50 most powerful women in business
THEY are the 50 most powerful women in Australian business, not due to wealth or profile, but their role in running companies.
FORMER Westpac chief Gail Kelly maybe enjoying a well-earned retirement as of this month, but things are changing in corporate Australia.
The Deal’s inaugural list of 50 most powerful women in Australian business is a very specific exercise. We are not judging people on their profile, although that may come with the territory of running an ASX-listed company like Coca-Cola Amatil chief Alison Watkins and Harvey Norman chief executive Katie Page. Or chairing a major public company like Catherine Livingstone at Telstra. The aim of the list is to focus on women whose power in business derives from a combination of influence, success in delivering outcomes and real personal responsibility.
The list focuses on women in the private sector, involved in both ASX listed and big unlisted companies. It excludes women in the public and not-for-profit sectors and those running lobby groups — although there are clearly impressive women in all of these fields. While there are some influential women with several board directorships, the decision was made to focus on those women with direct business responsibilities.
The women were chosen for their role in running or overseeing important companies or business operations. A wide range of people were consulted for their advice on this project including some on the list. But in the end it all responsibility must lie with the editor. More than 20 women on the list are chief executives and another eight are chairs of important companies.
One of the aims of the exercise was to lift the lid of some of the country’s big companies to see how many talented women there are in the ranks of those reporting to chief executives or the second and third ranks down.
One of the aims of the exercise was to lift the lid of some of the country’s big companies to see how many talented women there are in the ranks of those reporting to chief executives or the second and third ranks down. Many of these women including Macquarie Group’s Shemara Wikramanayake, Origin’s Karen Moses and Telstra’s Kate McKenzie, are potential chief executive candidates for their organisations.
There is also a rich wealth of talent in the country’s banks. The list includes women from all four major banks including two from giant Commonwealth Bank. Again the focus was looking for women running divisions rather than being in support roles. The hard choice was leaving out others within their ranks to allow for a broader focus across the business spectrum. Like Kelly, there are several senior women who have come to Australia from overseas including Americans Cindy Hook (Deloittes), Joyce Phillips (ANZ) and Holly Kramer (Best & Less). The list takes in women from a wide range of industries from mining to finance and banking. Three are in the aviation industry — Kerrie Mather (Sydney Airport), Jayne Hrdlicka (Jetstar) and Julianne Alroe (Brisbane Airport).
Gail Kelly’s advice for women wanting to climb the corporate ladder is echoed by Transfield Services chair Diane Smith-Gander who has just taken over as president of lobby group, Chief Executive Women — the first time the role has been elected in its 30-year history. As she explained in her interview with The Deal: “The most important thing is you have to have are roles which ring the cash register in your organisation. Direct profit and loss experience is the really critical thing. It gets you over the ‘Are you financially literate? Do you understand the numbers?’ questions. If you have had to manage your own numbers and be accountable for delivering them — that’s the single biggest thing.”
A champion in and out of the ring
His remarkable personality apart, Muhammad Ali was unquestionably one of the greatest talents to grace the boxing ring.
A champion in and out of the ring
Muhammad Ali beat formidable champions as both a young and old fighter, and was universally loved for his wit and courage.