Liana Mawston joined Athena Home Loans in 2018 as one of its early hires, helping scale a seed-stage fintech into the market challenger it is today, without losing the early stage magic.  With over two decades in financial services, she brings deep experience in change management, organisational design and building cultures that deliver for people and the organisation alike.

At Athena, Liana leads People, Marketing, and Corporate Affairs, a scope that reflects Athena's belief that culture and brand are tightly linked and core to organisational success. She's at SPS because she's passionate about building workplaces where people lead with heart, embrace the hard stuff, and genuinely row together. Because when your mission is to change home loans for good, how you work is just as important as what you build.

Only 20% of employees globally are engaged at work, costing the world economy an estimated $10 trillion each year. Yet one of the biggest blind spots in business remains the gap between what leaders believe about their culture and what employees are actually experiencing.

In this candid and practical conversation, Mohit Midha, CEO and Founder of Hoogly, sits down with Liana Mawston, Chief People Officer at Athena, to explore how Athena moved beyond traditional engagement surveys to more personalised, confidential 1:1 conversations at scale.

Liana will share Athena’s case study, including their experience, what they learned along the way, and how a different approach to listening helped create a clearer picture of what their people were really experiencing.

Mohit and Liana will also explore Hoogly’s core difference: helping leaders move beyond simply collecting feedback to taking meaningful action. Through clear priorities, practical action plans and personalised AI coaching, Hoogly supports leaders to respond with greater confidence, follow through on what matters, and create real change for their teams.

Expect an honest case study, practical insights and a live look at how AI is reshaping what it means to truly listen to your people.

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What you'll leave with:

1. Why conversations uncover what surveys miss. See how personalised 1:1 conversations can move beyond scores to reveal the context, emotion and root causes behind employee experience, helping leaders understand not just what is happening, but why.
2. How to turn employee data into leadership clarity. Learn how leaders can interact with employee insights, explore patterns and ask deeper questions to get closer to the root cause. Attendees will also see how AI coaching can help managers interpret what they are hearing, build confidence and decide what to do next.
3. How to close the gap between listening and action. Discover a new model of employee listening where action planning, leadership support and follow-through are built into the experience. The session will show how AI can support accountability and execution, while remaining clear about the moments that still require human judgement, empathy and conversation.