‘Rolling Turns’
A special gathering for Cycling Execs
In the Arena
“Leadership finds you wherever you are, but never leaves you where it found you”
The conversations we have on the road and over breakfast, taken somewhere deeper.
Stories, laughter, leadership and the hard days that define us — with a couple of leaders who have lived it all at the highest level.
‘Rolling Turns’
A special gathering for Cycling Execs
In the Arena
“Leadership finds you wherever you are, but never leaves you where it found you”
The conversations we have on the road and over breakfast, taken somewhere deeper.
Stories, laughter, leadership and the hard days that define us — with a couple of leaders who have lived it all at the highest level.
A different kind of conversation
A conversation about leadership and high performance — with leaders who have lived it at the highest level, among cycling friends.
We all carry leadership roles, so often the source of the conversations we have on the road and over breakfast or a coffee — pressure, work, setbacks, family, what's next — and are the same ones we're having at this table, just with more time to go deep.
Stories are what the Cycling Execs does well. And stories are how this evening works — every story carrying an idea, and a challenge, told by leaders who have led in the most demanding environments in sport and business, the way they'd tell them among friends.
Because whatever the arena, the job of a leader is the same: creating the conditions that enable the people around you to perform at their best.
We'll explore the question at the centre of my work:
"What does the role truly expect of me?"
A different kind of conversation
A conversation about leadership and high performance — with leaders who have lived it at the highest level, among cycling friends.
We all carry leadership roles, so often the source of the conversations we have on the road and over breakfast or a coffee — pressure, work, setbacks, family, what's next — and are the same ones we're having at this table, just with more time to go deep.
Stories are what the Cycling Execs does well. And stories are how this evening works — every story carrying an idea, and a challenge, told by leaders who have led in the most demanding environments in sport and business, the way they'd tell them among friends.
Because whatever the arena, the job of a leader is the same: creating the conditions that enable the people around you to perform at their best.
We'll explore the question at the centre of my work:
"What does the role truly expect of me?"
Never trust a leader without a limp
Hosted by Cycling Execs member Cameron Schwab and with special guest, former AFL coach Neil Craig — who started out in elite cycling, as sports scientist with Charlie Walsh's Australian Cycling Team — hosted at the stunning Eclat.
The best leaders carry wisdom from their setbacks — and the best stories. The limp is the evidence you've been tested in ways that matter, and done the work to come back better. Everyone in this room has one.
Together, we'll get into:
What elite sporting environments teach you about pressure — and what they cost
The hard days that define us — what happens when it all goes wrong, and what it actually takes to recover
Creating the conditions for the people around you to perform at their best — the trust that sits beneath every good team
Handling the moments when you don't have the answer
Event Details
Held at Eclat, in the members' lounge in Hawthorn East. Afterwards we'll settle in for a beer, a wine and quality nibbles — and the conversation Cycling Execs does best.
No cost — just something a bit different. If you lead people, a lot of this will hit close to home. It's a rare look inside elite sport and what high performance actually demands, from people who've lived it.
Tuesday 13 October 2026
3:45pm arrival for a 4:00pm start, concluding at 9:00pm
Eclat, 4 Monteath Avenue, Hawthorn East, Victoria
About your host and our special guest
Cameron Schwab
Cameron Schwab spent 25 years as CEO of three AFL clubs — Richmond, Fremantle and Melbourne — appointed at Richmond at just 24, the youngest CEO in the history of the game, and the second longest-serving CEO of the modern era.
His leadership was forged in clubs at their lowest ebb, playing a central role in major transformations in an environment where results are publicly scrutinised weekly, and failure has nowhere to hide.
As the founder of designCEO, Cameron has spent the past decade invited into the inner lives of CEOs as their coach and mentor, working with senior leaders and their teams across many industry sectors. He holds an MBA and Master of Marketing from the Melbourne Business School, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
He explores the challenges he faced as a leader with openness and generosity, bringing not just theories but game-tested wisdom.
Neil Craig
Neil Craig’s leadership education began in two of the most demanding environments in Australian sport. A brilliant SANFL player, he played 319 games for Norwood and Sturt — including premierships with Norwood in 1975 and 1978, the Sturt captaincy, and 11 State of Origin appearances for South Australia.
A sports scientist by training, who holds an Honorary Doctorate in Sports Science from Flinders University, he worked under legendary cycling coach Charlie Walsh with the Australian Cycling Team — an apprenticeship in elite performance that shaped his coaching philosophy, one he carried into eight seasons as senior coach of the Adelaide Crows and senior performance roles across the AFL.
Neil now mentors coaches at the Australian Institute of Sport, and has mentored world-class coaches including Ange Postecoglou (Tottenham Hotspur), Brian Goorjian (Australian Boomers), Eddie Jones (Japan Rugby), and Luke Beveridge (Western Bulldogs), bringing extraordinary insights from across elite sporting environments to our conversations about leadership at the highest level.
About your host and our special guest
Cameron Schwab
Cameron Schwab spent 25 years as CEO of three AFL clubs — Richmond, Fremantle and Melbourne — appointed at Richmond at just 24, the youngest CEO in the history of the game, and the second longest-serving CEO of the modern era.
His leadership was forged in clubs at their lowest ebb, playing a central role in major transformations in an environment where results are publicly scrutinised weekly, and failure has nowhere to hide.
As the founder of designCEO, Cameron has spent the past decade invited into the inner lives of CEOs as their coach and mentor, working with senior leaders and their teams across many industry sectors. He holds an MBA and Master of Marketing from the Melbourne Business School, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
He explores the challenges he faced as a leader with openness and generosity, bringing not just theories but game-tested wisdom.
Neil Craig
Neil Craig’s leadership education began in two of the most demanding environments in Australian sport. A brilliant SANFL player, he played 319 games for Norwood and Sturt — including premierships with Norwood in 1975 and 1978, the Sturt captaincy, and 11 State of Origin appearances for South Australia.
A sports scientist by training, who holds an Honorary Doctorate in Sports Science from Flinders University, he worked under legendary cycling coach Charlie Walsh with the Australian Cycling Team — an apprenticeship in elite performance that shaped his coaching philosophy, one he carried into eight seasons as senior coach of the Adelaide Crows and senior performance roles across the AFL.
Neil now mentors coaches at the Australian Institute of Sport, and has mentored world-class coaches including Ange Postecoglou (Tottenham Hotspur), Brian Goorjian (Australian Boomers), Eddie Jones (Japan Rugby), and Luke Beveridge (Western Bulldogs), bringing extraordinary insights from across elite sporting environments to our conversations about leadership at the highest level.
From leaders who have experienced our sessions
I’ve had the privilege of listening to Cameron talk about leadership and life twice now. I was so impressed the first time that I asked him to present to my Leadership Team.
You could have heard a pin drop on each occasion and everyone, sports enthusiast or not, got so much out of the session.
Cameron tells a powerful, entertaining and deeply personal story that resonates with everyone who has experienced change and challenge.
Joe Barr, Chief Executive Officer | John Holland
It was truly incredible to sit in the energy of a room of people completely captivated by your storytelling
Your vulnerability and the art you have mastered in weaving your personal story into some incredible lessons for leadership and life.
Thank you Cameron for a very moving and insightful session, very grateful.
Suzie McInerney | CEO | Six Degrees Executive
You will be learning from the very best I have seen.
Rodrigo Pizarro, Managing Director | L'Oreal Australia & New Zealand
My role as Principal of Caulfield Grammar School affords me the privilege of observing many outstanding leaders and speakers from a number of sectors. Cameron sits right in the top echelon.
I value authenticity and humility above all other leadership attributes and Cameron exudes both. He develops trust in his session quickly and shares raw and vulnerable stories of his own journey.
The human side of Cameron is there for all to see.
The care and attention to detail in all elements of the evening showed me that he genuinely cares for his participants.
Cameron has the academic background and lived experience adding integrity to his presentation. His delivery is in plain speak, he cuts to the chase and he has high expectations of his participants.
When you invest in this way, you want tangible learnings to use in your own context and the session delivers this in spades.”
Ashleigh Martin, Principal | Caulfield Grammar School
Cameron Schwab’s presentation was raw, passionate and insightful.
I was taken aback by his engaging style and willingness to share his own story in a way that was at times raw and vulnerable.
His insights into leadership and the challenges that go with it gave me a lot to think about as I brought his messages back to my own organisation and family.
I would recommend him in a heartbeat. In fact, I already have.
It was the best presentation I’ve listened to in the past 2-3 years.
Jim Mole, Chief Executive Officer | Ameropa Australia
You are an incredibly powerful storyteller and I found myself hanging off every word.
It inspired me to be a better storyteller. That said, there was always a link back to leadership which was very engaging and clever. As a sport lover I resonated with your approach to leadership.
I think the greatest compliment of the day I could provide it that I felt really challenged.
Challenged to think more clearly about who I am, my values and to think about how I lead now and how I want to lead in the future.
Andrew Hewison, Managing Director | Hewison Private Wealth
