Award Winners

Telstra Western Australian Business Woman of the Year

Catherine Stoddart

Western Australia Department of Health, East Perth

“Western Australia will be the place that all nurses and midwives will want to be to achieve their career goals”. – Catherine Stoddart.

As Western Australia’s Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer (CNMO), Catherine Stoddart is passionate about ensuring everyone who wants to pursue a career in nursing is given an opportunity to do so. Responsible for professional leadership of the State’s 12,000 public nurses and providing professional support to some 35,000 in WA, Catherine sets policy direction and strategies to ensure the highest quality training, patient care and career opportunities. She is currently leading strategies to build stronger nursing career paths, attract more Aboriginal people to the profession, create nurse practitioners in rural areas and provide volunteers for under-serviced remote and international locations, as part of the National Health Workforce Agenda. Catherine recently developed a sustainable model for Assistant in Nursing traineeships, providing an alternative pathway for those who do not achieve tertiary level requirements, while also supporting the heavy workload of existing nurses. So far, 50 to 70 per cent of trainees in that program are going on to enrol in nursing, with the program expanding into Indigenous communities.

Commonwealth Bank Business Owner Award

Pauline Francis

LJ Hooker, Leeming

“You must reward effort and success if you wish for it to continue and advance.” – Pauline Francis.

When the global financial crisis gripped the Perth property market in 2008 and 2009, Pauline Francis’s LJ Hooker real estate business in Leeming was battered on all fronts. Managing both a property management and sales office, Pauline saw landlords make emergency sales, tenants default on rent and sales staff struggle to move properties, all of which impacted morale and threatened her business’s bottom line. Despite these challenges, Pauline ranked in the top one per cent of the National LJ Hooker network. She then became the first Western Australian woman to be admitted to the LJ Hooker’s Board of Admirals international network, a select group of high achievers chosen to support the growth of LJ Hooker in its national markets. Pauline says compassion and staff training in negotiation and mediation skills helped her and her team of 20 staff exceed expectations. Pauline is consistently highly ranked within the LJ Hooker network for her managerial skills and team success.

Pauline Francis, accepted by Emma Trezise

Hudson Private and Corporate Sector Award

Amber Stanton

Squire Sanders (AU), Perth

“More and more, my practice consists of off-shore clients investing in Australia. As a Perth corporate lawyer with energy and resources experience, I’m well-placed to take advantage of these opportunities.” – Amber Stanton

Amber Stanton’s interest in law extends back to when she was a child and reading competition terms and conditions on the back of cereal boxes. At 31, last year, she became one of the youngest females to be made a partner at law firm Squire Sanders (AU), where she has worked her entire career. One of 19 partners in the Perth office, Amber co-heads the corporate advisory team, providing support to public and private entities in relation to capital raisings, mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. She often finds herself adopting a national and global project management role for clients, co-ordinating other advisors, including accountants, investment banks and geologists, to ensure the right outcomes. Named by Lawyers Weekly as one of 2010's Top Movers & Shakers, Amber’s career has seen her successfully defend a $1.4 billion hostile takeover bid and take the legal lead on the $140 million public float for Northern Iron Ltd, named IPO of the Year at the 2008 CFO Awards.

White Pages Community & Government Award

Catherine Stoddart

Western Australia Department of Health, East Perth

“Western Australia will be the place that all nurses and midwives will want to be to achieve their career goals”. – Catherine Stoddart.

As Western Australia’s Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer (CNMO), Catherine Stoddart is passionate about ensuring everyone who wants to pursue a career in nursing is given an opportunity to do so. Responsible for professional leadership of the State’s 12,000 public nurses and providing professional support to some 35,000 in WA, Catherine sets policy direction and strategies to ensure the highest quality training, patient care and career opportunities. She is currently leading strategies to build stronger nursing career paths, attract more Aboriginal people to the profession, create nurse practitioners in rural areas and provide volunteers for under-serviced remote and international locations, as part of the National Health Workforce Agenda. Catherine recently developed a sustainable model for Assistant in Nursing traineeships, providing an alternative pathway for those who do not achieve tertiary level requirements, while also supporting the heavy workload of existing nurses. So far, 50 to 70 per cent of trainees in that program are going on to enrol in nursing, with the program expanding into Indigenous communities.

Nokia Business Innovation Award

Sasha de Bretton

Million Dollar Makeovers, Burswood

“We collect clients from the airport and surprise them with their new dream home, ready to move in straight off the plane.” – Sasha de Bretton.

When the global financial crisis began to squeeze Perth’s property market in 2008, Sasha De Bretton seized a radical opportunity to give homeowners much-needed financial liquidity. Having renovated and sold many properties herself as an aside to her marketing career, Sasha launched Million Dollar Makeovers, a high-quality, rapid-renovation service that transforms homes in just two to four weeks, often while clients are on holidays. Working with up to 200 trades and services, Sasha has developed a unique operating model that allows her business to juggle multiple renovations and shave months off the average full-home transformation. The rapid turnarounds – from design, to project management through to full decor – allow clients to access extra capital in their homes, sell at a premium price or increase rental returns. Million Dollar Makeovers typically works on four to six properties each month and can start with just two weeks notice due to the multiple resources in its network. Sasha is now planning to franchise the model in other parts of Australia.

marie claire Young Business Women’s Award

Juliette Sperber

POAGS, Fremantle, Geraldton and Bunbury

“I tell all my new managers to take people as you find them, listen to the workforce and respect all viewpoints, no matter how different from yours.” – Juliette Sperber.

In addition to being the only female in a senior operational role at stevedoring and port management company POAGs, she is also one of the youngest managers in the organisation. As Southern Regional Manager in Western Australia, the 35-year-old is responsible for the company’s Geraldton, Fremantle and Bunbury operations. Leading a predominantly male workforce of 140, Juliette is accustomed to gender imbalance in the workplace, having joined the maritime industry as a deck officer trainee at 17 and working her way up the ranks to become a deck officer for BHP Transport. She spent seven years as the only woman on cargo ships, a unique experience that has equipped her to deal with highly charged situations during industrial unrest, restructure and relocate port operations and now, transform the culture at one of the most unionised ports in Australia. Juliette says she has learned not to take conflict personally and to engage employees about change rather than adopt the maritime industry’s traditional “big stick” approach.