Speakers
Roger Gillespie OAM
Lesley Gillespie OAM
Elise Gillespie
Session
Two generations of one Australian family enterprise, in their own voices.
Purpose: To bring an Australian family enterprise on stage — two generations together — to discuss what continuity has actually required across founding, scaling, and succession.
Discussion: How Bakers Delight was built and held across generations, and what each generation learned about its role from those before and after.
Outcomes: An unusually candid case study of a multi-generational Australian family enterprise, bringing together three distinct perspectives on the same family—and setting a benchmark for what meaningful conversations on legacy can look like.
Roger is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Bakers Delight, founded 1980, the largest national chain of bakeries in Australia with over 700 bakeries operating throughout Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.
In May 1980, Roger, together with his wife Lesley and another partner started Bakery Delight in Hawthorn, Victoria. Roger and Lesley then went on to create Bakers Delight, which is still very much a family business. Whilst Roger and Lesley remain as co-Founders, their two children are in leadership positions.
Whilst remaining in touch with the business Roger is also involved in philanthropic activities as Director, Gillespie Family Foundation, which contributes to a range of initiatives in education, science research and medicine.
Lesley along with her husband Roger are Founders,Bakers Delight, a 700 plus bakery franchise network across four countries; Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. In Canada and United States, it is branded as COBS Bread. Bakers Delight started from one bakery in Hawthorn, Melbourne May 1980.
Community involvement has been important and over the years Lesley has been involved in many community activities ranging from serving on school boards to chairing advisory committees at Swinburne and Monash Universities where she has been awarded honorary doctorates. Bakers Delight is also a major sponsor of Breast Cancer Network Australia.
Other businesses in which Lesley is involved are 121SEED and Health Food Holdings.
Along the journey Lesley has been recognised in 2026 OAM Order of Australia Medal 2026 and Champion of Entrepreneurship at EY Entrepreneur Of The Year™.
Elise is a successful retail executive with extensive experience in operating across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US.
As the daughter of Bakers Delight Founders, Roger and Lesley Gillespie, Elise was ‘born to bake’.
Elise spent the first nine years of her career in North America working in a series of operational roles including Vice President, COBS Bread, a subsidiary of Bakers Delight, enabling rapid growth of the business.
In 2012, Elise returned home to Australia to form part of the Bakers Delight Executive Team and worked across multiple areas of the business to develop and implement a range of successful growth strategies.
Under the CEO leadership of Elise Gillespie and husband, David Christie, Bakers Delight can be found in more than 650 locations across Australia, New Zealand, Canada and US.
Carly Severino is a strategic philanthropic leader known for combining visionary thinking with practical execution to drive meaningful, sustainable social impact. With deep expertise in philanthropy, intergenerational wealth, social investment and community building, she has led transformative programs across Australia’s most respected organisations. As Director of Community and Philanthropy at Australian Communities Foundation, Carly oversees three national teams and plays a critical role on the Senior Executive, strengthening relationships with more than 700 Funds and Foundations, elevating best‑practice philanthropy, and modernising the Foundation’s approach to education, engagement and storytelling.
Carly previously served as Executive Officer of the Betty Amsden Foundation. Prior to this, she spent seven years with the Private Wealth Network, working closely with families of significant wealth to deepen impact and support next‑generation engagement. Carly is a respected facilitator, speaker and advisor within the philanthropic and family wealth ecosystems. She holds a Masters in Social Investment and Philanthropy from Swinburne University.