Lead From Within: Tania Gandamihardja on AI, Authenticity, and Wellbeing

At age 11, Tania Gandamihardja got caught in a storm while windsurfing on one of the deepest lakes in the world. Alone in the rain, she waited. That moment, though frightening, taught her something she’d carry through life: how to stay calm in the unknown.

Today, as Chief Human Resources Officer at BAE Systems – a global defence and aerospace company with over 100,000 employees, Tania brings that same steadiness to her leadership.

In this episode of Lead From Within, Unmind CEO Dr. Nick Taylor talks with Tania about shaping the future of work – from tackling the STEM skills gap and deploying AI in high-security environments, to building resilient cultures that genuinely support mental wellbeing.

“BAE is a skills enterprise,” Tania says. Its success depends on people – engineers, technicians, analysts – building everything from fighter jets to satellites. But finding the next generation of talent is getting harder. 

Fewer young people are picking STEM subjects, and many just don’t see careers in science or engineering as something for them. Even though 75% of Gen Z students say they’re interested in STEM, only 29% would actually choose a STEM job as their top career path (Gallup & Walton Family Foundation, 2023). And only 1 in 5 U.S. high school graduates are prepared for college-level STEM courses (National Science Board, 2022).

To help change that, BAE runs hands-on roadshows at more than 500 schools a year. They bring students into their academies to show what a STEM career actually looks like. One of those students, Tania shares, is now an engineering director at BAE.

Tania puts it plainly: “You can’t separate mental health from performance.”

At BAE, mental health support includes access to Unmind for employees and their families, training hundreds of mental health first aiders, and improving leave policies for carers and parents. It’s not about ticking boxes – it’s about reducing stressors that accumulate quietly: the kind that come from not having time to care for a loved one, or feeling alone during major life transitions.

“It’s about the full employee journey,” Tania says. “Are we creating the right conditions for people to thrive, from early careers to retirement?”

While AI reshapes how organisations operate, Tania remains focused on the human impact.

BAE is experimenting with AI to automate tasks like document review – but cautiously. The nature of the work demands it.

“We operate in a highly secure space. Anything we do with AI has to be ethical, responsible, and grounded in trust.”

Early in her career, Tania worked under a leader who was clear, kind, and unpretentious. That influence stayed with her.

“I realised I didn’t need to put on a front,” she says. “I could lead with who I am.”

These days, she still makes time to hear from people directly, from apprentices to team leads – even when her schedule’s packed.

“The only way to lead well is to stay close to people. That’s how you know what matters.”

Tania wants workplace wellbeing to be embedded, not bolted on. Not just another app or poster campaign.

“If we’re doing this right, long-term absence due to mental ill health should go down. That’s the outcome.”

She’s also pushing for HR to think more holistically. “Wellbeing, flexibility, talent, it’s all linked. When people feel supported in the day-to-day, that’s when performance takes off.”

In the full conversation, Tania also shares:

• How she pivoted from chemistry into HR
• Why apprenticeships matter for broadening access
• The importance of keeping work human, even in an AI-driven world
• What makes her optimistic about the next generation