We've been in your shoes.
Now we're by your side.
The Strategic Step Advisory team are former executives delivering strategic clarity, practical solutions and lasting capability for leaders navigating complex people, safety and risk challenges.
Why we’re different
We’ve been in your shoes
We've held the roles you hold now. Our approach comes from doing, not theorising. This makes us pragmatic partners who speak your language at every level of your organisation.
Insight before direction
We invest time to understand your context through site visits, stakeholder conversations and operational observation; we understand where you are before proposing where you could go.
We co-create to enhance capability
We work with you to develop clear, actionable strategies that stick. We solve for the 'buy' and support the 'build' because lasting change requires both strategic direction and organisational capability.
Strategic Solutions that work
Model-agnostic. Outcome-focused. Built for real-world implementation.
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We diagnose what's working, what's not, and why, then build actionable roadmaps with you.
From strategy development through execution support, we ensure momentum is maintained and capability is built.Outcomes we deliver:
Capability and alignment from front line to Board
Strategy that drives business performance
Clear line of sight from strategic intent to operational reality
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We work with Boards to understand the intent of significant transformations and transactions, and with leadership to design implementation strategies that are grounded in operational reality and support your organisation through the emotional and structural demands of change.
What makes our approach different:
We get the connections, constraints and risks across your whole enterprise.
We support the full journey - from due diligence to day 1 planning and longer term implementation.
We deliver practical implementation plans, not theoretical frameworks.
We focus on capability transfer for repeatable strategies that your team can lead.
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We provide deep technical expertise for Boards navigating complex people, safety, and risk matters. We provide objective insight, challenge assumptions constructively, and help Boards ask the right questions of their executive teams.
How we support Boards:
Independent strategic reviews and due diligence
Executive performance and capability assessment
Strategy validation and challenge
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Trusted across sectors, tailored to your context.
We work with organisations across all industries where people, safety and risk matter - there’s no industry we can’t support. Our expertise in HR and HSE translates across sectors because the fundamentals of leadership, culture and capability are universal.
Sectors we serve:
Construction | Manufacturing | Resources & Mining | Transport & Logistics | Healthcare | Government | Professional Services | Energy & Utilities | Not-for-profit | Social Services | Technology | Arts
Our Leadership
Rachael Kelly
Founding Director
Principal, People and Culture
Business Transformation, Workforce Strategy & Organisational Capability
Rachael has 25 years’ experience in people & culture and transformational change as an executive, management consultant, coach and Board member across a range of industries and geographies. Rachael’s combined in-house and consulting experience provides technical depth and breadth, enabling her to identify connections, create opportunities and develop responses to a range of business and people related challenges. Her pragmatic approach and coaching style ensures a productive relationship with leadership teams and Boards for solving challenging problems.
Rod Maule
Founding Director
Principal, Health and Safety
Safety Culture & Organisational Performance
Rod Maule brings over two decades of transformational safety leadership experience across Australia's most complex operating environments. Rod has been General Manager of Safety and Wellbeing at several organisations, most recently Australia Post. In his executive safety positions across logistics, public transport, healthcare, and manufacturing, Rod has consistently delivered sustainable safety performance improvements through cultural transformation and capability building.
Greg Lazzaro
Founding Director
Principal, Health & Safety
HSE Leadership & Strategic Risk
Greg Lazzaro has spent close to 30 years leading health, safety and environment (HSE) initiatives across the globe. Starting as a chemical engineer in Australia's oil & gas sector, he's built an impressive track record transforming safety performance across manufacturing, consumer goods and services industries worldwide. This diverse background gives him a unique lens - he knows what works in theory and what delivers results in the real world.
Aaron Neilson
Founding Director
Principal, Strategic Alliance
CEO, The Next Step & The Safe Step
Aaron is a trusted advisor to many of Australia's leading organisations and senior professionals in HR and HSE. His insights, guidance and advice help to shape careers, deliver business impact and influence more broadly across the sectors.
Aaron has created and led influential industry networks for 15+ years, providing platforms for collaboration and discussion that shape change across industry. He has a deep knowledge of Australia's employment market and a demonstrated track record of delivering many challenging and complex executive leadership positions across ASX listed businesses, large multi-nationals and government enterprises.
The evolution of HR and HSE has brought two once-separate disciplines into closer alignment. Today's complex business challenges - like wellbeing, psychological safety, risk culture, organisational resilience - sit at the intersection of people and safety expertise.
We founded The Strategic Step Advisory because we recognised that leaders need partners who understand both domains. HSE expertise strengthens HR strategy. HR insight enhances safety culture. When you bring them together, you get holistic solutions that drive genuine business value.
Rod Maule and Greg Lazzaro brought decades of HSE leadership and the proven Amplify programme (AIHS-accredited leadership development for HSE professionals). Rachael Kelly brought deep HR executive and consulting experience across strategy, transformation, and capability building. Together, we solve the complex challenges that sit between traditional consulting silos.
Where expertise
converges
“The best solutions to today’s business challenges don’t respect traditional functional boundaries.”
A Strategic Alliance that delivers
The best outcomes require the right expertise at the right time. Through our strategic alliances with The Next Step and The Safe Step, we deliver exclusive access to specialist capability when you need it most.
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The Safe Step connects you with experienced HSE professionals who've led safety functions, built high-performing teams, and delivered measurable improvements in safety culture and outcomes.
Capabilities:
HSE strategy and management system design
Safety culture assessment and transformation
Risk management and compliance assurance
Incident investigation and prevention strategies
Safety leadership development
Contractor and supply chain safety management
Environmental management and sustainability
Interim HSE leadership
Our approach to safety expertise: Safe Step associates are practitioners who understand that effective safety programmes require more than technical compliance—they require leadership, culture change, and alignment across the organisation. T
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The Next Step provides a network of experienced HR and people culture professionals, including former executives, senior HR leaders, and specialist practitioners who've delivered outcomes in a variety of Australian and international organisations.
Capabilities:
HR strategy and operating model design
Organisational design and workforce planning
Employee relations and industrial relations
Talent acquisition and retention strategies
Learning and development programs
Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives
HR transformation and technology implementation
Interim HR leadership
Why The Next Step Candidates stand out: Every Next Step respresentative has been personally selected based on their track record of delivery. They bring pragmatic insight, sector knowledge, and the ability to operate independently or as part of your team. Most importantly, they share our approach: implementable solutions, not theoretical frameworks.
Ready to take the Strategic Step?
Whether you're facing strategic complexity, capacity constraints, or challenges that sit between traditional functional boundaries, we're here to help. Let's have a conversation about what you're trying to achieve.
Fill in your details below and we’ll be in touch to organise a confidential conversation.
