Finalists

“I want to see the day where there is no shortage of GPs and comprehensive medical services in regional and rural areas.” – Kylie El-Sheikh.

When Kylie El-Sheikh decided eight years ago to help fix Australia’s critical rural doctor shortage, plenty of critics doubted she could lure general practitioners to country towns. Now, as CEO of Tristar Medical Group (TMG), Kylie runs 27 medical centres in Victorian and NSW towns, some of which had not had a GP for two years. Married to a GP, but with no medical qualifications herself, Kylie matches doctors to communities by supplying career opportunities and the necessary infrastructure and support to run a successful practice. Based in Mildura, TMG has created 230 health-related rural jobs, 80 of them for doctors. Beyond GP consultations, the medical centres give residents access to practice nursing, registered midwives, mental health care and pathology, plus the benefits of extended opening hours and in-home reviews. So highly regarded is the system run by Kylie, there is now a waiting list for doctors to join a TMG centre.

“I’ve come to realise there are too few women in the building industry and that I'm in a position to have a positive influence as a role model for the next generation.” – Debbie Ryan.

Debbie Ryan had been running McBride Charles Ryan (MCR) Architecture with her business partner for 23 years when she took a risk in 2001 and created her own multi-residential project to really showcase what her company could do. The gamble paid off, with the project in Wynnstay Road, Prahran, gaining widespread recognition. MCR employs 21 staff and is one of Australia’s leading architectural practices, delivering residential, commercial and institutional projects. Renowned for her use of colour, Debbie co-leads all projects and has helped MCR to 11 Australian Institute of Architect awards over the past decade. In 2009, she presented the abstract geometry of MCR’s Klein Bottle House to the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona, where it was named the World’s Best House. Debbie has been recognised personally for her contribution to the construction industry. A guest university lecturer, design critic and student mentor, she is passionate about encouraging women to contribute to our built environment.

“We receive thousands of letters from customers who have been touched by the teas and we respond to every one personally.” – Corinne Noyes.

Corinne Noyes recruited tea drinkers from the local shopping centre for focus groups in her lounge room to help create boutique tea brand Madame Flavour. After winning her first customer, Woolworths, Corinne found herself flying to Sri Lanka with 14kg of lemon myrtle and mountain pepper searching for the perfect complementary flavours to add to her blend. Three years on, Madame Flavour loose-leaf blends can be found in 1500 supermarkets, hotels and cafes throughout Australia, on Virgin Australia flights, and in supermarkets in Hong Kong and New Caledonia. Having previously marketed fast-moving consumer goods for leading brands, Corinne’s exotic tea twists have struck a chord with women, using sampling and other tactics to spread the word. She runs a core team of five in a Highett office, while outsourcing expertise, such as manufacturing and logistics. Since launching, Madame Flavour has endeared herself to tea lovers and now receives her own fan mail. Sales have doubled year on year.

“I believe that being a nurse has given me an advantage as a manager in the health care field because I know what staff are talking about and what is reasonable to expect.” – Margie Hepner.

As former CEO of Stanhope Healthcare Services, Margie Hepner helped provide more than one million hours of in-home care to more than 8,000 elderly and disabled Australians. Starting her career as a nurse and midwife and working her way into management roles, Margie later undertook a degree in Commerce and a Masters in Business Administration. She then combined her insights and expertise to lead Stanhope’s 1200 nurses, personal care attendants, home care workers and administration staff across six states. Over the past five years, Margie transformed the organisation from a cottage business that was losing money into a highly regarded, leading home health care provider. Her business acumen has helped her develop rigorous business plans and accountabilities to improve efficiencies and reduce costs, and lead the organisation to ISO certification, which has helped secure ongoing contracts with government agencies. Not only has Margie’s leadership reversed the financial losses, but Stanhope’s EBITA has increased nearly seven fold.

“It’s important for my staff to have a stake in what the future holds so they have ownership in what they are striving to achieve.” – Shirley Robertson.

One of Shirley Robertson’s mandates when she became General Manager Human Resources & Operations for ConnectEast, developer, owner and operator of EastLink motorway, was to “bring back the human touch” within the business. Having previously led large change programs for Coles Myer and Origin Energy, Shirley spearheaded a range of initiatives across ConnectEast to improve productivity, staff engagement and customer service. Most notable was the establishment of five customer service shopfronts for EastLink, a first for the toll sector in Australia, which contributed to the 39-kilometre motorway’s smooth opening five months ahead of schedule. Shirley is also a champion for workplace diversity and talent development. Her focus on fairness and flexibility led ConnectEast to several employment awards, which have helped the organisation attract and retain quality people. Building on her success at ConnectEast, Shirley recently relocated to Queensland to take on a new challenge as Chief Operating Officer for Queensland Motorways.

“One of my biggest motivators is my team, which is my work family – and I treat them like my own family.” – Sharon Tan.

When Sharon Tan joined ANZ in 2009, she was given the mammoth task of creating a global operating model for the bank’s human resources services across 32 countries. At the time, services were delivered out of Australia and New Zealand, which did not support the organisation’s new “super regional” strategy. As Head of Global Recruitment & Resourcing Services, Sharon has drawn on her previous international experience in finance, technology and resources sectors to introduce a global technology platform and consistent processes that can still be adapted locally. In the first year, Sharon helped drive significant savings in recruitment costs and hiring time, and delivered fewer redundancies through redeployment. The global model has also helped increase employee engagement across the organisation to international best-practice levels. Statistics aside, Sharon believes the most rewarding aspect of the ongoing transformation has been building an international team of 150 human resources professionals, who fondly refer to her leadership values as the “Tan Commandments.”

“I had itchy feet in the in-house legal role and was considering new challenges - the CEO strongly encouraged me to give my current role a go.” – Carolyn Viney.

Lawyer Carolyn Viney was in-house counsel for construction giant the Grocon Group when she decided to switch lanes in 2007 and take on the challenge of heading up the company’s property development division. Renowned for distinctive office towers and public spaces, Grocon is responsible for some of Australia’s most-recognised buildings, including Melbourne’s Crown Casino and Sydney’s Governor Phillip Tower. Carolyn is the architect of the company’s new business activities, selecting the markets in which Grocon participates, pursuing specific projects and overseeing construction project teams. One year into her new role, Carolyn was instrumental in helping Grocon return to the prized Sydney construction market, with the development of an $800 million, 43-floor office building in the CBD. Carolyn led the tender and land purchase, and lured major tenants ANZ and Freehills. She continues to lead project stakeholder engagement as the tower nears completion, while taking on the role as Chair of the Australian Institute of Management in Victoria and Tasmania.

“A client who hadn't worked for 10 years and said she felt worthless got a job and tearfully told me of the positive impact of feeling that she is contributing.” – Jane Hunt.

Fitted for Work CEO Jane Hunt helps thousands of disadvantaged women get work and keep it. Largely supported by volunteers, the organisation fits women in high-quality, second-hand clothing and accessories and skills them for job interviews. Since joining the organisation from Mission Australia three years ago, Jane has grown Fitted for Work from a small volunteer service in Melbourne into a sustainable program with 16 employees and 180 volunteers working across five sites in Victoria and NSW. Most significantly, she has quadrupled funding, allowing her to introduce more in-depth work readiness and mentor programs for women with multiple employment barriers, including those leaving prison. Fitted for Work now helps twice the number of women, with 75 per cent securing and holding down work within three months of accessing the service. Jane also established Dear Gladys, a successful vintage and recycled clothing boutique in Northcote that generates more than a third of the charity’s income and provides valuable work experience for clients.

“Health workers enter a very privileged place in peoples' lives and have the absolute responsibility to deliver high-quality care, often during times of adversity.” – Shelly Park.

When former nurse Shelly Park was appointed Chief Executive of Victoria’s largest public health service, Southern Health, in 2006, she realised she needed to grow funding, better manage demand and provide more healthcare for less. She has spent the past five years setting a clear direction and accountabilities to build morale among the service’s 13,400 employees, improve care outcomes and enhance the service’s reputation. Under Shelly’s leadership, care funding has increased by 44 per cent, allowing one third more patients to be treated and 54 per cent more emergency patients to be seen. In addition, the average hospital stay has shortened by 14 per cent. Shelly has overseen improvements in mental health care, increasing post-discharge contacts and reducing re-admission rates. The lift in service delivery and outcomes helped reshaped the service’s reputation - Southern Health now earns three times the positive media coverage it received three years ago.

“Without a strong research base within the hospital sector, we would not have the advances in health care.” – Ingrid Winship.

Professor Ingrid Winship believes hospitals are not just places to care for the sick. Executive Director Research at Melbourne Health since 2006, she has dedicated herself to raising the profile of hospital-based research, shifting the traditional perception that medical research is only carried out by universities and specialist institutes. Ingrid has worked on some of the most ground-breaking medical projects in the country in planning the Melbourne Brain Centre, the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre and the Peter Doherty Institute. She is also the inaugural Professor of Adult Clinical Genetics at the University of Melbourne. The first clinical geneticist employed in a Victorian general hospital, Ingrid has been responsible for mainstreaming genetics practices into regular hospital services to ensure research is translated into medical outcomes. Her work has secured funding for new clinics, including the Cardiac Genetics Clinic, which provides a preventive approach to life-threatening inherited cardiac conditions.

“We must lose the ‘white dove' and 'angel' images of nurses and replace them with images of nurses whose technical skills are applied compassionately to the best effect.” – Wendy Wood.

Nursing veteran Wendy Wood helps the Peter MacCallum Cancer Care Centre treat more cancer patients a year than any other hospital in Australia. A world leader in cancer treatment, research and education, the public centre offers a broad spectrum of clinical, care and support services. As Deputy CEO and Executive Director Cancer Nursing, Wendy is responsible for around 500 staff. She has led critical risk management, effectiveness and workforce engagement projects over the past five years, culminating in the centre being named the 2010 Metropolitan Health Service of the Year by the Victorian Government. Wendy has been heavily involved in planning Peter Mac’s new home at Parkville, ensuring the design of the new facility and service delivery models are based on world’s best practice to meet the needs of cancer patients, their families and carers. Especially passionate about ensuring nurses can be involved in improving outcomes for cancer patients, she is currently developing industry-first specialist and advanced nursing roles at the centre. Wendy also shares her operational experience as a volunteer quality surveyor to help regional hospitals maintain standards.

“Innovative learning experiences mediated through social networks can extend quality education to those who would otherwise miss out.” – Caroline Aebersold.

The Song Room CEO Caroline Aebersold leads an arts education program that has improved school attendance, academic achievement and well-being for more than 250,000 disadvantaged children across Australia. The Melbourne-based organisation has now developed a virtual social network to give regional and remote students the chance to enrich their education anytime, anywhere. The Song Room Online provides a range of resources, including interactive workshops and online performances by professional musicians. Built on open-source social media software, it offers a range of learning resources in multiple formats, including video, blogs, notated scores and sound recordings, and facilitates exchanges between music teachers, students and artists. Given the majority of schools in Australia have no dedicated music teacher, the program bridges a significant education gap and helps to re-engage young people in learning. Caroline is now in discussions with Government for the national expansion of the program through the roll-out of the National Broadband Network.

“Our main difference is that we treat women as customers, not welfare recipients.” – Jane Hunt.

Jane Hunt saw a need for a more personal approach to help disadvantaged women secure and retain employment. As CEO for Fitted for Work, she provides a unique approach to address some of the self-esteem issues that she felt were overlooked by mainstream job services. Fitted for Work skills women for job interviews and dresses them professionally in high-quality, second-hand clothing in a boutique environment, boosting their confidence to approach employers. The service also provides transition-to-work programs, work experience and mentoring programs. Another key difference is that the service is offered through volunteers. According to Jane, this helps instil value in clients, who appreciate someone is helping because they want to, not because they are paid. To help support the service financially, Jane established a vintage retail boutique, Dear Gladys, in Northcote, and is now launching an online outlet. So far, Fitted for Work has dressed 6500 women.

“A modern engineer is someone who not only solves technical problems, but does so with a firm understanding of the social context, leading to more appropriate and sustainable solutions.” – Claire Dixon.

At 32, civil engineer Claire Dixon grapples with one of the biggest issues facing the global community: water. Manager of the Innovation Interchange with international engineering consultants GHD, Claire facilitates a global, business-to-business community to collaborate on and solve water challenges. She is an active member of Engineers Without Borders, using her water expertise to support developing communities. In 2006-07 she advised on water and sanitation for World Vision in Cambodia, and later returned to consult on issues in urban slums. Last year she co-facilitated a study tour through the Murray Darling Basin to explore Aboriginal perspectives on water. Recognising an opportunity for GHD to be more involved in reconciliation, Claire penned a memo to GHD senior management, which led to the appointment of an Indigenous business leader. After leading GHD to establish a partnership with Engineers Without Borders, she now leads a group that supports the involvement of 70 staff.

“My mission is to create a training ground for a new generation of leaders who will take their skills and values into government, business and community across the world.” – Amanda McKenzie.

Lawyer Amanda McKenzie has mobilised an army of young Australians to take up the fight on climate change. Concerned young people had insufficient avenues for engagement on global warming, Amanda banded together 22 youth organisations to co-found the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC) in 2007, which has since attracted 62,000 members. Having recently left the role of National Director to join the AYCC board, the 28-year-old has driven powerful education and action initiatives with the support of seven employees and hundreds of volunteers. In 2009, she launched PowerShift, Australia’s first national youth summit on climate change, with annual events now running in multiple locations. Amanda was also behind Youth Decide, a national vote by 40,000 young people urging action on climate change, and the Switched on Schools education program, which reaches 10,000 students a year. She has led youth delegations to the United Nations and regularly meets with local and international leaders to champion environmental action.

“I'm focused on iBidAM being at the forefront of ethical corporate practices, setting the bar for others to measure success by their impact on the world around them, and not their bank balance.” – Louise Schultze.

Within 31 days of Louise Schultze launching iBidAM, an online service that matches suppliers with the advertising needs of small-to-medium businesses, 8,000 suppliers had signed on. Three years later, there are now 10,000 suppliers from the marketing and advertising industry in the iBidAM database, bidding against each other to service Australia’s small business sector. Before starting iBidAM in 2008, Louise sold an advertising consultancy she had founded at age 23 and then volunteered with under-privileged children in Australia and overseas. At 31, she is now a social entrepreneur, donating her personal profits from iBidAM to the Salem Australia Foundation, which she established last year to support children and environmental charities. Working with a small team of employees, Louise runs iBidAM with a strong social conscience. Only Australian companies are permitted to bid for jobs and suppliers are asked to share their environmental credentials so clients can make more informed choices.

“It’s important everyone in the organisation understands why the company was created in the first place and sees every client as a VIP who deserves their full attention.” – Marnie Tewksbury.

Social worker Marnie Tewksbury moved back in with her parents at age 29 to help fund the organic growth of CareChoice, a care provider for Melbourne’s aged and disability sector. She and business partner Brigitte Rahhali started the business after seeing a lack of professional and personalisation in the care provided to vulnerable people. The pair worked from home on policies and procedures, and actually recruited staff before going to market and opening their Melbourne based office. Now 33, Marnie has helped grow CareChoice into a leading provider of attendant care services, with a reputation for responsive, professional and a tailored business approach. CareChoice employs around 300 carers, providing care either directly to people at home or through relief staffing for aged and disability care organisations. As one of the youngest people leading an aged and disability organisation, Marnie is proud of the reputation she and the CareChoice team have forged for personalised service in an increasingly competitive and corporatised sector.