By Ninja

Together, different.

At By Ninja, I connect good people doing good things in businesses with good customers, and help them grow through strategic and thoughtful experiences. 

I don't just think outside the box, I fold the box into a paper crane. 

Our teams are brought together on a project basis to deliver exceptional creative outcomes. This keeps us agile, lean and efficient, while staying true to the outcome. We have delivered award-winning creative for startups, small businesses, state governments, and local and international beauty brands.

Visit our website to learn more👇
www.byninja.com.au

Creative Overlord

Freelance Graphic Designer

Design Ninjas

Design Ninjas is a subscription-based design service that brings lightning-fast creativity to the forefront. 

No frills, just skills.
After years of working alongside marketers, brand managers, co-designers, and agencies, I uncovered a common challenge – the need for high-quality design that's accessible and efficient. We believe that exceptional design should be within reach for everyone, and Design Ninjas is here to make it happen.

Check out the website to learn more👇
www.designninjas.au

Founder

Communify 

As a member of the Communications Committee I advise and support the Communify team on the strategy and execution of their marketing and communications plan.

Communify Queensland is an established community organisation providing a diverse range of services, from early childhood, mental health services to aged and disability services, including day respite and aged care packages. As one of Brisbane's largest and most active charities, Communify supports the community on all sides.

Communications Committee Member

Focused Marketing Solutions Pty Ltd

Lead Designer

QinetiQ Australia

Achievements:
QLD PICA Gold Award for the Flipper Book
National PICA Silver Award for the Flipper Book

Graphic Designer

Ashdown-Ingram

Assistant Senior Graphic Designer

Salton Group

Achievements:
Design of product which rated GfK top 10 for more than 5 months running
Developed a processes and training guide for New Product Development processes
Introduced a graphics brief system which reduced draft re-work by more than 50%.

Australian Department of Defence; and HTR Engineering and IT Professional Services

As a contractor to the Australian Department of Defence, I was responsible for the development and amendment of technical illustrations for a number of high priority projects. This position required me to obtain a Defence clearance at RESTRICTED level.

Technical Illustrator - contractor

RSEA Pty Ltd

Boeing Defence Australia

This position required me to obtain a Defence clearance at SECRET level.

Junior Graphic Designer

This position required me to obtain a Defence clearance at SECRET level.

Achievements:
Selected to participate in the Boeing Leadership Development Program
Finalist in the 2006 Boeing Young Leader Award
Nominated and short-listed for the 2006 Queensland Training Awards.

Technical Illustrator

For years I worked in the creative industry, delivering multi-million dollar projects for design houses that fell short on delivering value and ingenuity for their brands.

I found myself seeking more from an industry that offered low prospects for designers and brands alike — something that was creatively challenging, but also impactful. I had reached a turning point.

I freelanced as a designer while pursuing a mechanical engineering degree. A real change occurred when I began working with brands that shared my values, and that experience led to a profound transformation.

From this journey, By Ninja was born — a brand studio that differentiates itself through a deep commitment to customer intimacy and innovation.

We create meaningful impact, aligned to the values of the brands we work with. Our approach has earned us a reputation for excellence, exemplified by high retention and professional accolades.

Now, I empower beauty brands to craft unforgettable experiences that drive growth, through conscious branding and product design. 

We take your product idea from concept to consumer; crafting brand, design and packaging experiences for the conscious consumer. 

Our clients and their results are testament to our approach:

𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐥𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐚
👉 Cell Forté Serum Violet Grey top seller, selling out 3 times in 2 months. 
👉 BFCM D2C sales soared by 300%, with a 60% repurchase rate.

𝐑𝐄-𝐃𝐎𝐗 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐚𝐛
“Kathleen has an amazing ability to understand your needs and vision for your brand and translate that into a brand and product that exceed your expectations.”

𝐋𝐔𝐗𝐄 𝐁𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐬
“They transformed not only our branding but also our brand voice and digital presence in such a way that our business has grown in triple digits since the start of the partnership.”
👉 Doubled traffic and checkout value.
👉 Increased customer retention.
👉 Triple-digit growth in 9 months.

𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩
👉 Featured in Vanity Fair and Beauty Independent for branding and sustainability.
👉 Reduced transport emissions by up to 90%.
👉 Increased D2C sales by 65% within 12 months.

𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞
👉 Reduced carbon footprint by 24%.
👉 Diverted >1 tonne of plastic from landfill.

𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐈𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬
👉 Minimised start-up costs.
👉 Mitigated product breakage.
👉 Eliminated ~0.3kg of carbon emissions per product.


Interested in working with me and my team:
🌟 Bespoke Branding & Product Design - www.byninja.com.au
⭐ Unlimited Graphic Design Support - www.designninjas.au 

Reach out to me kathleen@byninja.com.au

Kathleen Casford

Anonyome Labs, Inc.

Privacy is the defining topic of this decade. Personal freedom hinges on safety and security, and this liberty is essential in the expanding digital world. Anonyome provide scalable mobile and desktop solutions that empower users to protect their private information.
Meeting challenges facing businesses and consumers, Anonyome Labs provides a platform that enables a next generation approach to security and privacy. A cornerstone of this platform includes limited disclosure digital identities, “Sudos”. Using and interacting with them reduces the amount of personally identifiable information (PII) needed to navigate today’s digital world. Both consumers and businesses are able to maintain everyday relationships, communications, commerce, and more without unnecessary PII disclosure or collection.

Chief Financial Officer

Company Auditors Disciplinary Board

The CADB is established under both the ASIC Act and the Corporations Act as a mechanism for matters relating to audit quality to be referred by ASIC or APRA and for the matter to be heard and determined in front of a panel comprised of CADB members.

Board Member - Business member

NR Consulting

Advisory Board, strategic, operational and financial advice to SME businesses on strategies to scale, in addition Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and integration consulting across sectors. 

•	Currently providing advice to a number of businesses including professional services company, and a manufacturing company on strategies to facilitate growth and existing market penetration.

CFO Advisory, Commercial and Growth Consulting

Seeing Machines

Seeing Machines (LSE: SEE), Seeing Machines is a world leader in human-machine interaction and an industry leader in artificial intelligence (AI), developing life-saving Driver Monitoring Systems for the road, off-road and aviation sectors. The company has offices in Australia, USA, Europe and Asia. I was engaged to support rapid growth and transition to a revenue generating high-tech software organisation. Leading a complete re-set of the finance function to create a value-adding financial business partner model capable of providing real-time insight, transparency and critical insights supporting growth while operating in a fast-pace, high change growth environment. My role also involves key stakeholder engagement including investor and analyst engagement, commercial decision support and business planning and commercial management as part of the executive team with input to all matters spanning product and supply.

-	Supported significant underlying revenue growth including recurring revenues and OEM orderbook growth well into the triple figures during a period of exceptional growth, despite the challenges of COVID, establishing a professional financial team, reporting and governance framework appropriate to the organisation’s growth trajectory;
-	Secured funding packages critical to the company’s continued transition to a revenue and profitable organisation while ensuring net profit improvement and purposeful investment in software development;
-	Engineered significant cost savings through outsourcing, efficiency and productivity improvement while delivering a host of other benefits including improved transparency, reporting and risk management enabling sustainable scale.

Clark Group

The Clark group is a Queensland based fully integrated property development and investment group with a significant footprint on the Sunshine Coast. The Clark group specialised in creating iconic properties that deliver outstanding value to our customers.
At the Clark Group we manage every aspect of the development process from research, site acquisition, design, marketing and sales, property management to ensure consistently high levels of product delivery and customer satisfaction.

Non Executive Director

The 100% Project

The 100% Project is an organisation influencing workplace cultures and senior business leaders on the value of gender equality in leadership, providing solutions for sustainable change. As a Non-Executive Director, I am responsible for overseeing financial performance, strategy development, governance, business development and operations of the organisation.

•	Improved financial visibility and the capture of new metrics.
•	Increase the organisation’s reach and brand awareness into new networks and markets.

Blue Sky Alternative Investments Limited

Initially engaged to review and strengthen finance operations, I progressed to lead the development of a Board-mandated transformation roadmap. I developed and implemented a series of change initiatives across people, processes and systems, re-positioning finance as a trusted business partner underpinning commercial outcomes. In addition, I improved systems, reporting and controls while developing a vision for future technology adoption, providing a single source of truth to empower executive decision-making and maximise shareholder return.

•	Strengthened visibility and control over performance via transformation, including the development of new financial and management reporting packs, financial models and automated processes.
•	Reduced financial report preparation time from weeks to minutes through an SQL development and BI integration, leading a team of analysts on the development of a technology roadmap for finance; 
•	Mapped 300+ legal entities across all companies and funds to ensure compliance.

Chief Financial Officer (Interim)

Genie Solutions

I was appointed to work with the CEO and due diligence teams to conduct health checks of acquisition targets, developing a strategic plan for the combined entities from integration through to a combined exit at a later date.

•	Advised the CEO and Board of the strategic value of target acquisitions after reviewing products, customers, market penetration and software, resulting in substantial savings.

Integration Consultant

LogiCamms

Engaged to support the CEO in taking the business on a transformation journey as COO, I led the development of a 5 year strategy and execution plan with the goal of optimising performance in the face of challenging market conditions as a result of the mining downturn. I oversaw a rebrand and messaging strategy, establishing a new vision for employees and customers, and oversaw new GTM strategies, productisation and capability expansion opportunities. Leading a team of 450 people, including 36 direct reports, I founded and Chaired the operational leadership team, setting rules of engagement and cadence to drive transformation objectives.

•	Developed a 5 pillar transformation strategy incl. People, Technology, Processes, Organisation Structure and Branding, commencing execution on tactical plans;
•	Improved financial performance, driving high productivity reimbursability targets within the finance team;
•	Strengthened unity and support for the new vision across the company.

Chief Operations Officer

BlastOne International

Tasked with recovering a stalled system implementation, I also focused on building finance team capability and capacity and leading the finance function and business through strategic planning and budget setting. As part of the executive team, and right hand to the Global CEO and Australian MD, I outlined the vision of the finance transformation, identifying key risks, benefits and opportunities. I also managed all BAU responsibilities, presenting financials and KPIs and advising the management team and Board on global compliance and cashflow management. 

•	Improved capability by setting and monitoring company strategy, establishing monthly executive reporting packs and KPIs.
•	Improved team morale, and established finance businesses partnering, resulting in a significant  increase in the finance team employee NPS, by aligning goals and rewards with the rest of the business;
•	Resolved legacy issues and rebuilt out compliance frameworks.

Chief Financial Officer (Interim Executive)

Today, organisations need their CFOs to hold a breadth of knowledge and experience across both industries and commercial challenges to be effective in helping businesses to evolve and scale sustainably. In an environment marked by the rapid pace of change and a constant need to adapt, I offer an ability to help businesses to evolve towards agile, future-state models. With experience spanning the business value chain, including organisational structure, process, systems, product, operating and technological transformation, gained across a diverse sectors and global markets, I bring a holistic viewpoint. I partner with executive teams across global growth and expansion initiatives, defining actionable strategies that enable businesses to enter new markets with impact. 

 CPA qualified with significant tenure in COO and CFO roles, I bring deep technical skills across corporate and business-level reporting, control, tax and compliance. Building best-in-class capabilities, I provide executive teams with the financial advice and insights necessary to inform decisions that drive business outcomes. Key achievements include leading a large-scale global transformation program for Boeing, affecting >8K employees and leading to operational synergies across regions saving millions of dollars; preparing companies for IPO and transitioning APN News & Media from an ASX-listed to an NYSE-listed entity. Most recently, I have led a full transformation at Seeing Machines improving top line underlying revenue and net profit performance, positioning the company for sustainable growth and scale through development of a roadmap and vision to improve performance, transparency, efficiency and governance.

Should you wish to get in contact, please do so through LinkedIn or send me an In-mail.

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Kathleen Casford

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