# Alicia Roach

> Alicia Roach is the co-founder and joint CEO of eQ8, a strategic workforce planning software business she built with Chris Hare after founding QHR Consulting in 2014. A chartered accountant with an MBA and a former Qantas workforce planning leader, she combines finance, strategy and HR to help organizations identify the people and skills needed to execute their plans.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & Joint CEO at eQ8
- **Organizations:** eQ8, QHR Consulting, Qantas, NBN Co, AHRI
- **Education:** MBA, AGSM @ UNSW Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded QHR Consulting and eQ8 with Chris Hare., Designed eQ8’s approach integrating strategy, finance and HR., Helped build a software business whose early customers included MetLife and the United Nations.

## Career timeline

- **—** — Began her career in corporate finance as a chartered accountant; subsequently moved into workforce planning and analytics.
- **—** — Served as head of strategic workforce planning at Qantas and worked at NBN Co, where she teamed up with Chris Hare.
- **2014** — Co-founded QHR Consulting with Chris Hare.
- **2018** — Initial eQ8 software development began.
- **2020** — Global software launch and rebrand as eQ8.
- **2021** — eQ8 established its Austin headquarters in July.
- **2022** — eQ8 secured US$4 million in Series A funding in November.
- **2023** — Joined Chris Hare on Digital HR Leaders to discuss democratizing workforce planning.
- **2025** — Presented with Chris Hare at the Aon Human Capital Insights Conference in Sydney.
- **2026** — Announced eQ8’s AI-guided workforce planning offering on LinkedIn.

## Achievements

- Co-founded QHR Consulting and eQ8 with Chris Hare.
- Designed eQ8’s approach integrating strategy, finance and HR.
- Helped build a software business whose early customers included MetLife and the United Nations.
- Co-led eQ8 through a US$4 million Series A funding round in 2022.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Announced an AI-guided SWP launch and linked to eQ8 Compass; the current product page describes guidance, modeling, analysis and human-approved recommendations.
- **—** — Presented workforce planning and future skills with Chris Hare at Aon’s Sydney conference; the public recap gives the year, not the month.
- **2024-11** — Appeared with Chris Hare in episode 58 of the Strategic Workforce Planning Podcast, published November 14.

## Links

- Website: https://eq8.ai/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciaroach/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/alicia-roach
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11