Success Stories From Catherine Robson

Margaret Jackson has an impressive list of firsts to her name. The first woman to become chairman of a top-50 publicly listed company in Australia. The first female director of BHP Billiton in 108 years of history.  The first woman in a light blue pantsuit to quietly challenge the skirt only dress code for women at professional services in the 1970s. Margaret is perhaps best known for her time as Chairman of the Qantas, and the pointed, personal criticism she received for her support for the 2007 takeover bid.  The subsequent impact of the GFC and collapse of the Qantas share price have not only proved that Margaret was right, but she remains grateful for the experience and the personal growth it conferred and new doors it opened. A liberating upbringing in the Victorian countryside set Margaret on a fiercely independent course.

Christine Christian, former CEO and Chairman of Dun & Bradstreet is now a non-executive director. She talks to Catherine about big data and the benefits of adversity and her love of the State Library of Victoria.

Tracey Spicer is calling for women to challenge their ‘expected’ role in society and speak up on entrenched gender discrimination, from taking charge of personal finances to shunning gruelling beauty routines. Tracey is a popular Australian journalist and author of 'femoir' The Good Girl Stripped Bare. She has shaken off internet trolls and is continuing to call out sexism in the Australian workplace. And she is doing her part to lighten the makeup bags of women around Australia.

Former ballet dancer and hugely successful property advisor, Monique Sasson is a disciplined powerhouse and master of prioritisation. She mentors professional women, helping them articulate and prioritise their career aspirations and balance complex, demanding lifestyles. She was one of the pioneers of the property advisory industry but it was coming out on top of a cancer diagnosis, that changed Monique’s perspective on life. She now puts her self care before anything else and shares her insights on why you can do it all, just not at the same time. 

Starting out a scientist with Johnson and Johnson, German Bianca Ogden is part of an elite group of female portfolio managers in successful Australian equity funds. Thriving in a male dominated environment, this Fund Manager is part of a small group of decision makers managing the sizeable investment at Platinum Asset Management. She may still find it hard to work the room at networking events but she knows her way around pharmaceutical investments. Bianca recommends beginner investors take their lead from a German nun.

Amanda Coombs is a committed philanthropist and savvy start up investor. As General Manager of Commonwealth Private, in Victoria and Tasmania she’s knows the in’s and outs of personal investing. She believes staying the course and a healthy dose of discipline are key to investments that pay in the long run.

Leah Zell believes that small cap investing is not something you should do at home. She should know – her nickname is the Queen of Small caps and she is one of the most successful women on Wall Street, carving out a stellar career in the male-dominated funds management business. Leah believes that while index investing is a wonderful way to protect you against underperformance in deep and liquid markets, the higher returns and corresponding higher risk of investing in companies with smaller market capitalization, warrants professional management. The daughter of Polish immigrants, Leah graduated Magna Cum Laude from Harvard. She went on to earn a PhD and win the Woodrow Wilson, Fulbright, and Krupp Foundation fellowships, before following her brother, billionaire property magnate Sam Zell, into business. Leah believes that keeping her ego in check, being patient and maintaining a team small enough to hold one single conversation at a dinner table, have been the keys to her success.

Passionate social entrepreneur Rebecca Scott is, quite simply, an unstoppable force. She is the founder of STREAT, a multi-venue hospitality organisation whose traineeships change the lives of vulnerable young people. Through their cafes, catering and artisan baking, STREAT provides the opportunity for homeless kids to learn hospitality skills and open the door to a new start. A scientist by training and with no experience in hospitality or social work, Rebecca founded STREAT in 2009 after a simple meal in Vietnam changed her life.

Merran Kelsall is a professional independent company director, holding the position of board director with VicSuper, TarraWarra Museum of Art and RACV club. She is this week's success story. Merran is former performance coach to rising executives. She tells Catherine about the value of honest feedback how you can spotlight your strengths and building valuable network beyond business cards.

What can you do with a music degree? According to Mary Jo Capps: so much, especially if you are willing to stick it out and help an organisation grow and change. Mary Jo is this week's Success Story. She's been guiding Musica Aviva for over 15 years and as the CEO is excited for its future. Originally from Canada, Mary Jo leveraged her music degree to find a career that still makes her excited to head to the office.Plus, what she's noticed as the biggest differences between her birth country and her adopted one - and it's not - one has a better looking PM! 

Lisa Ray Hennessy is a Harvard MBA and strategist with a love for start up's. The American born and educated Director of investment advisory firm Hennessy a'Beckett and McCrae has carved out an impressive career here in Australia with a varied portfolio of businesses she's built, invested in or collaborated with.  Co-author of a case study used in the course "Running and Growing a Small Business" at Harvard Business School, Lisa has a keen interest in start up's run by women and she co-led a $1.25 million investment in Australian software company Switch Automation with Scale, a female focused investor network.

Diversity and collaboration. These two words are high on the agenda for one of Australia's leading women in tech, Sarah Adam-Gedge, Managing Director of Avanade Australia. Her passionate message is clear: a career in tech is for anyone, regardless of gender or background. Sarah is this week's Success Story.She's championed a workplace culture embracing difference through Avanade Australia's award winning diversity program. Sarah tells Catherine about how embracing diversity helped her to build a stand out career and organisation.

Can you imagine ensuring 40,000 employees receive their pay on time? Well, for Yolande Foord,  Executive Director of Remuneration & Benefits a Division of Human Resources at Telstra, she and her team of lawyers, psychologists and math experts do just that.  Yolande is this week's Success Story.Yolande grew up in South Africa and used international opportunities to move her career forward. She dreamed of being a lawyer but a setback at an early stage changed her career trajectory and helped her learn to fight for fairness.

"Pack your bags, you are going to Antarctica",  that was the response Rachael Robertson received after responding to a newspaper ad. This is where she led a team for one year, six months in complete darkness. Rachael is this week's Success Stories guest.While living with the same group for one year, Rachael learned in a short time what type of leader she was. Rachael is now an author and a popular public speaker. She ended the Antarctic 'bacon wars' that could have gotten out of greasy hand.

As one of six children, Sally Bruce, never worried about hierarchy, something she credits as part of her current success. And what a rise it has been- Sally is currently Group Executive at AMP. She joins Catherine in this week's Success Stories podcast.As a leader, Sally is known for her willingness to let her teams work flexibly and fostering an inclusive spirit. She begins her work day at 5 am to ensure she can maximise time with her young daughters and she shares with Catherine how her husband's cancer diagnosis was a "clarifying" experience.

Lisa Gray, CEO of Victorian Funds Management Corporation, leveraged her background and skills in town planning to move to a career in financial services. Lisa joins Catherine for a chat about making this change and the learning curve associated with this transition. Lisa also shares her morning routine, her ability to disconnect on holiday and the importance of developing leadership skills early in your career.

Books, breaking news and biceps are all passions of Jennifer Byrne. The host of ABC's The Book Club, puts down her tomes to chat with Catherine in this week's podcast.Jennifer started her career in journalism at 16 with a cadetship at The Age and has been running ever since. She shares with Catherine a career misstep, her move to to television and how she gets her enviable arms- watch out Michelle Obama.

Jane den Hollander is the Vice Chancellor of Deakin University in Melbourne and Trustee Director of UniSuper. The daughter of an Irish gold-miner in Africa, she started out as a Zoologist before bringing her skill with people to leadership roles.

Have you ever considered which companies your super invests in? Well, neither had, oncologist, Dr Bronwyn King until a chance meeting about her super fund led to a discovery that sent her on a health and finance mission.Bronwyn talks to Catherine about her professional epiphany, if tobacco has any redeeming features and how to balance motherhood with her tobacco-free agenda. Your body will thank you.

Catherine talks with Danielle Press in this week's Success Stories podcast. Danielle is CEO of Meyer Family and was the former chief executive at Equipsuper. Danielle shares her career path, her current challenges and her best investment, alpacas.