Alumni in the Spotlight | Matt Kershaw

Can you provide an overview of your career journey so far?

I spent 13 years at the yLead Association – the final 9 years as its Chief Executive Officer and President.  yLead is an independent non-profit that empowers young people with leadership development experiences.  These include in-school workshops, leadership conferences and overseas travel immersion experiences in Tanzania, Cambodia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea.

In 2019, having grown yLead to impact 30,000+ young people per annum across Australia and New Zealand, I transitioned to a new CEO and began looking for my next career challenge.

I began working with Domino’s Pizza Enterprises as a Leadership Development Specialist.  After 3 months I was promoted to the Australia and New Zealand Executive Team and The Head of People Development for ANZ.  In 2022 I was promoted to the Global Executive team as the Global Head of People Development. My role was recently expanded to Global Head of Talent and capability – looking after Talent Acquisition Strategy, Learning, Training and Development, Leadership Development and Learning Innovation.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises is the largest master franchise for Domino’s outside of the US, owning the rights to 12 markets – Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, and The Netherlands.  We currently run over 3800 stores, employ more than 100,000 team members, and sell a pizza every 7 seconds somewhere in the world. 

In 2024 I was appointed as Chair of the Board of the Domino’s Pizza Enterprises registered charity in Australia and New Zealand - Minds & Meals.  Minds & Meals is dedicated to supporting youth mental health through partnerships with headspace (AU) and youthline (NZ) and disaster relief initiatives providing hot and fresh meals to communities when they need it most.

What inspired you to pursue this career path?

During my time at The Hills Grammar School, I was heavily involved in extracurricular activities – including The Duke of Edinburgh Awards.  When I was elected House Captain of McGrath House, I attended a Leadership Conference run by AYDP (now yLead) at Sydney Olympic Park. Upon completing the conference, I was selected to be a volunteer mentor of the program.  These experiences ignited a passion for working with people and helping them unlock their potential. 

I graduated from The Hills Grammar School in 2003.  I enrolled in a Bachelor of Business Administration and IT at Macquarie University.  During my second year of study, Doctors discovered a 17cm tumour growing from my spine into my chest cavity.  I was rushed to hospital and had a lifesaving surgery to remove the tumour. 

During my recovery, I spent a lot of time reflecting on my values and the kind of life I wanted to create.  I decided to postpone my studies and booked a trip to Tanzania with AYDP (now yLead) at the end of the year.  During that trip, I explored the possibility of a full-time job with the association.  I moved to Brisbane and took a role a few weeks after I returned.

As my time at yLead unfolded I discovered a passion for bringing people together and coaching and developing people.  I also explored passions outside of work including playing music and cooking food.

My role at Domino’s has been the opportunity to bring these passions together and look for ways to apply my skills and leadership ability to a fast-paced, commercial global company.

What are your future aspirations? 

My greatest aspiration is to continue to do work that I love and find ways in which I feel I am adding significant value to others and the wider community. I hope to continue to find way ways into leadership roles with significant influence over the way organisations engage, empower, and develop their people.

What advice can you give to our Hills Originals?

1.    Invest time in getting to know yourself. Find experiences that take you out of your comfort zone.  Spend time reflecting on your purpose and values.
2.    Define success for yourself, rather than accepting a definition authored by someone else.  Don’t fall into the trap of comparing – run your own race.
3.    If you want something, the only way to get it is to be courageous and take action.  Confidence follows courage – it rarely comes first.
4.    If you want to be great at something it takes time. Work hard, engage a coach and spend time on intentional practice.
5.    Setbacks are inevitable – how you respond to them is what will count.
6.    Choose to surround yourself with enablers and be an enabler to others.  Don’t be afraid to distance yourself from people who stop you from being your best.