About

Behaviour is a property of systems

We are a senior practice working at the intersection of organisational design, collective intelligence and strategic narrative — designing the conditions in which capable people can do their best thinking.

The IlluminX philosophy

We start from a simple premise: behaviour is a property of systems. When capable people repeatedly produce outcomes nobody wants, the fault is rarely in their intent — it is in the conditions they are working inside.

Organisations do not improve outcomes by asking people to try harder inside a system that produces a poor experience. The experience employees and customers have is the clearest evidence of how the system is designed — so that is where we start, and that is what we hold ourselves to.

So we design conditions. We make the existing system visible, find the adjustments that shift it, and build the capability to keep adjusting. Sometimes the shift is small and fast. More often it requires better connections across groups, functions and networks, because organisations think and work better together than in parts.

We make the system visible — structures, signals, incentives and behaviours — so we can redesign the conditions that produce the employee and customer experience.

Who we work with and what shifts

Clients

GovernmentGlobal consultingPrivate institutionsEmerging venturesHealthcareEducationTelecommunicationsDefenceNot for Profit

Selected outcomes

  • AI adoption and confidence embedded across a global consulting firm
  • Leadership alignment and shared ownership for complex workforce transformation
  • Collective capability and faster decisions in senior leadership teams
  • Strategic coherence where direction kept being re-litigated
  • Values made visible through observable behaviour and signal redesign

People

Portrait of Carly Hayes
Practice lead

Carly Hayes

Founder & Principal

Carly designs intelligent, human-centred organisational systems. She blends behavioural insights, systems thinking, and strategic design to help organisations think, collaborate, and transform with clarity.

Her work spans governments, global consulting firms, private institutions, and emerging ventures — giving her a rare systems-level perspective on how humans experience organisations of every scale. Carly is known for illuminating patterns, creating coherence in complexity, and designing the conditions that elevate capability and collective intelligence.

She builds frameworks, models, and ways of working that make organisations smarter, more connected, and more human.

Portrait of Khoder Hammoud
Partner

Khoder Hammoud

Partner

Khoder helps leaders, teams, and organisations make sense of complex people challenges and turn insight into practical, durable change. An Organisational Psychologist and Board Approved Supervisor, he brings the evidence base of psychology to the design of organisational systems.

With more than a decade across global consulting and senior people leadership — including PwC, KPMG Australia, and a Chief People Officer role — Khoder has worked at both the strategy and delivery ends of transformation. That vantage gives him a clear read on the conditions that shape leadership behaviour, culture, and capability.

He designs the leadership systems, ways of working, and honest conversations that build coherence in complexity — grounded in evidence and shaped to work in the real world.

Khoder leads our diagnostics and psychometric assessment practice, selecting sound, evidence-based tools and debriefing them with the care that turns data into better conversations and clearer decisions.

Portrait of Alex McKenzie
Partner

Alex McKenzie

Partner

Alex helps leaders make sense of complex challenges and design the conditions for meaningful change. Drawing on experience across executive leadership, behavioural economics, government and consulting, he combines systems thinking, behavioural insight and practical leadership expertise to help organisations navigate transformation, strengthen culture and improve performance.

His career spans senior roles in Treasury, the Behavioural Economics Team of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, KPMG and higher education, including serving as Chief Executive Officer of Burgmann College at the Australian National University. He has led large-scale organisational change, advised Ministers and senior executives, designed leadership and culture programs, and delivered behavioural research informing policy and organisational decision-making.

At IlluminX, Alex works with leaders to diagnose complex organisational challenges, build leadership capability, understand employee and stakeholder behaviour, and design evidence-based interventions that create lasting impact.

Portrait of Diana Rosa
Business consultant

Diana Rosa

Business Consultant

Diana Rosa brings extensive experience across business management, administration, client experience, and event management, with a passion for creating exceptional experiences that build trust, connection, and lasting impact.

At IlluminX, Diana plays a pivotal role in ensuring the seamless delivery of client engagements, supporting everything from stakeholder relations and project coordination to workshops, events, and client satisfaction. She is often the thread that connects people, processes, and delivery, ensuring clients feel supported, informed, and valued throughout their journey.

Known for her highly organised and proactive approach, Diana combines operational excellence with a genuine commitment to understanding client needs. She brings a client experience mindset to every interaction, helping design and enable experiences that are thoughtful, engaging, and aligned to client outcomes. Her strength lies in anticipating expectations, coordinating requirements, and creating memorable experiences.

Drawing on her expertise in administration, business operations, stakeholder engagement, and event management, Diana supports the successful execution of all IlluminX's initiatives. Her attention to detail, collaborative style, and people-first approach help her ensure every engagement reflects the human-centred philosophy that defines IlluminX.

Methods

Human-centred design

We begin with the people inside the system — what they experience, decide and avoid — and design back from there.

Systems thinking

We treat structures, incentives and information flows as one interdependent whole, and look for the leverage points rather than the loudest symptom.

Behavioural insights

We use evidence about how people actually choose under friction to design adjustments that hold when attention moves on.

What makes the work different

We work and teach at the same time

Capability transfer is built into delivery, not offered as a follow-on. You keep the method.

Systems depth, not surface facilitation

We design the structures behind the workshop, so the energy in the room converts into changed conditions.

Evidence before intervention

We name the behavioural mechanism before proposing a fix, and measure whether the fix moved it.

Senior practitioners in the room

The people who design the work deliver the work.

Impact patterns

Coherence returns

Leaders describe the strategy the same way, and decisions stop being re-argued.

Friction becomes visible

The organisation can point to the specific conditions producing a recurring problem.

Capability compounds

Teams run the next process themselves, with better questions than the last time.

Change becomes fun

Better designed initiatives that delight people, replace the constant churn that made them tired.

Work with the people who design the work

Thirty minutes, no cost, no pitch. Bring the problem that is not returning value and we will give you an initial read on the system producing it.

carly@illuminx.com.au+61 421 573 437We read every enquiry personally and reply within two business days.