Women in Business

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Insights, Trends & Case Studies

Determined to drive change

Determined to drive change

8 February 2023

The founders of Empowered Women in Trades and The Kurrajong Kitchen Group sat down to share a meal – and their thoughts on building workplace diversity

Determined to drive change

Insight

Reimagining work in rural Australia

Reimagining work in rural Australia

5 July 2018

Thanks to social media, more people are pursuing the job they want, where they want it. Those who prefer country living no longer have to wonder why they’re going to work in the city each day simply to pursue a dream career – as this rural film-maker recently discovered.

Reimagining work in rural Australia
Get the community on side – sponsor a local team

Get the community on side – sponsor a local team

5 July 2018

Helping out a local sports team with sponsorship can build strong relationships with potential customers – pharmacist Silvana Gittani bet her marketing budget on it. Her success proves how many business, regardless of size, can use strategic marketing to engage with their community and forge lasting business ties.

Get the community on side – sponsor a local team
24 Hours with Elissa Renouf

24 Hours with Elissa Renouf

20 May 2018

Rising to the challenge of parenting four children with Type 1 diabetes prompted Elissa Renouf to found Diabete-ezy, a rapidly expanding business whose products help other sufferers manage the condition. We spend a day with her in export and expansion mode.

24 Hours with Elissa Renouf
Spikes in demand: preparing

Spikes in demand: preparing

10 May 2018

A big order could completely transform your business but there’s a limit to how much anyone (or any small business) can handle. BDO partner Dr Mark Pizzacalla and Total Image Group CEO Pamela Jabbour discuss preparation, parameters and being strong enough to say ‘no’.

Spikes in demand: preparing
Alipay has landed

Alipay has landed

7 May 2018

With 1.2 million visitors injecting $10 billion into the Australian economy each year, and almost one third of our international students now coming from China, Chinese custom is big business. Alibaba Australia’s MD explains Alipay.

Alipay has landed
My inspirational mum: CEO keeping family at heart of her business

My inspirational mum: CEO keeping family at heart of her business

4 May 2018

Roza’s Gourmet head Jasmin Robertson grew up immersed in her mum Roza’s sauces business. Though she passed away almost 17 years ago, her mum’s passionate food philosophies – and recipes – remain at the heart of the booming business. We spoke to Jasmin about her mother’s enduring business legacy.

My inspirational mum: CEO keeping family at heart of her business
Dress to impress: How she did it

Dress to impress: How she did it

13 April 2018

She set up her business aged just 21 and now runs the largest privately owned uniform company on the east coast of Australia. We meet Pamela Jabbour of Total Image Group.

Dress to impress: How she did it
The Stella Prize: 2018 shortlist announced

The Stella Prize: 2018 shortlist announced

26 March 2018

In a year in which women have united around the world to speak out in favour of women’s rights and equality, NAB is proud to again support the Stella Prize, celebrating female authors and recognising excellence achieved by women in literature.

The Stella Prize: 2018 shortlist announced
League brings extraordinary women together to build businesses

League brings extraordinary women together to build businesses

16 January 2018

In 2009, Sheryl Thai had just started a business and was like any other fledgling entrepreneur: hard-working, idealistic, passionate. Yet she felt alone. What she did next became the basis of a movement that’s helped thousands of women across Australia find their business voice: the League of Extraordinary Women.

League brings extraordinary women together to build businesses
Small town, big potential: City folks’ tree change

Small town, big potential: City folks’ tree change

14 November 2017

Moving to a regional town might seem a career-limiting step but for entrepreneurial Australians with an eye for untapped market opportunities the opposite can apply. Business View meets two former city-slickers achieving success in country Australia.

Small town, big potential: City folks’ tree change
Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Rosabeth Moss Kanter

29 May 2017

Rosabeth Moss Kanter holds the Ernest L. Arbuckle Professorship at Harvard Business School, where she specialises in strategy, innovation, and leadership for change.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Take the pressure down

Take the pressure down

18 April 2017

Leanne Faulkner was riding a wave of success building a fast-growing start-up until the business slowed and the stress took its toll on her health. Now she’s helping others learn how to cope with the pressure.

Take the pressure down
CEO Seat: Western Health’s Associate Professor Alex Cockram

CEO Seat: Western Health’s Associate Professor Alex Cockram

11 October 2016

An early love of horses almost led Western Health CEO Alex Cockram to become a veterinarian but her great interest in people’s lives, motivations and their resilience inspired her into psychiatry. It’s what’s still inspiring her today.

CEO Seat: Western Health’s Associate Professor Alex Cockram
The entrepreneurial spirit

The entrepreneurial spirit

2 September 2016

What makes a successful entrepreneur? We asked a selection of recently interviewed business owners.

The entrepreneurial spirit
The beauty of rosehip oil

The beauty of rosehip oil

10 June 2016

Kosmea’s Managing Director Marie Kapetanakis recalls how she sold the family car to start her organic skincare business, and recounts her journey to heading up the global success story it is today.

The beauty of rosehip oil
New strategies for keeping seniors out of hospital

New strategies for keeping seniors out of hospital

8 June 2016

Continued growth in the ageing population is expected to generate business for healthcare providers. Strategic Professor Susan Gordon, South Australian Chair of Restorative Care at Flinders University, explains the benefits of differentiating your services to meet older people’s evolving needs.

New strategies for keeping seniors out of hospital
From chef to jillaroo to entrepreneur

From chef to jillaroo to entrepreneur

1 June 2016

Rachel Brindley is the former Melbourne-based chef turned jillaroo behind Outback Careers, where tree changers can search jobs and access information about life on the land.

From chef to jillaroo to entrepreneur
Case study: Suzanne & Rob Acteson

Case study: Suzanne & Rob Acteson

16 May 2016

Suzanne left her high-profile position as head of the Buchanan Group Australia/New Zealand in February 2014 to take the online Habitots business she’d started in 2013 to the next level – launching a bricks and mortar version of the brand.

Case study: Suzanne & Rob Acteson
From sink or swim, to riding a wave of success

From sink or swim, to riding a wave of success

11 May 2016

With the call to entry for the 2016 Ethnic Business Awards now open, it’s the perfect time to celebrate some of 2015’s finalists and winners, including Elena Gosse, CEO of Australian Innovative Systems.

From sink or swim, to riding a wave of success
How one woman wrangles an international agribusiness

How one woman wrangles an international agribusiness

14 April 2016

Cattle breeder Margo Hayes is the powerhouse behind Vitulus Lowline Stud, an award-winning semen and embryo export business with customers in a string of countries, including the US, the UK, Thailand and Italy. We share a day in her life.

How one woman wrangles an international agribusiness
Road from practitioner to designer

Road from practitioner to designer

8 April 2016

Queensland podiatrist and physiotherapist Caroline McCulloch launched FRANKiE4 after spotting a gap in the women’s shoe market for styles that are both comfortable and fashionable.

Road from practitioner to designer
How Cathryn Wills won the top job at bag and shoe maker MIMCO

How Cathryn Wills won the top job at bag and shoe maker MIMCO

8 March 2016

Cathryn Wills had never really considered herself as a candidate for the top job at handbag, jewellery and shoe label MIMCO. She told at one of a series of ‘Business Events Program supported by NAB’as part of the 2016 Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival.

How Cathryn Wills won the top job at bag and shoe maker MIMCO
A hair-raising tale

A hair-raising tale

8 March 2016

Sue Ismiel is Chief Executive Officer of Sue Ismiel & Daughters Enterprises, a family-owned company run by Sue and her three daughters, Nadine, Natalie and Naomi. Specialising in natural hair-removal products, its brands include Nad’s Hair Removal, Nad’s Laser Clinics, NitWits and PuraSkin.

A hair-raising tale
Encouraging entrepreneurship in migrant women

Encouraging entrepreneurship in migrant women

8 March 2016

Political refugee Luz Restrepo’s struggles settling in Australia led to her setting up the social enterprise SisterWorks that’s helping vulnerable women with an asylum seeker, refugee and migrant background.

Encouraging entrepreneurship in migrant women
Working the law

Working the law

7 March 2016

“Success always starts with passion and an unrelenting drive to make it work,” according to leading workplace lawyer Fay Calderone, who is a Partner at DibbsBarker Sydney.

Working the law
Beattie Wines on business innovation

Beattie Wines on business innovation

3 March 2016

VIDEO: Georgia Beattie, founder of Beatttie Wines, discusses how she plans to remain innovative over the next five years and who she is partnering with to do so.

Beattie Wines on business innovation
The business of kids’ health.

The business of kids’ health.

3 March 2016

VIDEO: Monica Meldrum shares the increasing demand for ‘clean’ food and how her fast-growing business Whole Kids is committed to improving children’s health.

The business of kids’ health.
From tiny things big things grow

From tiny things big things grow

22 February 2016

When sisters Nikki Jurcutz and Rachael Waia co-founded the Tiny Hearts Paediatric First Aid course, they became the youngest women to own a registered training organisation in Australia.

From tiny things big things grow
Five generations of Tahbilk wine

Five generations of Tahbilk wine

12 February 2016

The Purbrick family has been managing the Tahbilk winery in Victoria for five generations. It’s now managed by Alister Purbrick and his daughter Hayley, who believe they have a responsibility to leave both a sustainable environmental legacy and a successful business for future generations.

Five generations of Tahbilk wine
24 Hours with Chelsea and James Ross

24 Hours with Chelsea and James Ross

18 January 2016

Husband and wife Chelsea and James Ross are the dynamic duo behind Venivici, a company that operates three – soon to be four – women’s boutique retreats in Bali and Japan under the Goddess Retreats brand.

24 Hours with Chelsea and James Ross
Shoes of Prey takes on the US

Shoes of Prey takes on the US

14 December 2015

Shoes of Prey co-founder Jodie Fox has moved the fashion-tech company stateside. She shares her experience tackling the US market from her Santa Monica base.

Shoes of Prey takes on the US
Driven

Driven

8 December 2015

Alice Mabin re-launched her career from animal health to rural lifestyle photographer, author and entrepreneur with the launch of her self-published book, The Drover capturing an epic cattle drive. She explains how taking a risk helped her build a business doing what she loves.

Driven
CEO Seat: Dr Jane Thomason on giving back

CEO Seat: Dr Jane Thomason on giving back

27 October 2015

Public health expert Dr Jane Thomason has spent the past 16 years as Chief Executive Officer of JTA International, the healthcare development consultancy she founded in 1999.

CEO Seat: Dr Jane Thomason on giving back
Hiring labour in the age of Uber

Hiring labour in the age of Uber

7 October 2015

Ursula Hogben, co-founder and General Counsel of LegalVision ILP, explains what the rise of the on-demand labour market means for those hiring help.

Hiring labour in the age of Uber
Doyennes of the kitchen

Doyennes of the kitchen

9 September 2015

Across Australia, some of the country’s leading female chefs are at the helm of thriving city-based restaurants. Here’s a taste of what they have on offer for that next business meeting.

Doyennes of the kitchen
CEO Seat: The right balance

CEO Seat: The right balance

31 August 2015

Amanda Dobbie, CEO of not-for-profit organisation, Women in Banking and Finance (WiBF), reflects on her role promoting gender balance and shares her top tips for small businesses looking for greater gender diversity in their organisations.

CEO Seat: The right balance
CEO Seat: Trish Hogan on transforming Pindara Private Hospital

CEO Seat: Trish Hogan on transforming Pindara Private Hospital

13 August 2015

As CEO of Pindara Private Hospital for the past seven years, Trish Hogan has steered more than $110 million worth of development, transforming the Ramsay Health Care-owned operation into the largest and most comprehensive private hospital on the Gold Coast.

CEO Seat: Trish Hogan on transforming Pindara Private Hospital
Georgia Beattie: A glass half full

Georgia Beattie: A glass half full

24 July 2015

At an outdoor festival in 2009, Georgia Beattie was told that wine was too hard to serve. This experience inspired the then 22-year-old to bring her single serve wine concept to life and start a business that turned over $1 million in its first year. She shares her entrepreneurial tips.

Georgia Beattie: A glass half full
The delicious taste of happiness

The delicious taste of happiness

17 July 2015

Twelve months after launching Doughheads, Newcastle-baker Anna Farthing is selling up to 4000 doughnuts a week. Her decadent doughnuts have hit the sweet spot with the business now employing 14 staff and averaging growth of 20 percent a month.

The delicious taste of happiness
Financial acumen helps women to achieve leadership roles

Financial acumen helps women to achieve leadership roles

24 June 2015

Women are still under-represented in senior positions across public and private organisations. Speakers at the recent Women in Health Leadership symposium considered why this is the case, and whether financial acumen could help women to achieve the most senior positions.

Financial acumen helps women to achieve leadership roles
Networks and mentors help build a successful career

Networks and mentors help build a successful career

15 June 2015

In healthcare, networking is less about exchanging business cards than building authentic relationships. At the recent Women in Health Leadership Symposium in Sydney a panel discussed how networks and mentors could help build a successful career.

Networks and mentors help build a successful career
Strictly love and business

Strictly love and business

12 June 2015

Husband-and-wife partners in film, theatre and entertainment production company Bazmark Inq, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin reveal the secrets to their successful partnership spanning the arts, business and family life.

Strictly love and business
Lisa McGuigan: The winemaker flying high

Lisa McGuigan: The winemaker flying high

13 March 2015

Lisa McGuigan’s eponymous wine label really took off when she secured a deal to create wine for Jetstar’s inflight service. Now her wines are stocked by 350 retailers and restaurants across Australia. She shares her story and next big step: selling her wine into overseas markets.

Lisa McGuigan: The winemaker flying high
Managing change in the fire services

Managing change in the fire services

27 January 2015

Following her appointment to lead the Aviation Rescue Fire Fighting service across Australia, Michelle Bennetts improved morale and successfully created a more engaged national service of fire fighters, which saw her achievements recognised at the NAB Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards.

Managing change in the fire services
The importance of mentoring

The importance of mentoring

22 January 2015

Mentors have played an important role in Lynn Kraus’ career, so she’s now using her own skills and experience to help others on their journey. Already one of EY’s most senior women in Oceania, Kraus was named Mentor of the Year at the 2014 NAB Women's Agenda Leadership Awards.

The importance of mentoring
Collette Dinnigan: For the love of fashion and family

Collette Dinnigan: For the love of fashion and family

11 December 2014

After 24 years in business Collette Dinnigan took the bold move of restructuring her business so she could focus on the purely creative elements of being a designer and devote more time to her young family. One year on, she reflects on her decision.

Collette Dinnigan: For the love of fashion and family
Building a legacy

Building a legacy

17 November 2014

15 years ago, Indonesian-born Astrid Vasile turned to a career in construction after she moved to Australia. Today, she’s one of just 12 female registered builders in the country, plus Executive Chair of the Australian Indonesian Businesswomen’s & Professionals Network.

Building a legacy
Queen of the track: Gai Waterhouse

Queen of the track: Gai Waterhouse

4 November 2014

It’s called the Sport of Kings, and in Australia one woman stands out among all others. Since taking on the racing board to gain her training licence, Gai Waterhouse has been a formidable force in horse racing and an inspiration to businesswomen everywhere.

Queen of the track: Gai Waterhouse
24 hours with Erica and Trudi from hardtofind

24 hours with Erica and Trudi from hardtofind

26 September 2014

Since 2008, Erica and Trudi’s online gift site has grown to represent more than 700-curated sellers offering 25,000 products. Recently named by SmartCompany as Australia’s seventh fastest growing small business in 2013-2014, the two owners share a day in the life of running hardtofind.

24 hours with Erica and Trudi from hardtofind
Produce the way nature intended

Produce the way nature intended

19 September 2014

Not all fruit and vegetables can be supermodels – the wonky carrots and curly capsicums farmers often have to throw away are just as tasty and nutritious. As CEO of Spade & Barrow, Katy Barfield is committed to reducing waste and paying farmers a fair price for their whole crop.

Produce the way nature intended
The power of creativity

The power of creativity

25 August 2014

Creative thinking has all sorts of benefits, not just for marketing and promotion, but also for solving business problems and innovating. Advertising executive Carolyn Miller shares tips on how small businesses can benefit from creative persuasion.

The power of creativity
Building a business out of doing something you love

Building a business out of doing something you love

22 August 2014

Musician, actress and founder of Big Hearted Business, Clare Bowditch believes there’s never been more opportunity for people with good ideas to find their audience. She talks of her success and shares her tips for building a business out of doing something you love.

Building a business out of doing something you love
Blending family and business

Blending family and business

16 June 2014

From deep within the Victorian Mallee, the de Pieri and Carrazza clans are as renowned for blending family and business as they are for blending a great beer. Mildura’s popular brewers and restaurateurs, Stefano and Donata, talk to Business View about achieving the right mix.

Blending family and business
Insights from Lyn Heward from the World Business Forum (Sydney)

Insights from Lyn Heward from the World Business Forum (Sydney)

28 May 2014

Lyn Heward, former Director of Creation, President and COO of the Creative Content Division of Cirque du Soleil challenges every individual and company to go through what she calls ‘the seven doors’ to enhance creativity, motivate high performers and foster innovation.

Insights from Lyn Heward from the World Business Forum (Sydney)
The business of kids’ health

The business of kids’ health

13 February 2014

Monica Meldrum was named '2013 Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year' at last year’s NAB Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards. Here, she discusses the increasing demand for 'clean' food and how her fast-growing business Whole Kids is committed to improving children’s health.

The business of kids’ health
A revhead for business

A revhead for business

12 December 2013

From property development to motorsports, Betty Saunders Klimenko is used to changing landscapes with an entrepreneurial spirit, a business mentality and people power. The colourful owner of the Erebus Motorsports team discusses the business of motorsports.

A revhead for business
Mary Queen of Shops’ top tips for small businesses

Mary Queen of Shops’ top tips for small businesses

16 October 2013

Best known for her BBC TV series, Mary Queen of Shops, Mary Portas shared her top tips for small businesses during her recent visit to Australia to promote Support Small Business Day - a Victorian Government initiative in partnership with NAB.

Mary Queen of Shops’ top tips for small businesses
Thermomix: from a Polish kitchen to a thriving business

Thermomix: from a Polish kitchen to a thriving business

19 September 2013

Grace Mazur was so impressed by the Thermomix she saw in Europe that she decided to sell them in Australia and she’s now the world’s leading independent distributor. Grace talks with Business View about the hard work, perseverance and passion that have contributed to her success.

Thermomix: from a Polish kitchen to a thriving business
Women in farming

Women in farming

5 December 2012

The role of women in agriculture has changed dramatically over the years, and with more women pursuing a career in rural industries, the future looks bright. Agribusiness View talks to Growcom’s ‘Women in Horticulture’ coordinator, Jane Muller.

Women in farming
Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence

3 December 2011

To respond quickly to online customer queries, artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by businesses, from retailers to publishers. My CyberTwin CEO, Liesl Capper-Beilby (pictured), explains this trend.

Artificial intelligence
Working with family

Working with family

2 December 2011

Currently working with family, or considering it? KeepCup CEO, Abigail Forsyth, who’s in business with her brother Jamie (both pictured), gives the scoop on how to make it work.

Working with family