Irit Harris
Current Role:
CEO & Founder, F-Empowered
Acting General Manager, NAB LABS, NAB
A little about me:
Professionally, I am an experienced strategy and banking professional with over a decade at ANZ and NAB (where I am currently working part-time).
I recently started my own business called F-Empowered, born from a passion of mine to educate young people (women in particular!) to achieve their money goals. I do this through going into schools and organisations and running Money Fit Programs with students and young professionals.
Personally, I have two beautiful children, Aden & Jasmine whom Josh and I are obsessed with, I love to do yoga and try to get to a place on my bucket list every three years, most recently Iceland.
The best piece of advice I’ve been given:
Just give it a go.
Before starting F-Empowered, I was really apprehensive. Someone said to me “Just give it a go. What is the worst that can happen?” And they were completely right.
I have learnt SO much already along this journey and continue to push the boundaries of my capabilities & comfort zone, grown personally & professionally and been exposed to some incredible individuals that have been so generous with their time and advice.
On failure:
Failure is the best teacher.
I see everything in life as a learning experience, so for me the hard lessons taken out of failure are even more impactful than those found through success.
I also think that getting through failure and trying again takes a lot of courage and resilience.
What motivates me:
Empowering others
When I was little, I wanted to be:
A Forensic Scientist
On self-care:
I am a big advocate for self-care. As a mum I also feel responsible to make sure I look after myself so that I can be the best version of me to look after my kids.
Although it is often so hard to make the time and often looking after yourself is the first thing that gets deprioritised, I have made the commitment to myself to:
Exercise - I try to jog and do yoga each week. This re-balances my mind, body and soul.
Maximise the time I spend on things that energise me . Personally - this is just being with my family! Professionally - My business is the best example of this, I get such nourishment from empowering individuals with money knowledge. By the way, the reverse is also true - minimising the time I spend on things that zap my energy.
Podcasts I’m listening to:
Masters of Scale (Reid Hoffman)
Without Fail (Gimlet)
The Daily (The New York Times)
How I built this (NPR)
Simplify (Blinkist)
What I’m reading:
Shoe Dog - the autobiography of Nike Founder Phil Knight. It is a brilliant story of determination & courage.