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‘I shot Bambi’: Women leaders on their toughest decisions
Often the toughest decisions are those that affect other people. Here winners of the Women in Leadership awards share their hardest calls.
‘You smile too much’: the early career advice Danielle Wood ignored
Be brave and have fun, is what Australia’s leading women would say to their younger selves.
The winners of the Women in Leadership Awards
Meet the winners of the 2024 Women in Leadership Awards, in eight key economic categories.
Versatile risk-taker who shines when the going gets tough
Washington H Soul Pattinson’s Jaki Virtue swears by the power of ‘unknown sponsorships’, as she takes out the Financial Services - Non-banking category.
BHP entrusts rising star with its copper mines
Anna Wiley, a leader in the Resources category, has barely put a foot wrong in a diverse career in mining that has led her to the top job in the group’s copper operations in South Australia.
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June 2024
Rio Tinto leader never shies away from hard talks and tough calls
Sinead Kaufman, the winner of the Resources category, also shows great care and sensitivity for families and communities across her career in mining.
What’s your best career tip? Award winners share theirs
Lead with compassion, don’t assume you know all the answers, and play to your strengths: winners in the Women in Leadership Awards share advice that has helped them.
‘We need to be champions of other women’
By the time Danielle Handley arrived at health insurer BUPA, the executive who hired her had left. She had to lead a company transformation without a boss.
‘Inclusion, resilience, empathy’: How modern leadership is changing
Modern leadership is about more than successfully deploying skills and industry expertise – it strongly encompasses the people side, writes Patricia McKenzie.
‘Non-conforming bid’ that took dynamic duo to the top
The winners of the Professional Services category are two Arup engineers who proposed a unique joint arrangement to enable them to balance leadership and family commitments.
How COVID-19 redefined leadership for these award-winning women
There can be no leaders without followers – and the pandemic reminded us that followers respond best when treated like human beings and not like machines.
The ‘magic and mundane’ leadership style of Danielle Wood
The chairwoman of the Productivity Commission was selected as the overall winner for her contributions to economic policy and a preparedness to take an unpopular position in key national debates.
‘You need to trust your gut’: How to build an empire
The founder and CEO of MCo Beauty, the winner of the Retail category, knows she is underestimated. It’s what drives her to succeed.
‘What she’s doing is shaping not just Telstra, but Australia’
Cybersecurity boss Narelle Devine, the winner of the Tech & Telco category, uses lessons from a decade in the Navy to fight off international hacking attacks.
The ‘utterly shocking’ moment that made Westpac leader want to flee
Siobhan Toohill, the winner of the Financial Services - Banking category, faces a new frontier after 10 years leading Westpac’s sustainability efforts, including convincing the board to ditch new oil and gas projects.
She was made a trade leader at 28 and pregnant
The winner of the Young Leader category in the Women in Leadership awards has honed her leadership skills straddling two vastly different cultures and Australia’s most important trade relationship.
Director urges equality advocates to leave their echo chamber
True gender equality benefits men as well as women, Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz says, but advocates need to convince boys of that or risk going backwards.
May 2024
They battled blokey workplaces. Now these 33 women enforce the rules
Energy regulator Clare Savage and competition chief Gina Cass-Gottlieb are among 33 women leading Australia’s regulatory bodies, once the domain of male enforcers.
April 2024
The advice that’s helped Loudon navigate the boardroom
Bridget Loudon says some wise words from her mum have stuck with her as she’s navigated life as the director of a blue-chip giant.
This budget boost for working women will supercharge the economy
We wilfully under-utilise 50 per cent of our economic potential, creating a national emergency we could easily solve.
Male mentors drove Mostyn’s career, but she influenced them too
The next governor-general is best known as an advocate for professional women. She also had influential male mentors.
Why AGL chairman Patricia McKenzie couldn’t get a job in a law firm
She almost didn’t take up legal studies in the first place, but didn’t expect to find job hunting so difficult.
How to fix construction’s female problem
The gender pay gap in construction is entirely not surprising when the female participation in the industry is so low. Here are five strategies to fix it.
NAB’s new chief executive shuffles leadership team, promotes rival
Rachel Slade, who was overlooked for the top job in favour of Andrew Irvine, will run the pre-eminent business banking division. Ana Marinkovic will run retail.
Women of Influence share their tips for young female leaders today
Past winners of The Australian Financial Review’s long-standing and much-loved program give advice before it returns this year as Women in Leadership.