FINALISTS ANNOUNCED: 2021 Executive of the Year Awards

 

CEO of the Year

Major Sponsor

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A$0–100m turnover

Top row, from left: Nicola Stokes, CEO, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation; Tony Pearson, CEO, AH Beard; Kylie Ward, CEO, Australian College of Nursing; Karl Brown, CEO & Co-Founder, Instyle Solar; Jenny Willits, CEO, Seven Miles Coffee Roasters. 

Middle row, from left: Jeremy Fleming, CEO & Managing Director, Stagekings; Shelley Sullivan, CEO, ModelCo & MCoBeauty; Roby Sharon-Zipser, CEO & Co-Founder, hipages Group; Elena Gosse, CEO, AIS Water. 

Bottom row, from left: Dr Lyn Bishop, CEO, Founder & Principal, Sheldon College; Michael Cassel, CEO, Michael Cassel Group; Taylah Allen, CEO, triSearch; Marcella Romero, CEO & Founder, Arriba Group; Clayton Howes, CEO, Co-Founder & Managing Director, MoneyMe Financial Group. 

A$100m+ turnover

 

Top row, from left: Hiranjan Aloysius, CEO, dnata catering; Michael Rebelo, CEO, Publicis Groupe; Kieran Lahey, CEO, VIDA GLOW. 

Bottom row, from left: Antony Karp, CEO, Prezzee; Andrew Hume, CEO, Probe Group; David Locke, CEO & Chief Ombudsman, Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

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Managing Director of the Year

Top row, from left: Phillip Britt, Managing Director, Aussie Broadband; David Gagovski, Managing Director & CEO, Cleaning Melbourne; Lynette Clunies-Ross, Former Managing Director & Regional Vice President, SAS Australia & New Zealand; Akash Ahluwalia, former Managing Director, Jenny Craig. 

Bottom row, from left: Ercument Ates, Managing Director, Galderma Australia & New Zealand; Sarah Hunter, Managing Director, Officeworks; Morten Birk Belling, Managing Director, Menulog; Jeremy Haw, Managing Director, Hussey & Co.

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CFO of the Year

Top row, from left: Glenn Meekin, CFO, Arriba Group; Jenny Martin, CFO, Citadel Group. 

Bottom row, from left: Kevin Huang, CFO, Collective Wellness Group; Duncan Webster, CFO, Mars Wrigley Australia.

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COO of the Year

Top row, from left: Craig Hooley, Chief Operating Officer of Minor Hotels Australia and New Zealand, Minor Hotels; Sarah Mullen, COO, Adore Beauty.Bottom row, from left: Neil Haynes, COO, Australian College of Nursing; Mathew Lu, COO, Wisr.

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Marketing Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Melissa Rodrigues, Group Director, Brand & Marketing, Minor Hotels; Simon Cheng, Chief Marketing Officer, Menulog. 

Bottom row, from left: James Goodwin, Chief Marketing Officer, Wisr; Steffen Daleng, Chief Marketing Officer, Booktopia.

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Executive Assistant of the Year

Top row, from left: Renee Picello, Executive Assistant, Special Broadcasting Service (SBS); Candice Golding, Executive Assistant, Dr Jones & Partners Medical Imaging; Shital Sharma, Executive Assistant, Arriba Group; Zia Keirouz, Executive Assistant, Booktopia. 

Bottom row, from left: Melissa Findlay-Megano, Executive Assistant, Real Estate Investment Finance; Rebecca Kennedy, Executive Assistant, Usher Group; Courtney Reid, Executive Assistant & Business Lead, Hireup; Jacqueline Turner, Former Executive Assistant, dnata catering.

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HR and Recruitment Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Kate Renner, Head of Employee Experience, Wisr; Robin Jerome, Managing Partner, Zeep. 

Bottom row, from left: Laura Jones, Head of People & Culture, dnata catering; Louise Busuttil, Senior Human Resources Manager, B Braun. 

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Media Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Jimmy Hyett, CEO, This Is Flow; Jocelyn Hunter, Managing Director, BENCH PR. 

Bottom row, from left: Jen Sharpe, Managing Director & Founder, Think HQ; Luke Girgis, CEO, The Brag Media.

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Not-For-Profit Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Joanne Pink, Chief Medical Officer & Executive Director, Clinical Services and Research, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood; Kellie Sloane, CEO, Life Education Australia; Arabella Gibson, CEO, Gidget Foundation Australia; Kylie Ward, CEO, Australian College of Nursing. 

Bottom row, from left: Violet Roumeliotis, CEO, Settlement Services International (SSI); Cath Stone, Executive Director, Donor Services, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood; Geoffrey Henderson, Deputy Region Commissioner – Greater Western Sydney, The Scout Association of Australia (NSW Branch); Ingrid Stonhill, CEO, Bawinanga Aboriginal Corporation.

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Professional Services Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Danielle Godbier, Head of Stakeholder Engagement, DVC Education: Enterprise & Engagement, The University of Sydney; Andrew Shea, CEO, Builders Academy Australia. 

Bottom row, from left: Simon Smith, CEO, Southern Cross Coaching & Development; Mushfiq Rahman, Executive General Manager, Valmec Limited. 

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Real Estate Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Adrian Butera, Director, Compton Green; Cathy Baker, Principal, Belle Property Central Coast. 

Bottom row, from left: Stewart Bunn, Chief Communications Officer, First National Real Estate, Group of Independent Agents Limited; Joshua Boctorani, Managing Director, AssetBase. 

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Sales Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Jonah Michael Hicks, Chief Revenue Officer, Instyle Solar; Blaine Slater, Group Executive – New Business, TSA Group. 

Bottom row, from left: Ben Shipley, Sales Director, The Entourage; Peter Beaumont, Chief Commercial Officer, Wisr.

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Entrepreneur of the Year

Top row, from left: Mladen Jovanovic, COO, BindiMaps; Jordan Walsh, Managing Director, Delegate Connect; Gina Rinehart, Executive Chairman, Hancock Prospecting; Sharon Melamed, Managing Director & Founder, Matchboard; Stephen Cornish, Managing Director & Founder, Pentanet. 

Middle row, from left: Tash Menon, Managing Director & Founder, MASH Brands; Jeremy Fleming, CEO & Managing Director, Stagekings; Shelley Sullivan, CEO, ModelCo & MCoBeauty; Scott Kuru, CEO & Founder, Freedom Property Investors. 

Bottom row, from left: Anson Zhang, CEO, Discover Energy; Cathy Baker, Principal, Belle Property Central Coast; Marcella Romero, CEO & Founder, Arriba Group; Paul Gordon, CEO & Technical Director, Catalyze APAC; Mark Woodland, CEO, Xplor Education.

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Corporate Responsibility Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Jen Sharpe, Managing Director & Founder, Think HQ; Vanessa Katsanevakis, Director, Sussex Taps. 

Bottom row, from left: Caterina Nesci, Director of International Partnerships & ESG, La Trobe Financial; Sandy Liddell, Managing Director, Total Support Services.

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Startup Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Ryan Edwards-Pritchard, CEO, Cape; Donna Sillett, Founding Owner & Sole Trader, PRIMA DONNA – Business Diva; Ian Ratcliff, Director of Special Projects, Flare Creative Experiences; Scott Miller, CEO, Asendium. 

Middle row, from left: Cian Brennan, Managing Director & Founder, Quantum Contract Solutions; Jason Hood, CEO & Founder, BourkeHood; Brodie Haupt, Co-Founder, WLTH; Vijay Paul, Co-CEO, Vantari VR; Rashid Khan, CEO & Founder, Evacovation; Frank Miletic, Founder & Designer, Ace Sunglasses. 

Bottom row, from left: Pascale Helyar-Moray, CEO & Founder, Super Rewards; Jeremy Hunt, CEO, The Common Good Group; Natassia Nicolao, CEO & Founder, Conserving Beauty; Jordan Walsh, Managing Director, Delegate Connect.

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Young Executive of the Year

Top row, from left: Stephen Cornish, Managing Director & Founder, Pentanet; Akash Ahluwalia, former Managing Director, Jenny Craig; Alex Harper, CEO & Co-Founder, Swyftx; Jordy Bowman, CEO, Developing East Arnhem Limited. 

Middle row, from left: Daniel Clements, Executive Director, Whitehouse Institute of Design; Nishanth Krishnananthan, Co-CEO, Vantari VR; Danielle Millar, General Manager, Shona Joy; Mushfiq Rahman, Executive General Manager, Valmec Limited; Sean Pieres, Director, MindArc; Heuson Bak, Managing Director, Solar Naturally.
Bottom row, from left: Tehbyn Nova, COO, Instyle Solar; Cameron Bryant, Founder & Partner, Sparro; Hugh Dellit, Managing Director, Link Advance; Matthew Wilkins, CEO, Venergy Australia. Winners will be announced at a black-tie gala dinner at The Star, Sydney, on 24 February 2022 (date updated). Vaccination requirement is to be confirmed.

Buy your tickets to the 2021 Executive of the Year Awards here.