Hi, I’m Kristy Hagley - sales leader, mentor, writer, caregiver, and the creator of The Second Act.

After more than two decades in senior sales and leadership roles across industries as diverse as wine and beauty - including my current role with one of the world’s most iconic companies, L’Oréal - I’ve learned a powerful truth: success isn’t just about what we achieve. It’s about how we grow, adapt, and redefine ourselves as life changes around us.

And change has been a constant companion in my story.

I turned 50 in 2025 and celebrated with the trip of a lifetime to Japan with my husband, only to return home to the realisation that my life looked very different to what I’d imagined it would be at 50. My two eldest daughters had left home, but my 28-year-old daughter - who lives with a rare genetic condition and a permanent physical and intellectual disability - still needed me as her full-time caregiver. The freedom I thought this stage of life would bring never arrived. Instead, I found myself juggling intense responsibility, shifting priorities, and an identity I no longer fully recognised.

A year prior, surgical menopause arrived with its own surprises - brain fog, mood changes, sleepless nights - and I began questioning whether I was still “fit for purpose” in the career I had always excelled at. I’d spent years leading high-performing teams and delivering results, but jokes about menopause and moments of self-doubt made me feel invisible in ways I never had before.

And yet, through all of that, I discovered something life-changing: this isn’t the end - it’s the beginning of an extraordinary new chapter.

That’s why I created The Second Act - a space for women over 40 to navigate the messy, beautiful, complicated, and deeply powerful chapter of life we’re in. This is where we talk honestly about change - from menopause to mindset, from leadership to life purpose. It’s where we explore new possibilities in our careers, embrace technology without fear, and reclaim visibility and confidence in a world that often overlooks us. It’s where we learn how to thrive not despite midlife, but because of it.

Whether you’re here to reignite your career, rediscover your purpose, or simply feel less alone in the middle of it all - welcome. This space is for you. Because the truth is, you’re not “past it.” You’re just getting started.

Here’s to navigating change, finding purpose, and creating possibility - together - in our second act.