FOLLOWING a passion and not a pay packet is the secret to loving your career and achieving success, says Queensland Telstra Business Women’s Award winner Penelope Twemlow.
App readers can view the Top 20 profiles here.
The 34-year-old’s career has taken her from the Royal Australian Navy serving abroad to chief executive of not-for-profit training organisation Energy Skills Queensland.
Twemlow is one of the rising stars named in this year’s Queensland Business Monthly Top 20 Under 40.
Now in its third year, the list is our pick of the state’s most exciting young entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.
The Top 20 Under 40 celebrates those aged under 40 years who are shining examples of success across retail, fashion, science, technology, health, finance, tourism, resources, education, property and construction. Some entrepreneurs you may have heard of, while others have had their head down, quietly building their empires to make their mark in the business world.
One of the more well-known names on the list is jewellery designer Christie Nicolaides, who shares Twemlow’s attitude to her vocation.
Nicolaides’ eye-catching designs are regularly worn by Australia’s biggest stars and this year she signed a deal with department store Myer.
“Truthfully, I didn’t expect the brand to grow at such a rapid pace, however, I feel as though success in general is a by-product of doing what you love,” she says.
Innovative thinking and a global outlook are traits shared by many of the Top 20, from award-winning far north Queensland distiller Mark Watkins, who is exporting his gin with an Australian twist to Britain, to the founders of workplace training start-up GO1, which has offices in Brisbane, San Francisco and Sydney, and clients including the National Australia Bank, St John’s Ambulance and Oxford University.
QBM’s Top 20 Under 40 isn’t ranked and it is never easy making the decision to select the final 20.
We’ve left off those who have previously made the list and understand there’s plenty of Queensland talent who didn’t make the cut this year. This is just a small selection of trailblazers whose success is worth celebrating.
- Profiles written by Stephanie Bennett, Jacinda Tutty, Janelle Miles, John Ballot, Anthony Marx, Emmaline Stigwood, and Glen Norris
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