Finalists

Known as The Tyre Lady in her hometown of Mandurah, Robyn Cook is a rarity in the automotive industry. As owner-operator of Peel Tyre Service and Mechanical, established in 1997, she is one of a handful of women running an independent retail tyre outlet in Australia. With seven full-time staff, the former medical secretary cites Sir Richard Branson as the main inspiration in her quest to become the first woman in the country to own a major tyre franchise. Peel Tyre Service almost failed in its first month of operation following a drunk driver crashing in the store’s workshop and a store robbery, when thieves stole a substantial amount of Robyn’s stock. Robyn’s favourite initiative is Ladies’ Happy Hour, a service maintaining local women’s cars that helps fight cancer by raising funds for Western Australia’s Cancer Council. In 2009 Robyn was recognised for her achievements when she won the Peel Region Business Women’s Award.

It was 1999 when Jan Ford and her two teenage children joined her husband as he took up a new job in the remote town of Port Hedland. Unable to land a job in real estate, Jan decided to open her own agency. A decade later, Jan Ford Real Estate Port Hedland has grown from a one-woman operation to employing 13 people, and Jan is a property developer and provider of housing stock to the burgeoning mining industry. Jan says investors were initially reluctant to put money into Port Hedland, so she targeted first home buyers. Frustrated by a lack of infrastructure to support development, in 2001 Jan became part of a community action group to drive change. She was subsequently elected to the town’s local council. Jan says real estate and mining were so male dominated that she was determined to be a role model for women and run a family-friendly business. Today, she sits on the Port Hedland Port Authority Board.

After six years with BHP Billiton in various senior health, safety and environmental roles, Anita Slight turned her passion for occupational health and safety into a business. She established Ultimate Safety Solutions Australia (USSA) in 2007 to provide simple practical OH&S systems and processes. USSA has been recognised as one of Australia’s top 100 fastest start-up companies. The company has recently developed a new product it dubs “the Facebook of safety.” A web-based database, it allows USSA’s clients to review industry safety trends to reduce risks within their own organisations. Anita aspires to 100 per cent workplace safety for her clients through education and making OH&S simpler. Anita points to lateral thinker Edward De Bono as her inspiration. Immediately after reading his book “Simplicity,” she decided to start her business.

Hailing from an impoverished background in Malaysia, Tracy Teo came to Australia as a migrant. She studied hard, earned an MBA and MTD, worked in childcare and education and in 2003 opened the doors to her own business, the Australia-International Institute of Workplace Training (AIWT). AIWT is a registered training organisation offering nationally-recognised courses in business management, occupational health and safety and education and childcare. With 13 full-time employees, the company teaches hundreds of national and international students each year. As the founder and Director of AIWT, Tracy has been responsible for the development of a customised e-learning system to help students in remote areas. Other innovations she has driven include online enrolments and SMS communication with students. Tracy has also set up the Family Day Care Scheme, designed to provide training and support to people interested in starting up and running day care businesses.

As Managing Director of two of Rio Tinto’s subsidiary companies, Dampier Salt (DSL) and HIsmelt, Denise Goldsworthy is responsible for more than 500 employees and a large global customer base. Since Denise’s appointment to DSL, the world’s leading exporter of solar salt, record earnings of US$129 million were posted in 2009. In her role as MD of HIsmelt, she is responsible for the marketing of HIsmelt iron-making technology. Denise attributes her success to her style of leading and motivating her management team. In 2009 she challenged them with a motivational campaign designed to get them thinking about ways to increase salt capacity by 12 per cent with zero outlay. The resulting ideas led to an outcome far beyond expectations, delivering an eventual 20 per cent increase in capacity. Denise’s innovative Sustainable Health and Safety program has also ensured significant improvement in all injury rates.

A background in chemical engineering exposed Elena Mavrofridis to a variety of roles within the oil and gas industry. In her present role as Carbon Manager with Woodside Energy, Australia’s leading producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), Elena manages issues for Woodside that arise from the Government’s proposed actions to address climate change. As the author of Woodside’s climate change policy, she is responsible for how the company manages the carbon footprint of its multi-billion dollar projects. Elena cites one of her greatest achievements as influencing the government to reverse plans for an emissions trading scheme (ETS) that would impact LNG producers. Her contribution placed Woodside at the forefront of the policy debate and helped save the industry $610 million. To achieve this result Elena chose to approach Woodside’s climate change risks from a business perspective rather than from a purely environmental one. Elena believes this approach could be applied to any business facing risks due to climate change.

With a background in market research, Veronica Mayne was appointed Head of Qualitative Research Australia at Synovate in 2005. Synovate is a global market research company employing more than 500 people. In her role Veronica is responsible for growing business by providing the company’s clients with high-end qualitative market research and strategic advice. This is achieved via focus groups, industry consultation and application of ethnographic studies across a range of industries including retail, the public sector and the motor industry. Veronica says one of her greatest achievements has been the implementation of a thorough training program to develop dedicated teams of qualitative practitioners. She also cites her role in the development of community panels – a way of staying in touch with consumers in a collaborative manner. Community panels are now one of the fastest growing research methodologies worldwide. Locally, Veronica’s ultimate goal is to translate Synovate’s success in Perth into a strong presence in the eastern states.

Six years ago Helen McKenzie joined the recruitment services provider, Integrated Group Ltd, as an assistant accountant. Today, as the company’s General Manager Finance, she is responsible for the finances of a business generating revenue in excess of $360 million. Her duties include managing the payroll of 23,000 employees and collecting $400 million in customer payments. Helen is presently in the process of taking on one of her most ambitious projects, making that huge payroll paperless. The first step has been the introduction of dual computer screens across the office. Next, comes the restructuring of all processes and procedures followed by managing the change with employees. Eventually Helen plans on widening the ‘no paper’ rule to include electronic invoice storage. Currently studying for a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance, Helen is working towards her long-term goal of one day becoming the Chief Financial Officer of a large organisation.

Felicity Reynolds is only the second woman in 105 years to hold the position of Senior Manager Roadside Delivery at the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Western Australia. Responsible for providing emergency roadside breakdown service to the RAC’s 700,000 members statewide, Felicity managed a call centre and now manages a large fleet of mechanics, who are on patrol 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Felicity supervises 107 full-time employees and controls a $12.5 million budget. One of the biggest career challenges Felicity faced was transitioning the call centre from a script-based service to a more efficient model that was less reliant on pre-written scenarios. The result was that a costly and inflexible system delivering poor customer service was transformed into a streamlined revenue raising operation. With hybrid cars on the road and modern vehicles more reliable, Felicity’s team faces many new challenges. Felicity is passionate about mentoring other women to help them on the road to success.

Joining quick-service chicken franchise chain CHOOKS fresh & tasty as a marketing consultant in 2001, Linda Steele is now its General Manager. Linda has been a driving force behind the group’s growth to 40 outlets in Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania that account for revenue of around $30 million. As its Advertising and Marketing Manager, Linda initiated one of the chain’s biggest initiatives in 2003 - a name change from River Rooster to CHOOKS. In the first week of the rebrand, sales increased by 18 percent. Linda says a factor behind her success is her belief in research applied to both customers and franchisees. Apart from installing an intranet system to streamline franchise communications, Linda has also played a part in renaming head office as the CHOOKS Encouragement Centre, and giving the Managing Director the new title of “Chief Chook”. Linda is passionate about promoting franchising opportunities and professional development for women.

Workpower is a not-for-profit organisation that creates employment and community inclusion for people with disabilities and mental illnesses. Lee Broomhall wears two hats in the agency. As the Executive Manager of the People, Performance and Strategy division, Lee manages Workpower’s corporate headquarters and is responsible for the organisation’s overall performance. As the Executive Manager of Qualipac Plus, Workpower’s commercial business, she oversees the employment of 250 people with disabilities into the packaging and manufacturing industry. Lee’s two areas of responsibility generate half of the agency’s $10 million annual turnover. Her proudest achievement was inspiring Workpower’s Employee Celebration in early 2010. This was a gala event where the 300 VIPs attending were people with disabilities which took 12 months to plan and involved 500 invitees overall. Lee is proud of Workpower’s victory in the 2009 inaugural WA Business News Awards where it was named Best Employer.

Arts manager, music promoter and theatrical producer, Carolyn Chard was appointed West Australian Opera’s General Manager in 2000. After a three-year hiatus with Opera Australia, she resumed her position in 2008. West Australian Opera is a not-for-profit arts organisation funded by federal and state governments and as such is highly scrutinised. As the first point of contact between West Australian Opera and funding bodies, Carolyn’s role is crucial to its survival. In this high-profile arts sector role, Carolyn is responsible for finances and all staff as well as overseeing the production of all performances. When faced with obstacles, Carolyn believes in the old showbiz adage ‘the show must go on’. She recently put this to the test when the set for a new opera proved too large to store backstage. So Carolyn installed a shipping container on the street. Carolyn is also listed in the ‘Who’s Who in Australia’ and ‘Who’s Who Australian Women’.

Marion Fulker is the inaugural CEO of the Committee for Perth, the 53-member organisation of business, educational and civic organisations dedicated to creating a vibrant and innovative future for the WA capital city. Marion influences and informs government, corporate and community representatives to reform, reshape and revitalise the city. The Committee for Perth believes that to make the city more attractive to corporations, innovators and entrepreneurs it has to provide them with a detailed vision. With this in mind, Marion has been instrumental in the development of FACTBase, a unique research project developed in collaboration with the University of Western Australia. Condensing an abundance of databases and studies related to life in Perth, FACTBase aims to consolidate information in one place creating a powerful evidence based platform from which to develop solutions for the future growth of the city. Marion’s ambition is to significantly influence the future of the city she calls home.

It was a landmark for women in 2002 when Jo Harrison became the first female Executive Director of WA’s Emergency Management Services. Three years later, Jo became the first woman Executive Director of the WA Police. Today, she is the first female CEO of FESA, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority, with responsibility for 1,400 staff and 30,000 volunteers. Since assuming the top job in 2006, Jo has succeeded in gaining a 16.5 per cent increase in government funding. She lists her proudest achievement as transforming a predominately male culture to a more balanced, family-friendly one. In the past four years Jo has instigated innovative programs to encourage volunteer recruitment (including a Volunteer Recruitment Action Handbook) and launched the first accredited program to recognise employers of FESA volunteers. Looking to the future, Jo has launched a blueprint for the organisation’s future direction that ensures a long-term and sustainable business plan.

Terri Reilly became CEO of Relationships Australia WA (RAWA) in 2004 and has helped turn it around from an almost entirely Perth-based organisation with narrow scope and an uncertain future into a statewide agency operating in 30 locations. Much of RAWA’s work now focuses on children at risk and often vulnerable people from diverse cultures, such as refugee groups and Aboriginal communities. It is a transformation that has also seen RAWA grow from rented premises, 110 staff and annual revenue of $4 million to 285 employees and earnings of more than $13 million per annum. In 2005, concerned by the almost total absence of Aboriginal people accessing RAWA services, Terri instigated the establishment of Moorditj Yarning, an innovative concept that taps into Aboriginal culture to dispel distrust by making “the client the expert.” In 2010 RAWA has more than 1,200 Aboriginal clients – something that seemed unimaginable six years ago.

Avon Youth Services is a community welfare organisation providing intensive individualised support services to young people aged 12 to 25, as well as specialist services for Indigenous people. With a highly successful background in business and community work, Jacqueline Stutt was appointed Avon Youth Services new CEO in mid 2009. In that short time she has increased annual funding from $300,000 to $2.5 million and staff numbers have grown from four to a team of 22. Integral to Jacqueline’s success is the way she manages her staff. Upon taking over as CEO, she worked to improve staff morale and work ethics. Subsequently, when recruiting new staff she had to ensure they were committed to changing the lives of Avon Youth Services clients. Jacqueline recently launched the agency’s new Youth Community Engagement Project, an initiative designed to reduce the disparity in health of indigenous Australians.

Equestricare, a mobile health service for horses, is the brainchild of Jessica Blackwell. Established in 2007, the business now has more than 400 clients whose horses receive a range of services including sports massage and laser therapy. In 2009, Jessica won the Wanneroo Business Association’s ‘Most Innovative Business of the Year’ and ‘Home-based Business of the Year’ awards. Her long-term plans include franchising the mobile service and developing the business into Australia’s first equine education and rehabilitation centre. Jessica is developing a new product, the ‘Equine Sports Therapy Health Care Package’, an annual treatment package that includes eight treatments, a nutritional assessment, saddle fit, monthly newsletters and emergency call-outs. When researching the package, Jessica surveyed 300 local horse owners and consulted her most valued clients. Another innovative plan that Jessica is hatching is developing a horse health care system.

Moving to Port Hedland in 1999, Jan Ford’s dream was to open her own real estate agency. Using her “vision board” of images as a visual reminder of her goals, Jan has generated her dream home and a thriving Real Estate business. In 10 years Jan Ford Real Estate Port Hedland has grown from a one-woman operation to a property development business employing 13 and turning over $200 million. She has also used the vision board to further develop the Port Hedland community. Frustrated by a lack of infrastructure to support development, Jan started a community action group in 2001 and was subsequently elected to the town’s local council. Using her ‘vision board’ approach, Jan created a ‘vision’ of how Port Hedland could look. Inspired by Dubai’s successful infrastructure, she then travelled to the global business hub to learn firsthand, with the aim of creating a mini Dubai in Port Headland. This has resulted in home owners – many of whom Jan sold houses to at $80,000 - experiencing massive increases in their house value.

Terri Reilly’s concern that Indigenous Australians were not accessing the services of Relationships Australia WA (RAWA) prompted a major re-think by the CEO into the way her organisation communicated with the community. Terri undertook extensive research and came up with a solution from the client perspective. The Moorditj Yarning (“good yarning”) service was launched in 2005 and puts the people it serves in the driving seat, presenting the client as “the expert”. In five years the program has made enormous strides in breaking down distrust and today Relationships Australia assists more than 1,200 clients from Aboriginal communities. It was part of an organisational culture change for RAWA that has prompted a re-assessment of the way it engages. It’s one of the changes Terri has made at RAWA since becoming CEO in 2004, moving it from a Perth-based organisation to a statewide agency operating in 30 locations.

Jessica Blackwell was 25 when she established her mobile health service for horses, Equestricare in 2007. One year later Jessica won the Wanneroo Business Association’s Junior Business Person of the Year Award. She followed that up in 2009 with trophies for the Most Innovative Business of the Year and Home-based Business of the Year. Equestricare has more than 400 clients whose horses receive a range of services including sports massage and laser therapy. Her long-term plans include franchising the mobile service and developing the business into Australia’s first equine education and rehabilitation centre. Jessica is currently developing a new product, the ‘Equine Sports Therapy Health Care Package’, an annual treatment package that includes eight treatments, a nutritional assessment, saddle fit, monthly newsletters and emergency call-outs. Another innovative plan Jessica has on the horizon is the potential for the development of a horse health care system.

At 35, Lee Broomhall carries hefty responsibility at Workpower Incorporated, the non-profit organisation that creates employment for people with disability and mental illnesses. Workpower employs 150 staff and 300 people with disability and mental illness. It is a State organisation with a metropolitan and regional presence. As Executive Manager of the People, Performance and Strategy division, Lee manages Workpower’s corporate headquarters and is responsible for the organisation’s overall performance. As Executive Manager of Qualipac Plus, Workpower’s commercial business, she oversees the employment of 250 people with disabilities into the packaging and manufacturing industry. Lee generates half of the agency’s $10 million turnover. Her proudest achievement was inspiring Workpower’s Employee Celebration in early 2010. A gala event where the 300 VIPs attending were people with disabilities, which took 12 months to plan and involved 500 invitees overall. Lee is also very proud of Workpower’s victory in the 2009 inaugural WA Business News Awards where it was named The Best Employer.

With a background in law and just 31 years old, Nicole Lockwood sits on the Horizon Power Board, the Western Australian Planning Commission, the Pilbara Development Commission and is the Shire President of Roebourne Shire Council. Nicole’s Shire President responsibilities include all media relations, chairing Council meetings, and daily interaction with the CEO’s office. Working closely with the CEO, also a woman, has allowed Nicole to bring about strategic change. The Council employs over 180 people and has a budget of $138 million in 2010/2011. Through her involvement with the other boards, Nicole is broadening her governance skills and improving her ability to chair council meetings. Roebourne Shire is going through massive growth and expects to grow into a city over the next five years. Because the President’s role is an elected position, Nicole considers she has a small window of opportunity to secure and provide funding to transform the shire into a bustling city.

As a chemical engineer, Elena Mavrofridis has been employed in a variety of roles within the oil and gas industry. Elena’s current role is Carbon Manager with Woodside Energy, Australia’s leading producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG). She is responsible for Woodside’s climate change policy, and directly influences decisions affecting the company’s multi-billion dollar projects. Elena cites one of her greatest achievements as successfully influencing the government’s plans for an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that would penalise LNG producers. Her contribution placed Woodside at the forefront of the policy debate and helped save the industry $610 million. To achieve this, Elena approached Woodside’s climate change risks from a business perspective rather than from a purely environmental one. Elena believes this is a business approach could be applied to any business facing climate change.