ABC News Sydney anchor for 21 years and 4,500 bulletins, CNN and BBC veteran, author and conference MC.
Juanita Phillips anchored ABC News NSW in Sydney for 21 years — from 2003, initially alongside Tony Eastley and later as solo presenter, until she announced her resignation in July 2023 after around 4,500 bulletins. Before that she worked in London, first as a news presenter at BBC World News and then as co-anchor on CNN Today at CNN International, building a career across some of the world's most demanding newsrooms. She is the author of the memoir A Pressure Cooker Saved My Life: How to Have It All, Do It All, and Keep It All Together, which brought an unexpected candour to the public conversation about stress, burnout and the private lives behind polished professional exteriors. She has also written The Newspaper Kids, a series of five children's books.
What makes Phillips compelling as a speaker and MC extends well beyond her broadcasting credentials. Her memoir examined her own unravelling — the tension between a high-pressure public career and the private cost it extracted — including the stress-induced laryngeal spasm that interrupted her bulletin on air in November 2007. She brings that same quality to her work on stage: the ability to hold the room with warmth and authority, to connect across generations and sectors, and to ask questions that cut through the surface without losing the audience along the way.
Phillips is in demand as MC for fintech, cybersecurity and financial services events, where her combination of journalistic intelligence, polished presentation and genuine curiosity about technology makes her a natural fit. She does not simply link segments — she lifts the room. For conference organisers and event producers who need someone who can carry a full-day program with intelligence and ease, Juanita Phillips is a reliable choice.
Juanita Phillips is a keynote speaker and MC based in New South Wales who speaks on media & journalism and women in business. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
Drawing on personal anecdotes from over 40 years in the workforce, Juanita discusses the challenges women routinely face (pregnancy, childbirth, divorce, elderly parents, health crises and more), how much things have changed for women, and how much has stayed the same.
She speaks about the hurdles women and other carers face as they develop in their professional careers, how corporate culture can be changed to embrace women and how men can be convinced to move forward with women and enjoy the benefits that come from a fairer, more flexible workplace.
Juanita discusses how to juggle differing workloads and personal responsibilities, maintain good mental and physical health, plan and manage their financial future and support each other through formal mentoring arrangements, but more commonly support just through sharing our stories and the wisdom we've acquired along the as well as sharing stories and wisdom.
Tell us about your event and our consultants will return a curated shortlist within one business day.
