Fernando Olivia

Culture by Design: Using the Culture Canvas to Navigate Transformational Change

Fernando Oliva is a seasoned management consultant with over 17 years of experience delivering large-scale change, transformation, and organisational development initiatives across 18 countries and 10 industries. He combines coaching psychology, behavioural science, and change leadership to drive sustainable growth in fast-paced, tech-enabled, and Agile environments. Fernando has led global implementations impacting up to 60,000 staff, delivering over 120 successful programs resulting in 5–22% improvements in performance and engagement, the optimisation of multi-billion-dollar operations, and change adoption scores consistently above 90%. His frameworks have enabled ~35,000 change agents across organisations including ExxonMobil, Merck, Atlassian, Westpac, Macquarie University, and Transport for NSW.

He holds ICF-equivalent Master Coach credentials and has delivered over 3,500 hours of one-on-one coaching in support of major transformations. Fernando is a regular contributor to the OD and change management fields, mentoring over 60 senior professionals, speaking at global conferences, and publishing thought leadership that reaches up to 30,000 weekly readers. He is currently based between Sydney and New York, supporting organisations to lead AI-enabled transformation and culture change through evidence-based, human-centred strategies.

What is his session about?

In the messy reality of organisational transformation—especially in the age of AI—culture is often the elephant in the room. It’s acknowledged, but rarely understood, let alone worked with in practical, actionable ways.

This session introduces the Culture Canvas, a powerful visual tool designed to help change leaders map, assess, and intentionally shift culture during transformation. Whether you’re leading digital, structural, or behavioural change, this canvas brings clarity to what is often vague and intangible.