Episode Summary
What does it take to turn outrage and opposition into legitimacy and consent?
In this episode, we explore that question with one of the world’s leading authorities on social licence and legitimacy. My guest, Katherine Teh, is the founder of a pioneering social purpose company that’s rewriting the rules of mining—transforming the industry’s most polarised conflicts into powerful opportunities for inclusive, ethical development.
You’ll hear how this consent-based model is unlocking stranded assets, accelerating approvals, and delivering long-term value for people, planet, and business.
We explore:
The power of empathy in business—even in high-stakes, high-conflict sectors.
Why legitimacy isn’t a compliance issue, but a foundation for resilience and profit.
The real meaning of social licence—and why it’s vital to the net zero transition.
How the “DAD” model (Decide, Announce, Defend) is being replaced with “DAVE” (Declare dilemmas, Acknowledge issues, unify Vision, Evaluate).
Why partnering with Indigenous communities is essential to ethical growth.
This is a conversation about reimagining what development can look like when business begins with humanity, listens deeply, and leads with purpose.
Guest Bio
Katherine Teh is a strategist, reformer, and changemaker whose work has helped reshape some of the world’s most complex and contested industries—from mining and renewables to public policy, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals.
Katherine Teh is one of the world’s foremost authorities on social licence and legitimacy. For over three decades, she has worked at the intersection of sustainability, governance, and public trust—bringing sharp clarity where others see only risk. Her ability to align fractured interests and rebuild trust has made her a trusted adviser on more than $200 billion in major projects around the globe.
But Katherine’s story begins far from the boardroom.
Driven by an early ambition to become a war correspondent, she rose quickly through the ranks of journalism—becoming the youngest female A-graded journalist in Australian history. At 29, she led one of the country’s most influential gender justice campaigns, mobilising over one million women to reframe gendered violence as a workplace safety issue—more than two decades before the #MeToo movement swept the world.
Since then, she has led national and international public dialogue processes on polarising issues, designed innovative products and business models to solve systemic problems, and helped industries navigate outrage, restore legitimacy, and deliver long-term value. In 2002, she founded the world’s first social licence agency—developing a methodology that combines strategic foresight, stakeholder alignment, and social impact design to turn opposition into durable, earned support.
Today, as Executive Chair of Spektrum, Katherine leads a new kind of critical minerals company—one that does development differently. By partnering with Indigenous communities and applying consent-based models, she and her team are unlocking stranded assets, accelerating approvals, and creating nature-positive regional futures.
Katherine is on a mission to transform not just who development is done with—but how it’s done, and what it leaves behind. She builds systems that restore legitimacy, resolve conflict, and demonstrate that ethical, inclusive development isn’t a trade-off—it’s the foundation for resilience and long-term success.
She’s an entrepreneur. An activist. A visionary. And a woman who’s never waited for permission to lead.
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