Capilano, Clive Berghofer, QML inducted into Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame

Some of the state’s biggest success stories were among the latest batch of inductees into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame. See who made the list.

Another eclectic group of trailblazers including Capilano Honey, QML, Dr Cherrell Hirst and Clive Berghofer were inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame on Thursday night.

A gala event attended by more than 750 people at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre heard the awardees were testimony to Queenslanders’ drive, smarts and innovation with many starting from humble beginnings.

Beef producers Peter and Jayne Haynes and Culture King founders Simon and Tah-nee Beard also were inducted at the 13th annual awards.

Capilano Honey

Founded in 1953 as a beekeepers cooperative by Tim and Bert Smith in Richlands, Capilano has since gone on to become a global success story with exports to 32 countries.

The company’s initial growth owed much to Tim Smith’s vision to create a national operation and shift the focus from bulk supply of honey to retail.

A defining characteristic had been the company’s innovation, particularly in packaging with the “twist and squeeze” pack launched in 1991 and later the “upside down” bottle. In 2018, the company was acquired by Australian venture capital fund Wattle Hill RHC.

Capilano Honey in the early days.

Dr Cherrell Hirst

The medical entrepreneur is described as a “trailblazing leader in the health, education, biotechnology and business sectors.”

Her various roles have included Wesley Breast Clinic director, QUT chancellor and Brisbane Grammar Girls board of trustees chair. During her 17 year stint at the Wesley Breast Clinic, she developed support programs for both patients and their families. Hirst (illustrated) also has served on the board of Suncorp, Medibank Private and Peplin Biotech. She also led the Queensland Bio Fund, later the Queensland Bio Ventures.

Dr Cherrell Hirst has been a trail blazer across a number of fields.

Clive Berghofer

Born into a dairy farming family on the Darling Downs, Clive Berghofer has led an extraordinary life that has included stints as a businessman, Lord Mayor of Toowoomba, state parliamentarian and philanthropist.

Berghofer started building homes aged 24, later developing more than 10,000 allotments across Toowoomba. His philanthropy of at least $110m has substantially benefited research institutes, hospitals, sporting and social clubs. He is a major donor to the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.

Philanthropist Clive Berghofer.

QML Pathology

Based in Queensland for over 90 years, QML employs more than 2000 people across 20 laboratories and 700 collection centres with an annual turnover of more than $400m. The business, which is now a flagship of Healius Pathology, expanded with the arrival of Medibank in 1975, which allowed patients of general practitioners to have pathology tests done without the intervention of medical specialists.

QML has based in Queensland for more than 90 years.

Culture Kings

With annual turnover of more than $300m, the Brisbane-based retailer of street wear and accessories has grown from humble beginnings on the Gold Coast to a global operation. Culture Kings was born when Simon Beard teamed with his now wife Tah-nee to create a successful business selling ‘skoolies slippers’ at local markets. Culture Kings’ first store opened in 2008 and now includes a retail empire across Australia, New Zealand and the US that employs 900 people. To build the brand globally, Simon and Tah-nee sold 55 per cent of their holdings to AKA Brands in the US for $300m in 2021.

Simon and Tah-nee Beard with US rapper Drake.

Peter and Jane Hughes

The couple are one of the world’s leading Wagyu producers and the world’s largest Wagyu herd owner with 200,000 head of cattle.

One of the earliest breeders of Wagyu cattle nearly 30 years ago, Peter and Jane saw the immense potential of the breed to drive market growth. Their historical links to country Queensland are extensive: Peter’s ancestors owned Nockatunga and Saltbush Park Stations while Jane’s great-grandfather owned the iconic Tierawoomba which is now the flagship property of their sprawling cattle empire. The Hughes purchased significant property when the Stanbroke Pastoral Company portfolio was dispersed in 2004 and the Hughes Pastoral Group now occupies 3.2 million hectares over nine grazing properties.

Jane and Peter Hughes on Tierawoomba Station in central Queensland.