Renee McAllister: Making Change Work—One Business, One Team, One Decision at a Time

Women Story
4 days ago
2 min read

In boardrooms and project rooms alike, change is often spoken about as strategy. Renee McAllister treats it as something far more practical—and far more human.

In 2024, McAllister founded Xperia.au, a Melbourne-based consultancy designed to solve a problem she had encountered repeatedly across corporate Australia: change initiatives that looked impressive on paper but failed where it mattered most—adoption.

From Corporate Transformation to Entrepreneurial Clarity

Before launching Xperia, McAllister spent nearly two decades leading large-scale transformation and process improvement programs across banking, energy, telecommunications, government, and professional services. Her résumé includes senior roles at NBN, EnergyAustralia, CPA Australia, and the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance—environments where complexity is the norm and failure is expensive.

Along the way, she became a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and PROSCI® change practitioner, delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, cost reduction, and customer experience. But the deeper insight came earlier.

“Process change only works when people understand why it’s happening,” McAllister observed. That realisation shaped her career—and ultimately, her business.

Making Change Simple—and Stick

Xperia was built to bridge the gap between strategy and execution. The firm helps organisations implement new processes, systems, and ways of working by stripping away jargon and focusing on clarity, momentum, and people-first design.

McAllister’s approach blends proven frameworks—Lean, Six Sigma, PROSCI, and human-centred design—with hands-on coaching that supports leaders and teams well beyond project close. The goal isn’t just transformation; it’s sustained improvement.

Clients span small businesses through to complex organisations navigating digital transformation, operational redesign, and customer experience shifts. The common thread is practicality: change that works in the real world.

A Business Grown Through Relationships

Like many modern consultancies, Xperia didn’t grow through advertising blitzes or aggressive sales tactics. Instead, McAllister leaned into relationships—particularly through BNI—where her reputation for consistency and follow-through quickly translated into partnerships and referrals.

In 2025, she was recognised with three BNI Notable Networker awards for the highest number of one-to-one meetings, a reflection not of volume, but of intent. “Real relationships outperform random marketing,” she often notes—a philosophy that mirrors how she advises clients to lead change internally.

Just months into operation, Xperia was firmly off the ground.

The Quiet Power of Practical Leadership

McAllister’s leadership style is measured, not performative. She is known for asking better questions before proposing solutions, for listening before redesigning, and for helping teams regain confidence in the midst of disruption.

As Australian businesses face constant shifts—technology adoption, workforce change, economic pressure—her work sits at a critical intersection: where strategy meets behaviour.

Xperia’s mission is not to overwhelm organisations with transformation theatre, but to help them move forward, one clear step at a time.

Why she stands out: Renee McAllister is redefining change management for modern businesses—proving that sustainable transformation isn’t about doing more, but about doing what matters, and doing it well.