As the sun set over the Yarra riverbank, Crown Melbourne’s grandest venue, The Palladium, began to fill with sharp-suited men and elegantly dressed women. All were gathered for the 2015 Executive of the Year Awards, the most highly anticipated event on the annual business calendar.
More than 600 entries were received across 22 categories, with the expert judges scrutinising every application closely, identifying the achievements of aspiring and established leaders before determining the worthiest of winners. And here they are…
CEO of the Year – Winner
Christine Holgate
Under the leadership of Christine, Blackmores group sales grew 36% and profits more than doubled. Blackmores is now the largest Austra-Asia Natural Health Group.
CEO of the Year – Runner-Up
Jason Dooris
CEO
Atomic 212
Atomic 212’s Jason Dooris oversaw the transformation of the agency from a digital-only business into a full service media agency.
CEO of the Year – Highly Commended
Vaughn Richtor
CEO
ING DIRECT
ING DIRECT Australia is the nation’s most recommended bank (Nielsen 2014/15). Under Vaughn’s leadership, bank profit rose by 9.4%.
Chairperson of the Year
Barbara Yeoh
Chairperson
Monash Health
Barbara Yeoh is an extraordinary woman, with over 25 years’ experience as a director across public and private sector agencies in the health, education, finance, transport, technology and infrastructure sectors.
Chairperson of the Year – Runner-Up
Julien O’Connell
Chairman
Mercy Health
Runner-up for Chairperson of the Year was Julien O’Connell, Chairman, Mercy Health.
Managing Director of the Year
Andrew Stewart
Managing Director of Australia and Asia Wood Group PSN
Andrew Stewart oversees over 2,200 employees and is accountable for leading, planning and controlling a diverse range of oil and gas, refining, chemicals, coal seam gas and water contracts.
Managing Director of the Year – Runner-Up
Chris Ridd
Managing Director
Xero Australia
Since January 2014, Chris Ridd’s achievements include doubling the number of employees from 109 to over 200 and growing the Australian management team from five to eight.
CIO of the Year
Ajay Bhatia
CIO
Carsales
Over the last year Ajay implemented a customer focused structure (called Tribal Structure) within his team that allowed them to focus on the customer/ business metrics rather than pre-defined projects outcomes.
CFO of the Year
Michael Da Gama Pinto
CFO
Swiss Wellness
Since joining Swisse in 2013, Michael has helped lead the business to deliver accelerated growth with sustainable financial performance.
CFO of the Year – Runner-Up
Darren Smith
CFO
Sirtex Medical
Runner-up for CFO of the Year was Darren Smith, CFO, Sirtex Medical.
HR Executive
Robyn Batson
Group People & Development Manager
Sportsgirl / Sussan Group
Robyn is a passionate driven senior HR leader with a wealth of experience and applies the company’s business values in everything she does.
Marketing Executive
Michael Howard
Director of Marketing
Swisse Wellness
Michael has helped Swisse to outperform business objectives, including increased revenue by 90 per cent, improved EBITDA margins and transitioning from a highly leveraged position to a net cash position.
Sales Executive
Matthew Kates
Sales Director ANZ
Zerto
Matthew Kates, Sales Director for Zerto has been pivotal in opening up the business in Australia and launching Zerto in Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ) back in January 2014.
Start-up Executive
Anurag Chakradhar
Founder and CEO
Blrt
Anurag Chakradhar invented Blrt – a groundbreaking communications platform that enables meeting-like collaboration to happen in an asynchronous fashion.
Not for Profit Executive
Louise Baxter
Chief Executive
Starlight Children’s Foundation
Since Louise become the CEO of Starlight in 2009 (post GFC), there has been a complete business turnaround with every metric recording improvement.
Young Executive
Adam Schwab
CEO and Co-Founder
AussieCommerce Group
At only 35, Adam Schwab has managed to create an ecommerce giant and a strong player in the Australian market.
Executive Assistant
Dimitra Zographos
Executive Assistant to the Executive and Leadership Team
Western Union Business Solutions
Dimitra is passionate for the Executive Assistant function and thrives on having a great partnership with her executive and leadership team, adding value to the business and helping people progress.
Financial Services
Chris Ridd
Managing Director
Xero Australia
Under Chris’ leadership, Xero Australia has gained recognition as the #1 Most Innovative Company in 2015 by BRW Magazine and was ranked #16 in BRW’s Great Place to Work Awards
Retail
Michael Ford
CEO
The Good Guys
Michael has led The Good Guys into a new age of prosperity by identifying and utilising industry trends, investing in best-of-breed systems and adapting practices to accommodate rapidly changing consumer needs.
Manufacturing
Frank Seeley AM
Executive Chairman
Seeley International
Under Frank’s guidance Seeley International has continued to grow year on year, with growth of more than 30 per cent in the past 2 years.
Building & Construction
Jonathan Hallinan
Managing Director
BPM
Jonathan has taken BPM from purely a property brand into an entire lifestyle brand, introducing a series of coffee houses, hotels, and champagne bars which will be housed within Shadow Play.
Energy & Resources
Ian Murray
Executive Chairman
Gold Road Resources Limited
Ian’s prime objective is ensuring the production of the company’s gold resource in the Yamarna Greenstone Belt in Western Australia, a newly discovered world-class gold region.
Hospitality & Tourism
Barry Robinsons
President and Managing Director
Wyndham Hotel Group
Barry has been the driving force behind many significant new hotel acquisitions, hotel franchises, management agreements and enhanced resort developments across Australia and South East Asia.
IT & Telecommunications
David Dicker
Chairman and CEO
Dicker Data
David founded Dicker Data in 1978 and has since grown his operation to boast revenues in excess of AUD$1.1B.
Health & Pharmaceutical
David Cade
Global Medical Director
Sirtex Medical
As CMO, Dr Cade is responsible for the medical affairs of this rapidly growing global healthcare business, which operates in 40 countries.
Transport & Logistics
Kerrie Mather
Managing Director
Sydney Airport
Kerrie works with stakeholders to foster the growth of aviation for the benefit of Sydney, NSW and Australia, including driving tourism growth and delivering a world-class airport experience.
Media
Luke Littlefield
Dentsu Aegis Network is the largest, most diverse and successful marketing and communications business in Australia. Luke’s philosophy is one of a collaborative, ‘values based performance culture’.
