of reaction during periods of change.
03
Lasting Capability
Move beyond short-term fixes toward embedded, practical skills that hold up across any leadership context and challenge.
04
Grounded in Practice
Not motivational. Not theoretical. Real-world leadership that helps leaders lead with precision, presence, and control.
What We Offer
Three Levels to Work Together
Start here
Open to everyone
Free tools, the podcast and speaking. Ways to meet the work before you spend anything on it.
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Go further
A first piece of work
The Steady Leadership Audit, workshops and The Pressure Room. Bounded work with a clear beginning and end.
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Go deep
Sustained work
Mentoring and strategic advisory. Sustained work for change that holds rather than fades after the session.
Explore ↗
Why Vermelho
Pressure Does Not Break Organisations
How leaders respond to it does. We've built our entire practice on this belief and it shapes everything, from how we consult to how we mentor.
Grounded in real-world experience, this is not theory, and not motivation. We help leaders build the internal resources to lead well when it counts most.
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Ready to Lead Differently?
If you know what is wrong, start with a conversation. If something is not right and you cannot name it yet, start with the free 5-Minute Scan or an audit.
About Vermelho
Pressure and Change Doesn't Break Organisations.
How leaders respond to it does. This belief shapes everything and it is why we exist.
Our Purpose
A Different Kind of Leadership Practice
Vermelho is a leadership and change consultancy focused on how leaders think, decide, and operate under pressure. We work with founders, executives, and leadership teams navigating complex and high-stakes environments.
Built on years of experience in change and leadership development, our practice rests on one claim. Pressure travels. It moves from a leader into the people they lead, and it shows up as turnover, silence and slow decisions. Change itself is not the challenge. It is how leaders carry it that shapes outcomes.
Grounded in practical, real-world leadership (not motivational theory) we build lasting capability, helping leaders lead with precision, presence, and control.
Mission
To equip leaders with the tools to stay steady, think clearly, and act with intention in complex and high-pressure situations.
Vision
A shift in leadership culture, where success is defined by steadiness and clarity under pressure, not endurance or force.
Goal
Move leaders away from reactivity, overdrive, and burnout toward clarity, control, and steady decision-making.
Approach
Practical. Experience-based. Designed for the real world. Building leaders who remain effective precisely when conditions are most difficult.
Our Story
Built on a Simple Belief
In a world that rewards hustle culture and pushing harder, Vermelho teaches leaders to stay steady. Focused on clarity, control, and presence under pressure.
Because true leadership is not about strength. It is about steadiness.
Vermelho has worked in resilience for ten years, and Steady Is the New Strong is where that work has arrived. A decade in organisations taught us that resilience is not endurance and not a private trait. It is what a leader makes available to everyone around them. Same practice, sharper claim.
Steady
A fixed point others can steer by. Staying readable and reliable when conditions are volatile, without ignoring emotions or building an endurance culture.
Precise
Deliberate action over reactive response. Every decision made with clarity and intention.
Present
Full engagement in the moment. Leading from awareness, not autopilot or overdrive.
Our Values
What Guides Everything We Do
01
Grounded
We lead from a place of stability, not reactivity. Everything we teach, we practice ourselves.
02
Practical
No theory without application. Our work is designed for the real world, not the classroom.
03
Purpose
We work with intentionality. Every engagement is purposeful, clear, and focused on lasting outcomes.
04
Honest
We say what leaders need to hear. Growth requires truth, not comfort or validation.
Meet Our Team
The People Behind the Practice
Practitioners who have led, navigated change, and developed leaders across complex environments; now helping others do the same.
Our People
Experienced. Grounded. Real.
LH
Founder & Principal
Luisa Hogan
CEO & Founder
Founder and CEO of Vermelho Consulting, Luisa is known for her grounded approach to leadership under pressure. Her philosophy, "Steady Is the New Strong," challenges the idea that leadership means performing strength, and teaches leaders how to stay steady for the people who depend on them. Former CEO, COO, and Chief Development Officer, author, and host of The Second Voice podcast.
TP
Relational Resilience
Tania Plakonouris
Associate Consultant
A Relational Resilience Consultant, Coach & Facilitator specialising in helping individuals and teams build connections that withstand stress and grow stronger through change. With a background spanning hospitality, eco-tourism, youth development, and community projects across multiple countries, Tania is known for creating relationships built on trust, respect, and genuine support. Now based in Portugal.
KG
Change & Care Sector
Kelly Gray
Associate Consultant
With over 15 years of experience in the care sector and government across Australia and the UK, Kelly is a transformational leader known for creativity, collaboration, and co-design. She authored Australia's first co-design toolkit for the aged care sector and founded WA's first independent directory for aged care, disability, and mental health services, My Care My Choice.
Interested in Working With Us?
We collaborate with aligned practitioners. If you share our values, we'd love to hear from you.
Ways to work with us
Where to Start With Us
Everything we do sits on one of three levels, from a five minute self check to a multi year engagement. Start wherever you actually are.
Start here
Open to everyone
Ways to meet the work before you spend anything on it.
Luisa Hogan Speaking
Keynotes and conference sessions for leadership events, chambers, industry bodies and founder rooms. Built around pressure, change and what steady actually asks of a leader.
6 free events per year Keynote fees on enquiry
The Second Voice Podcast
Conversations about leading under pressure. A good way to hear how I work before we ever speak.
Free
The 60 Second Reset
One practice you can use in the next hard moment of your day. Short, practical, and the same thing my clients use between sessions.
Bounded pieces of work with a clear beginning and end. Each one stands on its own and each one tells us whether there is more to do.
Steady Leadership Audit, team
A diagnostic of how pressure moves through your leadership team, what it is costing in trust, turnover and performance, and what to do about it. You get findings against an index, and clear recommendations.
Fees scoped per organisation
Steady Leadership Audit, individual
The private version for one leader. A structured look at what your pressure response is, the impact on the people around you, and what to change first.
Half day and full day sessions delivered inside your organisation, on trust, leadership resilience, communication, leading through change, and staying steady under pressure and through change.
Scoped per organisation
The Pressure Room
Eight leaders, live, tested under real pressure rather than talked at about it. Experiential, uncomfortable in the useful way, and the fastest way to see what you actually do when it counts.
$777 per person for the pilot Fee to be announced after October
For leaders and organisations who want the change to hold rather than fade after the session.
Steady Leadership Mentoring
A private three month container for one leader. Regular sessions, direct feedback, and practical tools you keep using long after we finish. Only ten spots per quarter available.
Embedded work alongside your executive team through change, culture and leadership development, delivered by me and sometimes alongside my associate team over twelve to eighteen months.
Monthly retainer, scoped per organisation
Professional Speaking
Steady Is the New Strong.
Luisa Hogan is a Leadership Resilience Strategist and keynote speaker helping leaders redefine strength as steadiness — not strain. Keynote speaker since 2007. 200+ workshops delivered.
Luisa bridges neuroscience, behavioural insight, and stories from her executive leadership and entrepreneurial experience to redefine what resilience looks like in practice. Her framework turns steadiness into a leadership competency that is measurable, teachable, and scalable across teams.
Known for her calm authority, intelligent storytelling, and grounded delivery, Luisa’s sessions move beyond motivation — they build capability.
“Luisa spoke at our Leadership Camp and was phenomenal! She shared great words of wisdom in a fantastic way with short stories and humour which resonated so well with everyone. We would highly recommend having Luisa speak.”
Burn Bright
Credentials
Keynote Speaker since 2007
200+ workshops delivered
Author — The Mindset Fitness Workout (second book due 2026)
Experience as CEO, COO, and CDO over 10+ years
Host — The Second Voice Podcast
BA Education & Community Development, MBA, Diploma Sports Psychology, Certified Resilience Practitioner, Certified Change Practitioner
Custom keynotes available • Pre-event surveys • Worksheets & interactive polls • Masterclasses • Group sessions • Book available by request
Keynote Topics
Core Speaking Themes
Keynote 01 • 45 min
→ Steady Is The New Strong
In a world obsessed with constant hustle, “being strong” often leads to exhaustion, disconnection, and burnout. This keynote offers a new model: resilience as steadiness.
Attendees will learn how to:
Respond under pressure rather than react
Build clarity, calm, and confidence as leadership practices
Redefine success not as endurance, but as sustainable influence
Perfect for leadership conferences, executive retreats, change summits, and wellbeing events.
Keynote 02 • 30 min
→ The Resilience Reset
Teams are facing an unprecedented speed of change and burning out faster than ever. This keynote helps leaders and teams rebuild confidence, culture, and connection after change fatigue.
Attendees will learn how to:
Reframe strength from enduring pressure to staying steady for others
Recognise and recover from change fatigue by identifying early warning signs of burnout
Rebuild confidence, culture, and connection through deliberate leadership choices
Perfect for leadership conferences, executive retreats, change summits, and wellbeing events.
Keynote 03 • 30 min
→ The Inner Voice of Leadership
Your brand voice matters — but your inner voice shapes every decision before your audience sees a thing. A powerful talk on positive self-talk as a strategic leadership tool, drawn from conversations with hundreds of leaders through The Second Voice Podcast.
Attendees will learn how to:
Identify the difference between the first reactive voice and the second intuitive voice
Settle enough for the second voice to be heard
Use self-talk as a tool for strategic excellence
Perfect for leadership conferences, executive retreats, change summits, and wellbeing events.
Track Record
Notable Engagements
Keynotes
Dept. Parks & Wildlife WA Conference 2017
Perth College Leadership Camp 2019
Leading Aged Services Forum 2019
City of Joondalup 2020
Mission Australia National Staff Conference 2024
Women’s Network Australia 2026
Speaker & Panelist
London Metro Business School 2016
Associations National Conference 2016
United Nations Women WA — Panel 2017
Council of the Aging Conference WA 2018
Curtin Graduate School of Business 2019
FuelFix National Leadership Program 2021
Unleashing the Power of Women’s Voices 2026
Women Thrive Summit 2026
Workshops & MC
200+ workshops across private, government, and not-for-profit sectors
30+ online workshops 2019–2025
6th Women in Leadership Summit — MC 2020
Online Summits
Women Changing the World Summit 2025
What Audiences Say
From the Room
“Thank you so much for your highly valued contribution to our Forum. I really enjoyed listening to you and have grown as a leader from hearing you speak.”
Leading Aged Services
“Luisa was excellent. I enjoyed developing new skills and gaining a deeper understanding of my colleagues and how the organisation functions at a higher level.”
Kerry-Ann W — Audience
“Luisa is an excellent presenter and coach who combines theory and practice in a way that is engaging, relevant and relatable.”
Linda R — Audience
Bring Luisa to Your Event
Available for conferences, corporate events, leadership forums, and executive offsites across Australia and internationally.
The Lonliness Tax of Leadership with Kirsten Hopkins
Kirsten Hopkins Executive Leader
48 min
EP 41
Why Most Founders Can't Step Away (Even When They Want To) with Rich Aston
Rich Aston Founder
55 min
EP 40
The Pressure of Being The Catalyst with Michelle Jenkins
Michelle Jenkins · CEO
41 min
EP 39
When Intuition Becomes Your Strategy with June Mac
June Mac · Business Leader and Intuitive Mentor
52 min
EP 38
The Hidden Work of Staying Connected with Tania Plakonouris
Tania Plakonouris · Co-Founder, Coach, Consultant
44 min
Testimonials
What Leaders Say
The measure of our work is not what we say about it — it is what clients experience when the pressure is highest.
Client Voices
Words From the Leaders We Work With
★★★★★
“When we decided to bring in an independent consultant to help us with a culture review and team engagement, the number of staff who immediately asked for Luisa was huge. Her knowledge, curiosity, and ability to read individuals have been invaluable. She’s solution focused, brings fresh ideas, and genuinely wants to help the organisation thrive. Thanks, Luisa, for being a superhero and helping us make a great team even better!”
DM
Dawn McAleean GAICD
CEO, Crosslinks
★★★★★
“Luisa has worked with my exec team helping them improve their understanding of leadership, change and the challenges of managing people. They all said they want to continue training and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I have grown in stature and understanding flourishing under her guidance. Can’t recommend highly enough to anyone with a team needing some help and a little resilience in trying times.”
MJ
Michelle Jenkins JP MBL GAICD FAIM
CEO, Youth Futures
★★★★★
“Every experience working with Luisa has been genuinely valuable. She brings a rare mix of deep insight, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence that makes her an absolute standout in any professional setting. Every interaction with her leaves you thinking differently, more clearly, more strategically, and with a stronger sense of purpose.”
AK
Adam Kinnest
Senior General Manager
★★★★★
“Luisa is one of those rare people you don’t know you need in your professional circle until you do. Honest, open and uncommonly clear. Expect sharp thinking delivered with warmth, directness and genuine support. She isn’t performative, she is clarifying — which in turn gives you the nudge to do what you need to.”
AB
Aileen Boyle
Revenue & Pricing Consultant
★★★★★
“Luisa brings a level of leadership that is both deeply experienced and deeply human. What stood out most is how she redefines resilience — it is not about pushing harder or holding everything together. She believes in creating steadiness within a team and leads by that example.”
“I have been working with Luisa as part of our Leadership Development Strategy and have found her to be creative, honest and insightful. From workshop delivery to personal coaching, she has created an informative, challenging and safe environment for our leaders. Her approach is driven by genuine enthusiasm and motivation to support everyone in the team.”
KP
Kelli Pickford
HR Executive, FuelFix
★★★★★
“Luisa is one of those professionals you don’t forget. Not because she tries to impress, but because she tells the truth. Her work around resilience isn’t theory — it’s lived, embodied, and brought to life through storytelling that is both powerful and deeply human. What you see on stage is exactly who she is off it. No ego, just real presence.”
MS
Marielle Speetjens
Midlife Reinvention & Confidence Coach
Trusted by leaders across industries
community servicesSMEHealthcareGovernment Professional Services
Recognition
Award Winning Practice
Recognised for excellence in leadership resilience consulting in Australia.
Awarded to Vermelho Consulting in recognition of outstanding contribution to leadership resilience and change management across Australia.
Trusted By
Organisations We Have Worked With
Let’s Start a Conversation.
Whether you need consulting support, a keynote speaker, a training programme, or individual mentoring — the best first step is a straightforward conversation.
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Location
Australia — available nationally & internationally
