A small firm built for long horizons.
The Overstory Group is a boutique advisory for boards and C-suite leaders navigating the AI era. We work with a small number of organisations each year, by design.
The name.
In a forest, the overstory is the upper canopy - the layer that sets the conditions beneath. Light, water, and growth are shaped by what happens above. Leadership is the same. The decisions made at the top determine what is able to thrive below.
Systems thinking. Long-term growth.
We take an ecological view of organisations. The visible problems are rarely the real ones. We look at the operating system - the way decisions are made, the way capital flows, the way talent compounds - and we work on the few changes that shift everything else.
Diagnose the operating system
Surface symptoms are easy to chase. We work on what produces them.
Move on the few decisions that compound
Most strategic work is noise. A small number of choices set the trajectory.
Stay long enough to be useful
Sustained relationships, not transactional engagements.
Orla is the founder of The Overstory Group. Previously head of AI at Telstra, she has spent two decades at the intersection of strategy, technology, and executive leadership. She advises boards and C-suite teams on AI fitness, governance, and the structural decisions that shape long-term outcomes.
- Former Head of AI, Telstra
- Recognised industry leader in AI strategy and governance
- Board and executive advisor across financial services, telecommunications, and the public sector