Joana Button

Bangkok, Thailand

About Joana Button

Investor, strategist, problem-solver, multi-award winner, nationally certified and senior HR practitioner of AHRI and over 15 years experience in senior leadership positions within travel, digital and tech.

During my time in the corporate world, I witnessed firsthand the destruction and devastation when companies go under and when leaders become part of the problem rather than the solution (myself included) so I know what NOT to do. I myself have failed many times, experienced executive burnout and even imposter syndrome.

And now, I help a number of startups and SMEs grow + scale by sharing my learnings, invest in and support business owners to help solve their organisational issues, execute their ideas and, future proof their organisations.

I do this through my proven process of success and, simple scalable solutions…with the ultimate aim of accelerating their growth and transforming their organisations into a viable, values and data-driven workplace.

My top five strengths per Gallup are Strategic, Command, Achiever, Competition, and Responsibility which means I instinctively see and find multiple paths to solve a problem, choose the best option based on facts and data allowing me to make decisions quickly and effectively. Creative by nature, passionate in spirit, innovative at heart, resourceful, and values-driven, I often challenge the status quo and think beyond the current norms and practices, my problem-solving ability, solutions-focused approach, and sense of humour helps 😉

I believe that automation is salvation, data is the key, culture is everything, and understanding the company’s WHY is the secret ingredient to success because it’s about driving behaviours instead of just focusing on the end results.

With that belief, I mentor leaders and individuals to be the best version of themselves they can be so they can serve the people they lead both at home and at work because my strength lies in seeing others’ potential, stretching them far beyond what they think they are capable of.

Integrity always leads me to do the right thing as I take full accountability and ownership of everything I do so others around me can always rely, trust and depend on me to ‘get shit done’ and deliver.

I’m incredibly passionate about and open to helping in the following areas so please get in touch;
+ Volunteering, CSR & ISR (Industry Social Responsibility)
+ Startups & SMEs wanting to grow and scale especially within the Travel, Tourism, Hospitality, Digital & Tech Industries
+ Mentoring & Coaching the next-gen of leaders who want to go from the transactional to the strategic
+ Speaking & Engagement Opportunities


Education
Australian HR Institute
National Certification
Senior Practitioner
01 Aug, 2017 - 01 Aug, 2017

Co-Chair

TDs Inspiring Women in Travel Asia (IWTA)

Jul 2021 - Present • 2 years 10 months
Chairperson of IWTA

Chief People Culture & Operations Officer (CPCOO)

Wendy Wu Tours • Sydney, Australia

Sep 2017 - May 2019 • 1 year 9 months
Incredibly proud to partner, work with and support Wendy Wu Tours through their digital and tech transformation advising the board of directors, global and senior leadership teams on how to deliver large scale, complex projects, manage market and global expansion and increase sales and profitability by ensuring quality levels meet or exceed customer, employee and company expectations. Role was responsible for the global development and delivery of the groups employee and customer experience +...

operations strategy, through global quality management strategies, business process recommendations leading to ongoing customer experience (NPS/ CSAT) improvements and employee satisfaction. WENDY WHO? Wendy Wu Tours is a globally recognised award-winning touring specialist, offering extraordinary tours to China, Southeast Asia, Japan, India, Sri Lanka – and most recently, South America with offices in Sydney (AU), Auckland (NZ), Xian (CH) and London (UK). Since Wendy sent her very first tour to China in 1994, we've grown from strength to strength and are proud of the multiple awards we've won throughout the years and the unique travel experiences we offer to an expanding range of destinations. At Wendy Wu Tours our philosophy is a simple one - to provide customers with a truly inspiring travel experience. Our vision is to 'Be Extraordinary' by delivering extraordinary experiences and turning our valued customers into raving fans and our employees into brand ambassadors. Our values are ingrained in our people, we are; 'Responsible', take accountability and get stuff done, we are ‘Brave' always challenging the status quo, ‘Curious’, constantly thinking outside the box, ‘Obsessed’ about travel, our customers and what we do and its all about ‘Having Fun’ by making a positive and extraordinary impact every single day. www.wendywutours.co.uk

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Chief people, Culture & Organisational Design Expert

Cataliize • Sydney

Aug 2017 - Aug 2018 • 1 year 1 months
It's rare you find an organisation that matches your values and what you stand for so I am incredibly excited to partner with Startmesh and support start ups at every stage of their business to build, grow and design their organisations to ensure scalability and sustainability with the three things I am most passionate about; 1. the employee experience 2. the customer experience and 3. building an inclusive, collaborative, socially responsible and high performing workplace and culture that value...

s their people, their community and the greater good.

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Executive Director / Partner / Investor

Simple Scalable Solutions • Sydney

Jul 2017 - Present • 6 years 10 months
We are in the business of helping people, especially within The Travel, Tourism, Hospitality, Digital & Technology Industries. We invest in, support, and help startups + SMEs to grow and scale by helping them solve their organisational issues, execute their ideas and, future-proof their organisations. We do this by strategically organising and developing their people, automating or improving their business processes, utilising our extensive network + expertise, cost-efficient back-office s...

upport systems, and through simple scalable solutions that are easy to communicate, implement and deliver. Our aim is to accelerate growth and transform organisations into a profitable, values and data-driven workplace. Here are just some of the things we specialise in or offer; + SME's & Startups + Business Process Improvement + Digital & Tech Transformation + Business Consulting & Advisory + Backoffice Systems & Platforms + Travel, Tourism & Hospitality + Organisational Design & Development + People Experience & Engagement + Growth & Expansion + Digital Marketing + Web Services + Travel Tech + HR Tech But our purpose is simple...to inspire, lead and help others in the hope they lead, inspire and help others too! Learn more about us and how we can help by getting in touch today www.simplescalablesolutions.com

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Director of Global Operations, Sales, Marketing & Customer Experience

Excite Holidays • Sydney

Feb 2015 - Jul 2017 • 2 years 6 months
Due to an internal restructure and my proven success in HR for the digital media and travel tech companies, was given the opportunity to lead the global operations, sales, marketing and customer experience teams globally for Excite Holidays.

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