Neurodiverse CEO, AFR Best Place to Work 2025 — building cultures where nobody masks to belong
Claire Thomas is the CEO and Founder of Empact — named the overall AFR Best Place to Work in 2025 — a consultancy she built after a decade inside government working on national reform and central agency priorities. A late-diagnosed twice exceptional (2E) ADHD leader, Claire applies that experience directly to her work: her company exists to prove that workplaces can be simultaneously high-performance and deeply human, delivered through strategy, change management and capability uplift for government, corporate and not-for-profit partners.
Claire's angle is specific and evidence-grounded. She does not speak in generalities about inclusion — she exposes how traditional leadership models burn out brilliant minds, and offers neuro-affirming systems designed to unlock trust, innovation and results. Her work spans authentic leadership, psychological safety, adaptability and values-driven business growth, with a neurodivergent lens applied consistently across every topic. The AFR recognition gives her an independent credibility marker: this is not theory from the outside but a model built and tested within her own organisation.
Claire is a strong fit for government conferences, leadership forums and workplace culture events — particularly those grappling with how to retain and develop diverse talent without demanding conformity. Her sessions range from provocative keynotes to hands-on executive facilitation, and she connects with audiences who are ready to question whether the systems they have inherited are actually producing the results they want.
Claire Thomas is a keynote speaker based in Australian Capital Territory who speaks on innovation, leadership and mental health & wellbeing. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
Candid lessons and practical tools from building one of Canberra’s fastest-growing consultancies on neuro-affirming foundations.
A practical system for managing energy, not time—helping teams allocate their “credits” to the right tasks so they can work with their brain, not against it, and achieve more without burnout.
A hot topic that Claire has delivered, is a science-backed approach that uses play, curiosity and experimentation to unlock creativity, problem-solving, performance and proving that serious outcomes don’t always require serious methods.
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