Sue
Cunningham
Judgement, agency and staying human in an AI-shaped world
I work with leaders, professionals and organisations facing AI-driven change, where the pressure to decide is real, the context is still unfolding and the consequences matter. My work focuses on strengthening judgement, confidence and agency, so people can act deliberately inside uncertainty
— and stay oriented as the context shifts.
My Story
After more than two decades leading transformation, crisis response and reform — from bushfires and pandemics to large-scale system change in multi-billion-dollar organisations — I thought I understood uncertainty.
But in 2023, a small experiment changed my mind. I asked ChatGPT to complete a piece of strategic analysis — work that would normally take me days. It returned something board-ready in minutes.
What struck me wasn’t just the speed. It was the sense that something significant had shifted. I realised AI wasn’t just another tool. It was going to reshape how work gets done.
I stepped away from executive life to understand that shift properly. I immersed myself in AI strategy, safety and real-world use and began testing AI inside my own work and decision-making — navigating my own re-invention from senior executive to AI-enabled founder.
AI is not the first time leaders have faced uncertainty — but it is changing what’s expected of professionals, with impacts that are personal as well as organisational. The context is still unfolding, the pressure to decide is real and the consequences — for people, trust and professional identity — matter.
That’s the space I work in now: the intersection of AI fluency, human judgement and lived leadership experience.
Through The Uncertainty Lab, I work with leaders, professionals and organisations who are trying to make sense of AI without losing clarity, confidence or their voice. My focus is practical and human: helping people strengthen judgement, build agency and engage with AI in ways that support – not replaces - good decision-making.
I don’t remove uncertainty.
I help people navigate it — thoughtfully, deliberately and while staying human.
Sue Cunningham
B. Engineering (Hons), B. Arts, Grad Dip Bus Mgmt, GAICD, National Emergency Services Medal, Certified Coach
My Edge
My work is shaped by a rare combination of lived executive responsibility, crisis leadership, AI fluency and hands-on AI practice and human-first change leadership.
C-Suite Strategy & Execution
25 years in executive transformation roles across $50M–$3B organisations — leading reform and operating model change when the stakes were real and the path forward was unclear. Led $70M crisis response programs and secured $500M+ in government investment
Crisis Leadership
Lived experience leading through Black Summer bushfires (in the State Emergency Control Centre) and COVID — senior leadership of humanitarian response programs. Carried responsibility for people, reputation and systems in conditions where decisions had to be made without certainty, precedent or enough information.
Lived AI Practice & Fluency
MIT Sloan–trained in AI Business Strategy, with formal training in AI safety and risk. Beyond study, I deliberately stepped away from executive life to build and run an AI-enabled practice — using AI daily in strategy, decision-making and real work, not just experimentation.
Governance
& Risk
GAICD-qualified, with board-level and operational experience across governance, digital uplift, cybersecurity and technology risk. Studied AI safety and risk
Human-First Facilitation & Learning
Certified Coach and Certified AI Trainer. I design and facilitate psychologically safe spaces where leaders and professionals can think clearly, ask hard questions and build capability — particularly when identity, confidence and judgement are under pressure.
Deep Social Impact & NFP Experience
Extensive leadership experience across health, aged care, migrant support, INGO and emergency services sectors. I understand what it means to lead with constrained resources, fatigued teams and responsibility for vulnerable communities
Let's talk....
If you’re navigating AI-driven change and want space to think clearly — whether for yourself, your team or your organisation — I’d love to talk.
0417 316 822
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