Women leaders: Meet 38 of SA’s most impressive business minds
From farming moguls to fashion trailblazers, meet 38 business women making their entrepreneurial dreams a reality in celebration of International Women’s Day.
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From concert pianists-turned regional farming moguls to fashion trailblazers, dentists, health service providers and vets, some of South Australia’s most impressive businesswomen are leading the charge across the state’s industries.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, only two in five business owners in SA are women – a statistic the state government hopes to change.
And to celebrate International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8 we are introducing you to 38 SA women who followed their entrepreneurial dreams and made them a reality.
There’s project manager by trade and former self-employed consultant, coach and teacher, Coorong local Kerry Swan who started one of her businesses after a local tragedy.
After the former owner of Swan Earthmovers was killed in a train accident, Kerry and her husband Craig negotiated with his widow and business partner to purchase the core assets of the business to invest in the long-term future of the Coorong community.
Kerry is one of 38 inspiring women have been chosen across a diverse range of industries to be part of the Women in Business Advisory program, a mentoring tool to help SA’s female leaders further grow their businesses.
MEET THE WOMAN OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Two of the women celebrated for their acumen are First Nations business owners, while several are in regional areas including Keith, Port Elliot, Barossa Valley and Meningie.
Small and Family Business Minister Andrea Michaels said the program, which is in its second year after a successful inaugural cohort, hoped to help women scale up their businesses to boost the state’s economy.
“Small businesses are the engine room of our state and through our Women in Business program, we are supporting female-led businesses to create jobs and grow our economy,” Ms Michaels said.
“As we move into the second year of this program, I can’t wait to hear more examples of connection and growth, as we support more women business owners break down barriers and succeed.”
The Advertiser will also mark the occasion with The Advertiser Sunday Mail Woman of the Year Awards, presented by SkyCity on Thursday, March 7.
Almost 40 women have been nominated for this year’s awards.
Here we profile the 38 woman mentoring the next generation of female leaders set to change the state.
Alice Fitch
Whola
Brompton
A dynamic entrepreneur with a successful history of running fashion wholesale businesses, Alice Fitch adores Australian fashion — but found herself frustrated by the wholesale process.
“The wholesale process was not customer focused … retailers had to take out a crystal ball and forecast six months ahead — trade, stock, cash flow and trends,” Alice says.
Alice turned her exasperation into inspiration, launching Whola, a wholesale fashion company that sells in season, so retailers can be responsive to their customers.
The one-stop wholesale shop has been embraced by 5000 retailers across Australia and internationally, who use it to do their fashion buying.
Alice says her mission is to make life better for retailers by making their stores instantly relevant to their target markets, without the risk of traditional fashion buying.
Amy Smith
Secure State
Tonsley Innovation Precinct
As a mother-of-two and chief marketing officer for cyber security and IT consultancy firm Secure State, Amy Smith has a unique and fresh approach to helping businesses share their offerings.
A by trade hairdresser, Amy built two successful businesses in the hair and beauty industry (that she is still actively involved in) after making the jump from previous roles in the legal and professional space.
Also a social media marketer and entrepreneur, Amy uses her “unicorn status” to assist others in understanding all the moving parts required to grow their own businesses.
“Cyber security is the concern of everyone, not just government and defence, and there is a definite gap in the market to offer professional and up-to-date services to the small to medium businesses and other private sectors,” Amy says.
“We are focusing on partnering with not-for-profit, retail, allied health and healthcare and legal industry in 2024 to ensure everyone’s personal data is adequately secure and handled.”
In 2023, Secure State had a 300 per cent growth in revenue – a sign of even bigger things to come.
Anisha Sanghavi
Incredible Smiles
Woodville Park, Munno Para West, Angle Vale, Seaford Meadows, Hillcrest
With a bachelor of dental surgery and a master of dental surgery – endodontics and conservative dentistry, Dr Anisha Sanghavi is a leader in her field with a dedication to offering a wide range of dental services to her clients.
In 2007, she was named the best outgoing student in endodontics and conservative dentistry and, in 2009, was published in the International Endodontic Journal.
To stay abreast of leading-edge dental trends, Dr Anisha has attended many continuing education dental courses – but it’s her warm demeanour and passion for her business that keeps smiles on clients’ faces.
Anna Beaumont
Beaumont Solutions
Littlehampton
With an average of 180 workers dying across the country per year, Anna Beaumont knew something needed to change when it came to work safety.
Anna describes Beaumont Solutions – a provider of health and safety management services – as a team that drives compliance through clarity and compassion and works with businesses that want to support their people.
When Anna was an employee, she realised that the impact could be made through strengthening systems for business owners who wanted practical steps to meet their legal requirements.
Her passion for guiding businesses through their work health and safety challenges has made her a sought-after consultant, with vast experience spanning mining, construction, state and local government, not-for-profit organisations, insurance, energy, and worldwide automotive.
Beaumont Solutions was recently recognised as an independent safety partner to the Adelaide Oval LED Light Tower Upgrade.
Anna Dimond
Palas Jewellery
Head office in Adelaide
If you love jewellery, there’s a good chance you’re wearing a handcrafted charm with an inspirational inscription from Palas Jewellery.
Managing director Anna Dimond co-founded the business in the 1990s while living in Melbourne and working at an “amazing job” in marketing at Hoyne Design.
After travelling to Indonesia for a few years, Anna says she saw immense opportunity for product development and manufacturing — and a gap in the Australian market between costume and fine jewellery.
She set about creating a brand of jewellery that her sister Eran Svigos designed and Anna marketed, hand crafted in Indonesia and launching to their first retailers in 1996 at a Sydney trade fair.
After Anna was named the Telstra Young Business Woman of the Year for SA in 2000, Palas, which has a multimillion-dollar turnover, also featured in Smart Company Top 50 Australia’s fastest growing companies in 2014.
Anna says her business drive is fuelled by a desire to continually work on personal growth, viewing “problems” and “challenges” as opportunities.
Candice Burt
Elite Health Network
Mobile service
Graduating with honours from her social work degree in 2008, Candice Burt spent more than 15 years working in the state government’s health sector, where she developed specialised clinical skills across diverse disability domains including dementia care, brain injury, mental health, and forensic mental health.
After observing a thin market of behaviour support practitioners, Candice was inspired to create Elite Health Network — a business committed to addressing the complex behaviours of NDIS participants with severe mental illness, cognitive disability, and forensic or criminal history.
By providing experienced clinicians with skill sets best able to support SA’s most complex and vulnerable people, Candice hopes to raise awareness and educate on mental illness and break down the stigmas attached to disability.
Cassandra Zaina
HandsUp for Health
St Peters
From circus performers and construction workers to community members and companies, specialist occupational health physiotherapist Cassandra Zaina’s business – HandsUp for Health – offers groundbreaking solutions to help companies keep their workforces in top shape.
With a wide-ranging skill set, Cassandra lends her expertise and experience to board roles with corporates and national regulators and regularly presents and lectures for the Australian Physiotherapy Association.
After spending time in Canada and England, Cassandra returned to Adelaide and opened her first boutique physiotherapy practice which quickly evolved into the powerhouse operation she runs today.
Cassandra says a passion for helping people drew her to physiotherapy, while HandsUp for Health allows her the freedom to innovate and incorporate groundbreaking work into her tailor-made solutions for clients alongside a “strong and supportive team”.
Chloe Cocks
Roar Speech
Unley, Port Elliot
With an intense passion for helping children reach their full potential, speech pathologist Chloe Cocks made it her mission to build a platform for easy-to-access speech, language and literary services for all little ones.
With clinics in Unley and on the Fleurieu Peninsula, Roar Speech engages with children from all walks of life and offers invaluable services to regional communities.
Chloe has extensive experience providing public and private speech pathology services in educational settings, including early childhood and primary schools, and works to build strong relationships with her clients’ families and teachers.
With a young, vibrant team of speech pathologists, fun is at the heart of Chloe’s therapy sessions – allowing clients to engage, learn and build skills for life.
Danielle Baker
The Nurtured Village
Barossa Valley, with telehealth access for Riverland, Gawler and northern suburbs
As a clinical psychotherapist and play therapist, Danielle has transformed mental health care in the Barossa Valley through The Nurtured Village, providing play-based therapies, community support, and bridging gaps in rural care.
Living locally in the Barossa, Danielle noticed a severe lack of mental health and essential services, particularly for new parents.
“Rural communities often face challenges in accessing mental health services due to geographical isolation and a shortage of mental health professionals,” she says.
“Parenting can be challenging and at times you can feel alone.
“Social groups provided by the hub create opportunities for community members to connect, share experiences, and build supportive networks, promoting overall mental wellbeing.”
Offering psychotherapy, counselling, art and play therapy for children from the age of 2, adolescents, and parents, Danielle says The Nurtured Village helps support the whole family.
With neurodivergent staff and experience raising neurodivergent children, Danielle holds special interest in the areas of autism, ADHD and childhood trauma.
In mid 2024, Danielle will open the waitlist to her online village community, expanding the business’ reach and supporting as many families as they can.
Emma Cole
Tick Performance
Mawson Lakes
Emma Cole’s business and life goal is simple – to deliver exceptional care to her clients while helping others grow their own professional careers.
With more than 20 years’ experience as a business owner and mentor, Emma decided to carve her own path in the physiotherapy world in 2018, launching her own private practice.
Tick Performance is a one-stop fitness, rehabilitation and performance hub in the heart of Mawson Lakes with inclusivity and safety at its heart.
Specialising in concussion management, exercise delivery, dry needle therapy and pain management, Tick Performance also cares for the elderly, NDIS participants, Return To Work and DVA claims.
After seeing new physiotherapists constantly frustrated by lack of career progression, Emma decided to create a pathway for development for members of her team, fast-tracking five years of private practice experience into just 12 months.
Georgi Roberts
Pitstop Marketing
Adelaide CBD
A creative at heart, experienced marketer Georgi Roberts decided she needed an environment free from timekeeping and layers of approvals that killed her flair.
After kickstarting her career in London, Georgi bought into Pitstop in 2011, growing her stake in the business to own it outright by 2017.
The marketing firecracker says her aim is to run a business that brings “great energy” to its work, people and clients – without stifling creative freedom.
She says fun and flexibility are at the core of her operation to get the best out of her employees, creating an agency that works closely with clients to understand where they want to take their business.
“We don’t do great marketing to be great at marketing – we do it to kick goals for our clients,” Georgi says.
Hayley Lloyd
Goldie Studios
Fulham, Malvern and Prospect
With three “gorgeous” children and a household to juggle, the brains behind tanning wizards Goldie Studios says her life is often like a sitcom.
But Hayley’s niche business idea has turned into a booming venture, providing a safe space for those wanting to look and feel their absolute best.
With an “incredibly loyal community” of dedicated spray tan enthusiasts — from weekly, fortnightly, bridal or every-now-and-then treatments — Hayley says Goldie Studios was inspired by her own deep love for tanning.
“In a world that often imposes unrealistic standards, I stand by the notion that you should never need anything to make you feel a certain way – you are enough and perfect as you are,” she says.
“A spray tan is to compliment and elevate your lifestyle.
“There continually is something magical in helping others embrace their beauty and confidence.”
Jacqueline Sinclair Stuart
Kennedy’s Boutique
Adelaide CBD
A seasoned professional in the fashion industry with a rich background in fashion buying and product development, Jacqueline made her mark in Sydney as a product developer for a major womenswear retailer before venturing into entrepreneurship.
In Sydney, she bought one retail store named Kennedy’s, before opening three more of her own fashion retail stores – showcasing her keen eye for style and business acumen.
After returning to Adelaide, she now owns and operates Kennedy’s Boutique with both an online presence and a bricks-and-mortar store on Gilbert St in the CBD.
Leading a team of five, she personally designs everything in-house, collaborating with manufacturing teams overseas to bring her vision to life.
Founded on styling the curvy woman, Jacqueline champions both size and age inclusivity – believing every woman has the right to feel on trend when they walk out the door every morning.
Kennedy’s Boutique has become a local gem, known for its unique blend of trendsetting designs and timeless elegance.
Jacqui Watts
Healthful Wellness Hub
Glenelg
With more than 17 years in clinical practice, founder and head naturopath Jacqui Watts’s business Healthful Wellness Hub was borne of a desire to help women feel their best through education on health and hormones.
Jacqui says she saw numerous women feeling lost with their health, overwhelmed and stressed — inspiring her to create a place of calm and support in a place where women can slow down and be listened to.
“Many women craved to understand more about what their bodies are trying to tell them and how they can use diet and lifestyle changes to bring balance back to the body,” she says.
With a team of six that work with different modalities, Jacqui uses a range of functional testing to determine underlying causes of hormone imbalances, infertility, menopause and gut health.
Healthful offers a range of wellness practitioners ranging from naturopathy, acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, massage and infra-red sauna in its wellness space in the heart of Glenelg.
Jamie Warland
Gym It
Strathalbyn
Jamie Warland’s venture into the business world started with her own incredible weight loss achievement.
After suffering post-natal depression, the northern suburbs mum turned her life around — losing almost 100kg while working as a data entry clerk.
Driven by a desire to help others achieve their goals, Jamie quit her job and became a personal trainer before opening Gym It out of an 80 sqm tin shed in 2016.
By 2019, the business had expanded into a 220 sqm facility and, by 2023, became Strathalbyn’s first 24 hour gym with 12 staff on the books.
Jamie says her workout mantra is providing clients with community and fun while educating and supporting members to make lifelong changes and achieve permanent results.
Jo Marshall
Culturise
Wayville
Growing up in an elite sporting world, high performance and great teams are in former competitive gymnast Jo Marshall’s DNA.
With a career spanning 20 years over a broad range of industries, Jo founded multidisciplinary leadership organisation Culturise seven years ago.
After experiencing her own mental health battle, Jo embarked on a master of mental health – which has provided the backing for Culturise to deliver Mental Health First Aid and other training nationally.
Giving back and community are key values of Jo’s, which she lives through her board role at YouthInc. and as SA President of Gymnastics Australia.
A mother of four, one of Jo’s sons joined Culturise last year as a wellbeing activator, delivering mental health first aid to a wide range of adults, particularly those involved with youth, through schools, corporates and sporting organisations.
Kelliann Yates
Davies Stewart Consulting
Adelaide CBD
After a stint in London’s central business precinct for a large recruitment company in her 20s, Kelliann Yates returned to Adelaide during the time where job boards were just being developed.
After some time off with her children, she decided to return to the recruitment sector and joined Davies Stewart as their business development manager, where she helped to develop the business over several years.
Three years ago, the opportunity arose to buy the business – one that Kelliann jumped at.
Established in 2009, Davies Stewart is a 100 per cent SA owned and operated talent acquisition company which has been a trusted partner to some of the largest panels and major recruitment projects across the state.
It provides recruitment support to a large range of industry sectors and offers a range of services, including both permanent and temporary recruitment, professional CV writing, skills testing and outplacement services.
Kerry Swan
Swan Group
Meningie, Tailem Bend, Coorong Region
A project manager by trade and former self-employed consultant, coach and teacher, Coorong local Kerry Swan started one of her businesses after a local tragedy.
After the former owner of Swan Earthmovers was killed in a train accident, Kerry and her husband Craig negotiated with his widow and business partner to purchase the core assets of the business to invest in the long-term future of the Coorong community.
“At the time of the tragedy, his widow planned to liquidate the assets to resolve her husband’s estate,” Kerry said.
“This approach would have meant that the service, employment and construction infrastructure would have been lost to our region.”
Trading collectively as the Swan Group across four diverse family businesses, Kerry works with her husband Craig across real estate, fertiliser, earthmoving and agribusiness with a team of more than 40 people.
With a focus on regional economy, the Swan Group has grown Swan Earthmovers into a construction and mining operation that benefits its customers, staff and community.
Lauren Robbins
Robbins Lawyers & Conveyancers
Blackwood, Belair
Lauren Robbins, managing director at Robbins Lawyers & Conveyancers, graduated from law school in 2011 – and opened her own business just six years later.
By 2022, Lauren had built the company to add legal services with a dedicated team of seven skilled professionals at the helm, including specialist conveyancers and solicitors.
With personalised services from residential buying and selling and private contracts to wills, estates and retirement village advice, Lauren’s commitment to catering to the full breadth of clients’ needs has set her practice above the rest.
Mel Spehr
Aluminium Plus SA
Salisbury South
First established in 1998, Aluminium Plus is a small South Australian owned and operated aluminium window and door company located in the northern suburbs.
Owned and operated by husband and wife team Mel and Shane, Mel — a primary school science teacher by trade — actually never planned on being part of the business at all.
“As time went on, I found myself doing more and more for the business – coming in on my days of to help clean up out the back, building the company’s website, starting and then maintaining the business’ social media platforms, slowly starting to answer phone-calls and liaise with customers,” Mel says.
“Eventually, the task of juggling teaching, being the mother of two young children and trying to help my husband became too much and I decided to take a leap and join the business full time.”
While Mel said she faced a steep learning curve as she learned the language and skill sets of the male-dominated building industry, the skills from her previous teaching career, including clear communication, relationship building and patience, helped her shape Aluminium Plus into the success story it is today.
Melanie Bird
Roach Corporate Law
Christies Beach
With a career in commercial law spanning more than 15 years, Melanie Bird’s ascension to sole director of southern suburbs legal providers Roach Corporate Law came from tragedy.
After working in Melbourne and Brisbane before returning to Adelaide in 2008, where she later became a partner of a well-regarded Adelaide firm and special counsel at another firm, Melanie inherited Roach Corporate Law from founding director Daniel Roach, who died aged 37 of bowel cancer in 2021.
While Melanie says she had big shoes to fill, she is dedicated to ensuring excellent legal service to clients and continued community involvement by the RCL team.
Her early practise in debt recovery expanded to cover insolvency, banking and finance, property law, and general commercial litigation.
She also has a host of experience in wills and estate litigation, and employment law – running several unfair dismissal, redundancy, and harassment cases for employers and employees.
When she is not at work, she is busy as a single mother with her little boy and two dogs.
Melanie Tate
Puddle Jumpers
Metro and rural SA
Melanie Tate is the founder and chief executive of Puddle Jumpers, a charitable organisation with 750 volunteers.
Since its establishment in 2012, Puddle Jumpers, under Melanie’s leadership, has been dedicated to supporting children and young people in South Australia, particularly those living without their birth parents.
With a deeply personal entrepreneurial journey, Melanie’s passion for helping others is shaped by her upbringing with young parents, one of whom served in the army, leading the family to move across Australia.
Witnessing the challenges faced by children in out-of-home care, Melanie felt a profound connection to this unmet need.
Puddle Jumpers became a vehicle to make a positive impact on the lives of those often overlooked, offering services, camps, and activity days, expanding its impact to provide food assistance programs to over 1500 families weekly throughout SA.
Melanie’s passion has earned her a number of prestigious accolades, including the Joy Noble Medal, Pride of Australia Medal, Editors Choice Pride of Australia Medal, and the National NAPCAN – Child Abuse Prevention “Play your part award.”
Melinda Parent
Oranje Creative
Adelaide CBD
In a predominantly “man-made” industry – with almost 89 per cent of advertising creative teams male-led – Melinda Parent wanted to create a space where “woman-made” content was at the forefront.
With more than 20 years of industry experience, multi-award winning business leader Melinda heads Adelaide’s only all-female, full service advertising agency
Melinda says her journey from her education, professional modelling and creative career to an innovative business owner has been marked by various challenges and a lack of representation in male-dominated industries.
She says her first hand experience of the effects of gender bias and underrepresentation has provided valuable insights into the challenges and barriers women face, and a powerful catalyst for to champion change.
To date, Melinda has provided over $1.5 million in pro bono creative for women in business – single mothers, start-ups, not-for-profit, donations and sponsorship.
She is also soon to launch AdChat: The Creative Womans’ Perspective – an international podcast series where Melinda will conduct interviews, explore creative operations, discuss protocols and exchange experience to help bring gender equality to the industry.
Michelle Holland
SynergyIQ
Adelaide CBD
As a creative and strategic thinker, Michelle is a business culture and workforce transformation expert with more than two decades of experience in senior leadership roles.
Launched in 2018, Michelle says business management firm SynergyIQ was born out of a desire to do change and consulting differently and better.
With four published books under her belt and pursuing a doctorate in business leadership, Michelle is a member of Professional Speakers Australia, a certified member and volunteer of the Australian Human Resources Institute, and a Board Member for Access2Arts.
Michelle has helped some of Australia’s and the world’s largest companies boost their performance by deliberately designing their business culture and workforce experience.
Olivia Baker
Eleanor Downs
Kangaroo Island
A concert pianist by trade and with a Masters of International and Community Development, Olivia Baker has worked internationally and nationally with Indigenous people, refugees, and people living in supported residential facilities.
At face value, she might seem an odd fit to lead a fifth-generation settler farm on Kangaroo Island.
But six years ago, she moved to Kangaroo Island after meeting her partner Nathan Trethewey, where the pair now continues his family legacy – and has reshaped the stock business into an arts and cultural haven for the remote tourist destination.
With Angus cattle and merino sheep on the family property, the couple has also created two unique farmstays for people to escape to the country, an airstrip for the flying enthusiasts to fly in and camp, and renovated an old shearing shed into an events space.
Her musical background has lent itself to community ventures including the Bush Festival, which brought Adelaide Fringe acts to Kangaroo Island for residents and tourists alike to enjoy, and major drawcard events for the area.
Their latest venture is a new brewery in the heartland of Kangaroo Island.
Olivia Jenkins
Olivia Jenkins Consulting (OJC)
Barossa Valley and Adelaide
Known as the “CEO’s wing-woman”, Olivia Jenkins’ extensive list of accolades spans 21 domestic and international business awards for her luxury, multidisciplinary work at OJC.
Combining her business acumen with the tough balance as a mother of three, Olivia strives to lead chief executives in the health, beauty, fashion and lifestyle sectors.
Since mid-2019, her firm has helped clients generate over $65 million in sales, positioning clients as industry leaders.
Holding an MBA (Marketing), Olivia’s expertise is further endorsed by leading platforms like Klaviyo, Shopify, and Gorgias, establishing her as a thought leader in her field.
Olivia says she was inspired by her own entrepreneurial mother, who instilled in her a deep-rooted passion for business from a young age.
Pippa Buckberry
Anaglypta Architecture
Adelaide Hills
With a passion for cultural and environmental sustainability, architect Pippa Buckberry’s “now or never” moment came in 2016, when she decided to take the leap and establish her own practice.
Having worked in architectural practices for more than 15 years, Pippa has followed a passion for cultural and environmental sustainability throughout her career, with particular expertise in heritage conservation, heritage architecture and adaptive reuse projects.
During Covid in 2020, Pippa’s husband – her “partner in business and in life” – joined the practice, with the pair now exploring how heritage conservation can be enhanced and strengthened through the use of digital engineering and Building Information Modelling. The Anaglypta team began its expansion in 2022, employing a Studio Administrator and student of architecture, and added another experienced architect to the team in 2023.
Rachel Brdanovic
Tandem Energy
Gawler, providing services to all of SA
After running her own successful catering business, Rachel Brdanovic decided she was ready for a career change into something more meaningful.
When she met her now-husband Tom at a training course for home sustainability assessments, it felt like fate – with the pair launching Tandem Energy (then Down to Earth Sustainable Solutions) a short time later in 2010.
Originally working with homeowners to help them reduce energy use at home, they quickly identified that helping businesses understand solar PV, and reduce their energy costs, was a highly sought-after and effective way to reduce environmental impact.
For the past few years, Tandem Energy has provided advice on broader sustainability issues, including development of policy and strategy as well as carbon neutral certification.
While energy still remains a focus – and still one of the greatest sources of emissions and cost for many businesses – Rachel says her team now supports clients to reduce emissions across their whole supply chain.
Rebecca Wessels
Ochre Dawn Creative Industries
Mile End
Rebecca Wessels’s journey into business began as a side hustle during her time in IT — and then youth work.
Tapping into her understanding of the promotional products industry that she gained from her father’s business, Rebecca initially hoped to help out friends looking for unique and affordable branding solutions.
This microbusiness, operating from a retro caravan in her driveway, eventually turned into a successful company providing various branding and Reconciliation Action Plan services across the country.
Inspired by her background in both IT and youth work, Rebecca says she found a meaningful intersection between the corporate world and community development, particularly in supporting First Nations artists and communities.
Today, Rebecca says she’s honoured to lead a local team that engages in impressive branding and Reconciliation projects on a national scale, fostering sustainability, community development, and positive outcomes.
Robyn Verrall
Bully’s Meats
Farm in McCallum, Upper South East and home deliveries to Adelaide and surrounds
Understanding food insecurity as a single mum, Robyn Verrall made it her mission to support women and children across SA and the NT after looking in a customer’s freezer – and finding not even a loaf of bread.
She began her diverse career journey as a registered nurse before embracing the challenges of agriculture after marrying a farmer in regional SA.
Robyn saw the need to forge her own path on the farm, founding Bully’s Meats and selling lamb to family and friends in Adelaide before starting the philanthropic arm of the business to provide affordable meat to families across SA.
In 2022, her efforts gained her the title of SA Agriculture’s Rural Women’s Award winner.
In 2024 Robyn will launch her national not-for-profit, Harvesting Potential Inc, a charity about empowering growth and cultivating potential for women and girls from all walks of life.
Bully’s Meats clients will be able to “pay it forward” for other families through the charity, providing much-needed food donations for those in need.
Sally Woolford
Diversify Consulting
Coromandel Valley, delivering services statewide
Sally Woolford launched Diversify Consulting after being made redundant from a former role – but the career professional with more than two decades of experience says owning her own business was a calling born deep in her gut.
With a career dedicated to guiding organisations through substantial change initiatives, Sally is an advocate for diversity, inclusion and respectful workplaces.
Sally led cultural reform at SA Police, a feat for which she received the South Australian Women in Innovation Award for Innovation and Intrapreneurship in Government in 2019.
She also spearheaded the development and implementation of the inaugural South Australian Public Sector Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan that same year and has since worked with clients including SANFL and the MFS.
“Running a business is like riding a roller coaster – filled with highs and lows,” Sally says.
“For me, it’s a liberating journey that allows me to make meaningful contributions and challenge the status quo in workplaces where employees might not always voice barriers or highlight opportunities for improved safety and inclusion.”
Sarah McGrath
Millicent and Kingston Veterinary Clinics
Millicent, Kingston
As the director of two vet clinics, Sarah McGrath has turned her passion for animals into state-of-the-art care for regional pet owners.
Patient care — both animal and human — is at the heart of Sarah’s modus operandi, recognising the important role pets and livestock play in people’s lives.
Sarah turned one of the Millicent clinic’s consulting rooms into a specially-designed retreat for owners to farewell their beloved animals before saying goodbye through euthanasia, with the clinic also featuring two operating theatres, a neonatal crib and an in-house laboratory.
Sarah Watson
Clarity Wellness
North Adelaide
Sarah Watson established Clarity Wellness in 2013, with a dream to build a unique person-centric wellness clinic of highly skilled practitioners operating in a supportive space to “bridge the gap” between a highly clinical environment and – in her words, a “floofy spa”.
The multidisciplinary wellness hub has a team of 13 practitioners specialising in remedial massage, pregnancy and post-partum treatments, naturopathy, acupuncture and skincare.
Herself a highly experienced remedial therapist, Sarah says her focus is honed towards the development of the business and passionately educating practitioners.
Having recently stepped back into the treatment room, Sarah provides trauma-informed bodywork to a small handful of clients, while also working on facilitating group workshops for women’s nervous system health.
Outside the world of Clarity, Sarah loves her son Hugo and new pup Meka, bushwalks, breathwork, supporting the local arts scene, film, presenting, reading, local wine, tea and craft beer and the thrill of a hearty debate.
Saraswati Dudley
The Orthodontic Place
Kent Town, Bowden
After graduating dentistry in 1999, Saraswati Dudley moved to Australia, completing her Specialist Orthodontist degree in Melbourne in 2004.
After several years working at the Adelaide Dental Hospital and in private practice, Saraswati decided she was ready to open her own practice and be her own boss.
In 2013, she opened The Orthodontic Place — a boutique practice which now has two offices at Kent Town and Bowden.
A mother of “two beautiful girls” with a passion for creating smiles for her patients, Saraswati says she wanted to be able to provide service and orthodontic treatment in her best way.
Sarsha Harvey
Local Kitchen Co
Malvern, Parkside, Glenelg and online
Entertaining and love for cooking for my family and friends while taking a break from paid work made Sarsha Harvey realise that she wanted to help and nurture others.
“I had friends asking: ‘Could I make their family my butter chicken’, so I put all call out and received 10 orders,” Sarsha said.
From that first week in 2019, she started building a community of customers at home and, in 2021 outgrew, found Local Kitchen Co’s first retail store in Malvern.
Using locally sourced ingredients to create quality family-style dishes, Local Kitchen Co has gained a devoted local following since then, transitioning from a single storefront with a modest team of four employees to a flourishing enterprise boasting three locations and a staff of 40.
Anchored in their promise of delivering home-style meals and service, Local Kitchen Co has gained widespread compliments for their retail offerings, as well as their expanding online platform tailored to cater to their new HCP and NDIS clientele.
Recognised as the recipient of the Emerging Business Award at The Premier’s Food and Beverage Awards in November, with an obvious dedication to growth and a passion for helping others, Sarsha shines brightly as a promising face within the dynamic landscape of the food industry.
Sophie Christian
Elders Insurance
Glenelg
After working as a lawyer for more than a decade, Sophie Christian was inspired to follow in her father and brother’s footsteps in joining the Elders insurance family.
With further study and her brother’s mentorship, she has recently taken on the Elders Glenelg client base as the business’ director and authorised representative.
Sophie’s background working as an in-house lawyer has helped her learn from great teams, and she now assists small to medium business owners, farm owners, and individuals within the SA community with their general insurance needs, from rural services to metropolitan clients.
She recently completed a course with Women & Leadership Australia which focused on leadership development and is passionate about supporting other women in business.
With two young children and a labradoodle, Sophie spends a lot of her spare time at the playground and local parks.
Stacey Orrock
Aptus Business Solutions
Rose Park
With more than 280 customers both domestically and internationally, Aptus Business Solutions has become one of SA’s leading IT development and consulting firms under the keen leadership of Stacey Orrock.
Stacey’s team of consultants has more than 30 years of industry experience across multiple disciplines, with Aptus named Sage Partner of the Year for their work delivering business software in 2021 and 2022.
After her own cancer battle aged just 34, Stacey is also an ambassador for Bowel Cancer Australia and dedicates much of her time to charitable work, with the Aptus team supporting Backpacks 4 SA Kids, Foodbank and the Special Olympics.
Vicky Troptsidis
Eventful Projects
Newton
Vicky Troptsidis is an award-winning event pioneer with more than 25 years of global expertise.
Renowned for orchestrating thousands of seamless conferences and events, Vicky, the visionary force behind Eventful Projects, says she is dedicated to crafting impressive, results-driven event experiences with big outcomes for her clients.
Vicky says a passion for creating extraordinary events and a desire to transform the industry inspired her to start her own business.
“I envisioned Eventful Projects as a platform to pioneer event excellence, craft impressive experiences, and deliver big outcomes for clients locally here in SA and nationally,” she says.
Eventful Projects’ work, which includes product launches for high-end businesses and impressive top performer incentive programs in Fiji, was named Australian Event Services of the Year 2023 at the Women’s Australian Small Business Champion Awards.
Originally published as Women leaders: Meet 38 of SA’s most impressive business minds
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