Supporting Transformation at the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)

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The Challenge:

The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) plays a critical role in training, supporting, and advocating for doctors working in rural and remote communities across Australia. As the College looked to modernise its governance and strengthen its operations, the Board identified the need for a comprehensive leadership and organisational renewal program.

This required a staged approach: strengthening the Board itself, recruiting a new CEO to review and reset the organisation, and building executive capacity with a Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. At the same time, ACRRM needed HR capability to support staff, embed new structures, and ensure the transformation was sustainable.

Our Approach

Luminary partnered with the ACRRM Board and executive leadership over a full year of transformation, providing both executive search and HR advisory support. Our work included:

  • Board recruitment: Attracting and appointing high-calibre board members with governance experience and passion for rural and remote health.

  • CEO search: Recruiting a new Chief Executive Officer with the leadership capacity to lead a review of the organisation, build trust, and reset direction.

  • Executive recruitment: Appointment of a Chief Operating Officer and a Chief Financial Officer to provide operational discipline, financial oversight, and delivery capability.

  • Fractional HR support: Providing interim, part-time HR expertise to manage workforce planning, employee relations, and leadership development during the transition year.

  • Embedding new structures: Supporting the CEO and Board in implementing organisational review outcomes, aligning people, processes, and governance with the new strategic direction.

ACRRM General Manager
ACRRM Company Secretary

The Outcome:

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Over the course of the transformation, Luminary successfully delivered:

  • Strengthened governance with the appointment of new Board Members.

  • A new CEO to lead cultural and organisational review.

  • Appointment of both a COO and a CFO, building the operational leadership backbone of the organisation.

  • Fractional HR capability during a critical year of change, ensuring new structures and practices were embedded effectively.

Impact:

The impact of this partnership has been significant for ACRRM:

  • Governance renewal: A stronger, more diverse, and effective Board.

  • Leadership transformation: A CEO and executive team capable of driving performance and cultural change.

  • Operational strength: Improved financial management, operational oversight, and service delivery capability.

  • Sustainable HR practices: New structures and workforce processes embedded, supporting long-term organisational health.

  • Sector confidence: Greater trust from members, stakeholders, and government in ACRRM’s ability to deliver on its mission.

Luminary’s partnership with ACRRM demonstrates the value of end-to-end leadership and organisational advisory support. By working across governance, executive search, and HR capability, we enabled the College to undertake a year of transformation, strengthen its leadership, and embed structures that will support its mission in rural and remote healthcare for years to come.

General Manager Steven Parrish
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At Luminary, we view CEO succession as strategic and long-term, tightly linked to your organisational objectives. A thoughtful succession plan avoids unnecessary turnover, ensures continuity, and strengthens organisational performance.

Our contemporary CEO succession methodology combines experience, insight, and data to achieve internal equity, external competitiveness, and leadership continuity.

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A Long-Term, Multifaceted Approach

Identifying and developing internal CEO successors is a process that often takes years. Ideally, succession planning begins as soon as a new CEO is appointed. When that’s not possible, starting sooner rather than later is essential.

An effective plan fosters collaboration between directors, management, and potential internal successors, while giving the Board time to build a complementary and supportive executive team.

Our Approach

Typically, we work with Boards to advise on three key components:

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1. CEO Successor Role Requirements

• Align with your Leadership Capability Framework

• Advise on the latest CEO recruitment and selection best practices

• Create a future CEO success profile tailored to your organisation

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2. Luminary CEO Successor Attribute Assessment (L-CAR®)

• Incorporate your Leadership Capability Framework and agreed leadership behaviours

• Review and refine your CEO Position Description

• Co-develop our proprietary Luminary Competency Assessment Ranking (L-CAR®) to guide selection

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3. CEO Succession Planning Readiness Chart

• Provide a snapshot of CEO successor assessments

• Focus on developing one to three potential successors with a planned readiness strategy adaptable to mid- and long-term scenarios

• Consider internal talent while benchmarking confidentially against external options

• Highlight bench strength, talent risks, and development priorities to ensure organisational sustainability

Insight, Science, and Experience

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Succession planning is a Board responsibility—not management’s—and should be reviewed periodically. The best outcomes come from collaboration with both the CEO and your management team.

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Our CEO succession planning approach is rigorous, structured, and evidence-based, integrating data, science, and human insight. At a time when attracting, nurturing, and retaining chief executive talent is more critical than ever, our methodology ensures your Board has the clarity and confidence to make high-stakes decisions.

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By partnering with Luminary, your Board gains a trusted advisor to navigate complexity, reduce risk, and secure the right leadership fit for now and the future.

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We offer customised programs to build leadership capability across your organisation, including:

• Executive leadership, mentoring, and coaching

• Sales leadership

• Technology and transformation leadership

• Immersive leadership experiences

• High potential acceleration

• Communicating for impact

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