Adjudicator:
Fiona De Jong
Alastair
Dawson
Vice-President (Global Development) CQUniversity Australia
Andrew
Leaky
General Manager Mars Wrigley Australia
Cecily
McGuckin
CEO / Managing Director QLD Steel & Sheet Pty Ltd
David
Thodey
Board Member and Chairperson
Adriarna
Nunn
Head of People and Culture, Melbourne Real Estate
Sheena
Ireland
Managing Director Specialists in Communication
John
Griffiths
Chief Executive Officer at QTAC
Dr Dan
Wilson
Medical Leader and Winner of Outstanding Leader Award 2020
Cherie
Ryan
Vice President and Regional Managing Director, Oracle ANZ
April
Palmerlee
CEO American Chamber of Commerce for Australia
Nyunggai
Warren Mundine
Executive Chairman at Nyungga Black Group Pty Ltd
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Fiona De Jong
Fiona De Jong
The Outstanding Leadership Awards proudly announce Fiona De Jong as the night’s esteemed adjudicator. Fiona is the head of Australia’s nation Brand at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade).
A values-based and results-focused leader, Fiona’s proven ability to lead highly complex international organisations positions her as a figure of influence across Australian business in both private and government sectors. Fiona is known as an astute global leader who is currently entrusted with the promotion and re-imagination of Australia’s Nation Brand. Known for her bold strategic decisions, Fiona brings fresh insight and approach through her leadership, having worked for the Australian Olympic Committee and worked as a lawyer earlier in her career.
Committed to broadening Australia’s international reputation through innovative leadership and a passion to stand up for what is right, no matter how difficult the circumstances.
Alastair Dawnson
Alastair Dawnson
Alastair Dawson is the Vice-President (Global Development) of CQUniversity Australia. He is an expert in transformational leadership that guides organisations through periods of disruption and change. He prioritises disruptive innovation, global leadership and team building to garner results.
Alastair boldly lead the initiative to successfully open Australia’s first Indonesian campus through CQUni and reduced costs of international university operations by 40 per cent in 16 months through his executive leadership. The outstanding success of CQUni’s first international campus can be credited to Alastair’s emphasis on accountability, authenticity and charitability to incite positive change.
Likewise, Alastair has also held key community positions such as CEO of Beaudesert Shire Council and Rockhampton Regional Council. Alastair’s success across a breadth of roles and industries is attributed to his focus on operational and financial stability across his 25 years of executive leadership.
Cecily McGuckin
Cecily McGuckin
Cecily McGuckin, the first and only female CEO in Australia’s steel distribution industry, she is passionate about driving change in her industry and her family owned business, Queensland Sheet and Steel (QSS) as it enters 34 years in business. Cecily began her career in finance but quickly stumbled upon an area she enjoyed so much more. Construction development management. Roles at leading companies including Suncorp and Mirvac, followed where she gained a wealth of experience in the day-to-day running of big business and the delivery of large scale projects.
It’s these experiences that helped shape the leader Cecily is today – a problem solver and out of the box thinker. Cecily is also resilient. As a woman in a man’s world she has needed to prove herself time and time again. Not just to her peers and her staff, but her father who started the business from nothing. Cecily credits her emotional intelligence and gut instincts as the key drivers behind her success as a CEO. Not to mention her willingness to take a breath and calmly find the right moment to create conversations that generate results.
David Thodey
David Thodey
David Thodey is a business leader focused on innovation, technology and telecommunications with more than 40 years of experience.
He is currently Chairman of Australia’s national scientific research agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO); Tyro, Australia’s only independent EFTPOS banking institution; and Xero, a cloud-based accounting software provider for small and medium-sized businesses. Mr Thodey is also a non-executive Board director of Ramsay Health Care, a global hospital group.
Mr Thodey also is active in public policy and recently lead an Independent Review of the Australian Public Service (APS) in 2019. This review was commissioned by the Prime Minister to ensure that the APS is fit-for-purpose to serve Australian Governments and the Australian people into the future. In 2020 he chaired an eminent Panel appointed by the NSW Government to lead an independent review of Federal Financial Relations.
From March to December 2020, Mr Thodey was appointed Deputy Chair of the Federal Government’s National COVID-19 Coordination Commission (NCC) Advisory Board. During this time Mr Thodey and the Board supported the Prime Minister and Government to successfully navigate Australia through the extraordinary challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to his non-executive career, he had a successful career as CEO of Telstra, Australia’s leading telecommunications and information services company and prior to that, he was CEO of IBM Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Thodey was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Science and Technology from Deakin University in 2016 and an Honorary Doctorate of Business from University of Technology Sydney in 2018.
In 2017, Mr Thodey was made an Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for ethical business leadership.
Andrew Leaky
Andrew Leaky
Andrew Leakey joined Mars Wrigley in 2008 and since then has held a variety of senior leadership roles across Asia and the Pacific. In September 2019, Andrew was appointed General Manager Mars Wrigley Australia, returning from India where since 2016 he led the Mars Wrigley India business to double digit growth and opened the first local Mars chocolate factory near Mumbai.
Prior to this, Andrew was the General Manager of Wrigley Pacific from 2011-2016 leading the Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Islands operations. He joined Wrigley Pacific as Marketing Director, where among his many achievements, he launched the award-winning EXTRA® “Eat. Drink. Chew” campaign.
Andrew has over thirty years of experience in the FMCG industry, having held both Sales and Marketing roles at Arnott’s, Cerebos Greggs, and GlaxoSmithKline.
Ralph Kelly
Ralph Kelly
Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia at a function held at Admiralty House to one hundred of the top Australian companies in attendance.
Sheena Ireland
Sheena Ireland
Sheena is a passionate advocate for meaningful connection in leadership, public affairs and advocacy. She believes that empathy underpins connection and storytelling has the power to transform organisations and lives.
She is the founder and director of PR Agency Specialists in Communications—a trusted adviser and reliable communications team for businesses and government entities across Australia.
As a facilitator, coach and mentor in the area of communications, Sheena believes that organisations can benefit greatly through specialised training and support that educates, empowers and equips teams to understand their value, have empathy with their clients and colleagues, and communicate with influence.
As a trained volunteer telephone crisis supporter with Lifeline, Sheena has a passion for mental health support and prevention, and advocates the importance of listening and empathy in all communications efforts.
John Griffiths
John Griffiths
John is the CEO of QTAC, a role that he has held since 2011. He has led sector wide initiatives including the introduction of daily offers, Queensland’s response to the Federal Government’s transparency of higher education admissions and development of the VeriSkills. As a thought leader in the higher education admissions space, he continues to engage and innovate as Australia navigates new waters in education post COVID19.
His previous roles as Assistant Vice-Chancellor at Massey University and General Manager Corporate for the New Zealand Army ensure ensure he is uniquely positioned to provide in-depth and meaningful commentary on utilising innovation in education. John holds a PhD from Monash University, is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Chartered Accountant.
Matthew Martyn-Jones
Matthew Martyn-Jones
As a member of the Executive Management Team for the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority, Matthew Martyn-Jones leads the Strategy, Planning and People functions for
Queensland’s largest infrastructure project. He has accountability for organisational strategy, statutory planning and environmental approvals, people and culture, marketing
and communications, stakeholder engagement and social licence.
Before joining the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority in 2017, he held a number of senior
roles at global resources company BHP, including Head of Media Relations for Australia. He started his career as a journalist with the ABC before joining the public sector, where he has held a range of senior advisory and leadership roles across various Federal and State government portfolio areas including Treasury, State Development, Transport, Infrastructure and Environment.
Dan Wilson
Dr Dan Wilson
Dr Daniel Wilson is a rural generalist trainee in the Grampians region Victoria. He was Victoria’s 2019 Junior Doctor of the Year, and Finalist for Australia and New Zealand’s Junior Doctor of the Year. Dr Wilson is a keen teacher and hold numerous medical leadership roles including Board Director of Rural Doctors Association Victoria, Member of AMA Council of Rural Doctors, and member of the Education Committee of the Post Graduate Medical Council of Victoria.
Last year he won the Outstanding Leadership Award 2020.
Brook Monohan
Brook Monohan
With close to 20 years’ experience in property development, design, construction, finance and funds management Brook Monahan brings a wealth of knowledge to his role as Founder and Managing Director of Mosaic Property Group. Mosaic is a fully integrated design-led, development and construction business operating predominantly in South East Queensland. Mosaic is a unique property group with a holistic approach that sees it control the entire development cycle from research and acquisition, through detailed design, development, marketing, sales and construction, to managing the assets upon completion. With over $1 billion of projects either delivered or under construction and a further substantial pipeline of additional high-end residential and mixed-use projects planned across South East Queensland in the next five years, and with more than 110 team members, and over 2,000 consultants and sub-contractors, Mosaic is a highly regarded and awarded leader in the industry, contributing significantly to Queensland’s economy.
Brook is also a Director and co-founder of the Mosaic Foundation, which provides support to organisations tackling the provision of shelter for those in desperate need, as well as mental health initiatives.
Priscilla
Priscilla Stevens-Guiney
Priscilla is the Director, Office of the Vice-President (Global Development) at CQUniversity. In addition, Priscilla is a Committee Chair, Committee Member and Treasurer with experience/expertise in environment, conservation, tourism and the higher education sector. As an Associate Director, Priscilla provides executive strategic support and advice to the Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice President in innovation and strategy matters across the broad portfolio of the International and Services Division. Priscilla is a commercially focused and collaborative business partner with a proven record in leading highly complex projects in areas such as systems innovation and integration; whole-of-organisation change leadership, business continuity and critical incident preparedness and response.
Prior to joining CQUniversity, Priscilla worked in the field of conservation and protected area management at Parks Victoria and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
Priscilla is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and earned an MBA from Australian Institute of Business, a Bachelor in Applied Science (Parks, Recreation and Heritage) from Charles Sturt University and is currently completing her Professional Doctorate with CQUniversity.
Nyunggai Warren Mundine
Nyunggai Warren Mundine
Highly respected and influential businessman, political strategist and advocate for empowering Australia’s First People to build a sustained economy and to create business opportunities. Warren Mundine has lived over half his life in regional Australia and is passionate about supporting local jobs and opportunities in Australia’s regions.
Warren has spent most of his life dedicated to helping Australia’s most disadvantaged people achieve economic prosperity. He was raised to believe that, no matter what obstacles are facing you, there is no limit to what you can achieve.
Warren believes that small business is the backbone of Australia’s economy, especially in Australia’s regions and has successfully invested his own time and money in generating business opportunities for young Australians.
Nyunggai Warren Mundine is a member of the Bundjalung, Gumbaynggirr and Yuin people of New South Wales.
Cherie Ryan
Cherie Ryan
Cherie Ryan leads Oracle’s business across Australia and New Zealand. Originally from the UK, she has more than two decades of experience in the technology industry in Australia, spanning industries including finance, telecommunications and the public sector.
Prior to joining Oracle in 2019, Cherie held senior regional and global roles at leading technology companies including Ericsson, Novell, Genesys, NetApp, Microsoft, and Salesforce. She prides herself on her blend of technical expertise and commercial acumen, as well as her leadership of high-performing teams.
As VP and RMD at Oracle ANZ, Cherie is focussed on infusing a customer-centric culture across the organisation and strengthening Oracle’s ecosystem of industry Alliances and Channel partners. She helps customers to discover the full breadth of Oracle’s technology including enterprise applications, cloud infrastructure, systems, databases and consulting services. She is also passionate about highlighting the potential of emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and Oracle’s unique autonomous offerings.
Abby McDonald
Abby McDonald
Abby McDonald is a passionate 19-year old advocate for the mental health of youth in schools. She has seen and experienced the impact bullying has on young people and her mission is to break the taboo around the topic.
She knows that until people are willing to talk about it, bullying will be an ongoing problem in schools. She reaches out to our youth and our schools to help fight bullying and open a pathway to a solution for all the youth who suffer in silence.
By speaking to youth in schools, she shows them what bullying looks like because it isn’t always obvious. She teaches them how to stop bullying when they see it by standing up for what’s right. Importantly, she shows there is a solution and a way to recover after being bullied.
Nobody can help young people take care of their mental health like another young person. That’s what Abby does. She cares for your young people and helps them survive.
Colleen Harris
Colleen Harris
Mrs Colleen Harris commenced with Ramsay Health Care on 8 January 2018 in the role of Group Chief People Officer.
In this role, Colleen is responsible for the talent strategy for the Group including mapping of where key expertise will be needed in the future, talent development and succession planning for the most senior leaders across our organisation.
Colleen is a successful Human Resources (HR) executive with more than 20 years’ experience across a variety of industries where she was responsible for designing and implementing talent, diversity, performance and reward programs linked to both individual and business performance outcomes. She has served in several senior executive HR positions reporting to the Group CEOs of National Australia Bank, Federation Centres and MyState Limited. She has also held senior HR positions at Crown Ltd and Yellow Pages.
She holds a Bachelor of Education (Science) from the University of Melbourne, is a Member of the AICD and a Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute.
In 2020 Colleen was appointed a Director of Ramsay Sime Darby Health Care, Ramsay Health Care’s joint venture with Sime Darby.
April Palmerlee
April Palmerlee
April Palmerlee was appointed CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia in 2017 after an international career in government, education, and the corporate sector. American-born, Palmerlee has lived in Sydney since 2003 and is a dual citizen. She is a member of Chief Executive Women and a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She received a BS from Georgetown and a Master’s from Columbia. In Australia, she has worked for the University of Sydney’s US Studies Centre, the Lowy Institute for International Policy, the Centre for Independent Studies, and Potomac Partners. In the United States, she held the rank of Assistant Secretary at the Department of State with the remit for international women’s issues. Before that, she was a senior executive at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. She has also worked for couturier Oscar de la Renta, financial publisher The Bank Credit Analyst, and not-for-profit The Spanish Institute. She is on the boards of CIS and Georgetown University Australian and New Zealand Centre. She also chairs a scholarship selection committee at the Fulbright Commission.
Colleen Callander
Colleen Callander
Geelong born and raised, Colleen was brought up in a hard-working business focused family, where there was always a job to do. After working in family businesses from as young as she could remember, Colleen had her first taste of retail at the age of 16. Unbeknownst to her at the time this summer job would be the start of a retail career spanning over 30 years.
Colleen is an award-winning CEO, has wealth of knowledge and a proven track record in building brands, creating a winning culture, building environments that allows people to be inspired and empowered. Colleen is now sharing not only the past 13 years experience as a CEO but the past 30 years of her retail career.
Colleen is an inspiration to women of all generations and wants to encourage women globally to have the confidence to believe in themselves, their ability, share their voice and find the superpower within. Colleen wants to inspire and empower women to lead in their own lives whether that be in boardrooms, organisations, communities or even the home.
She wants them to believe in the power within and that it is possible to become the leader they always wanted to be in business and in life and together create a new era of leadership, one that leads with kindness, humility, self-awareness, on one that puts people at the heart of everything we do.
Colleen is a Leader By Design (the title of her book). In the early years of her career, she looked up to and admired people with titles, level of authority and positions of power, labelling them leaders. What she learnt over time is that it is not someone’s title, level of authority or position of power that automatically qualifies them for leadership. In fact, Colleen shares that you don’t even need a title to be a leader. We have the ability to lead every day, with every action, every reaction, every interaction and every decision.
Philip Levinson
Philip Levinson
Adriarna Nunn
Adriarna Nunn
As MRE’s Head of People and Culture, Adriarna encapsulates all of the things that make this award winning business rise head and shoulders above the pack. Consciously subverting the traditionally accepted values of Human Resources and embodying the core values that underscore MRE’s success, her focus is on maximising the engagement, effectiveness and retention of each and every employee.
With over a decade of experience in the Property industry under her belt, Adriarna is duly acknowledged as a force of nature, juggling myriad roles across the company from recruitment to the onboarding and continual development of the MRE community. Responsible for the overarching well-being of staff, Adriarna actively works with team members to help formulate their individual professional career blueprints, along with providing ongoing support and guidance for up-skilling.
The internal culture of MRE is vital to a cohesive team and Adriarna, operating as a natural motivator with a genuine love of people, is able to employ her innate empathy to ensure everyone is included and valued.
Inherently civic minded, Adriarna also likes to give back by volunteering. Most recently working with Juno Consulting in collaboration with AMES Australia, partaking in the ‘Passport To Work Program’ helping long-term unemployed people learn how to jump the interview hurdle, bridging the gap between corporate and community.
Umit
Ümit Subasi
Ümit Subasi is a successful executive and board member that has served across a breadth of industries for more than 30 years. Subasi is the current board director & partner at 4A Cosmetics Inc. and is the founding partner of Ultra Modum, a boutique advisory business.
Umit’s leadership experience spans across multiple continents where he has enjoyed a successful track record in strategy development, creating route-to-market strategies, designing & implementing new business models, non-organic business development, governance and monitoring practices, management finance, building high-performance cultures and change management.
Notably, Umit was in charge of all operations outside the US for the Campbell Soup Company as President International and CEO of Campbell Arnott’s. Having served on a variety of boards, including the Australian Food and Grocery Council, Umit has shared his expertise as a non-executive director and senior advisor with several boards and organisations across Australia, the US, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.