The amazing career of Zita Peach - from refugee to ASX Chair
Women on Boards I Making it Real
Release Date: 02/12/2021
Premiership Winning Material: Gaye Hamilton and her Wild Ride
Women on Boards I Making it Real
She’s spent years working with children and animals (a combination many of us would steer clear of) and yet Gaye Hamilton says the transferable skills gained in secondary science education and zoo management paved the way for her varied and fascinating career and board journey, including over a decade with the Western Bulldogs AFL club.
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Treading gently: Why mining executive Bobbie Foot is firmly grounded in community
Women on Boards I Making it Real
What impact can I have, and how can I make the world a better place? It’s these questions which have driven Bobbie Foot; from growing up in a large rural Queensland farming family and qualifying as an occupational therapist to becoming head of Health, Safety and Environment at BMA Coal and being named one of the 2020 Global Top 100 Most Inspirational Women in Mining. In this podcast she talks about the importance of community, collaboration and ‘putting yourself out there’.
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Mind the gap: Mary Wooldridge on why we need to be ever vigilant about gender equality in the workforce
Women on Boards I Making it Real
Mary Wooldridge believes if you want change on the big social issues then you get engaged in purposeful action to get policy change and action taken. As Director of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, the issues currently in her sights are gender inequality, including closing the 14.2% gender pay gap. In this podcast, Mary speaks to Claire about why the Liberal Party should implement quotas for women and why we need to be ever vigilant about gender equality in the workplace.
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Helen Croxford has a passion for inclusion and her goal is to become obsolete
Women on Boards I Making it Real
On the Eve of the Paralympics Claire Braund talks to President of Sport Inclusion Australia, Helen Croxford about her vision for a fully inclusive sporting club system that welcomes athletes with an intellectual impairment with open arms, and why the media training that they’re running extends to training the media how to deal with people with an intellectual disability.
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From Rural Australia to Royalty: ASX Chair Gina Anderson on how she nailed networking
Women on Boards I Making it Real
Keeping in touch with her large network, as well as simply ‘being in the right place at the right time’, has seen experienced company director Gina secure many board roles - as well as “the job of a lifetime” as personal assistant to the Crown of Jordan in the early 90s. In this podcast, Gina talks about the importance of networking, describes what it was like going from struggling to find work during the recession to working for Jordanian royalty, and the reality of learning on the job.
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Michele Adair’s home truths on Australia’s affordable housing crisis, and the challenge boards face fixing the problem
Women on Boards I Making it Real
In the podcast Michele talks about being on the board of affordable housing organisations and of the joy of giving keys to a home to someone who desperately needs it. As Chair of CHIA NSW and CEO of affordable housing provider Housing Trust Michele’s goal is to ensure all Australians have access to the basic human right to somewhere to live.
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Dr Wendy Craik AM – A woman of many firsts. From the Great Barrier Reef, to the Murray Darling Basin to the RBA
Women on Boards I Making it Real
Dr Wendy Craik was the first female head of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, the first woman to lead the National Farmers' Federation and the first woman Chief Executive of the Murray Darling Basin Commission. So how does someone who started out with a science degree and PhD in zoology wind up on the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia? Never one to turn down a challenge, Wendy admits it has been a steep learning curve but says it has been a fascinating journey along the way
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Libby Nankivell - From refereeing to tackling big decisions - on and off the rugby field
Women on Boards I Making it Real
In May, Elizabeth ‘Libby’ Nankivell made history when she was appointed Vice President of Queensland Rugby Union, becoming the first woman to hold the position in 139 years. Libby acquired her love of the game from her late father, Darling Downs broccoli farmer and respected referee Paddy O’Brien, also following him into refereeing. Here the ‘self-confessed rugby tragic’ talks to Claire Braund about her passion for the game, and how that has translated into a meaningful career on rugby boards.
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Leading from the heart – how being a director at 27, a social conscience and failure shaped Suzie Riddell’s approach to making an impact
Women on Boards I Making it Real
Motivated and with clear vision, Suzie Riddell talks to Claire about why she decided not to pursue a career in accounting, despite winning the University medal, how she took a graduate role with Bain & Co and boldly deferred her start date TWICE, and how her failed volunteer experience in Guatemala shaped her approach.
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Tanya Cox: Building a portfolio career - how one board can lead to another, even when you don’t expect it.
Women on Boards I Making it Real
Today Claire talks to experienced NED & Chair, Tanya Cox, who discusses the power of connection and how one board can “surprisingly” lead to another. Tanya is now a portfolio director on 6 boards, including Chair of the World Green Building Council and Non-Executive Director of Cromwell Property Group (ASX:CMS), and says she has never been happier or more fulfilled. Tanya shares her journey and what she has learned along the way. Like any true success, Tanya is modest, understated and a true inspiratio
info_outlineZita’s story begins in Eastern Europe where she was born to parents of Hungarian heritage who found themselves living in the Serbian part of Yugoslavia. Based on a tip from a colleague that authorities were planning to confiscate the family’s passports, they fled to Austria in search of asylum. Following detainment and processing to confirm their refugee status, Zita and her family migrated to northeast Victoria, before eventually calling Melbourne home.
Zita’s curiosity led her to study Geology at university, but the advice of a professor sent her down a path of BioMed and a specialisation in immunology.
Today she is a Non-Executive Director for multiple ASX companies, including Pacific Smiles Group Limited (Chair), Monash IVF Group, Starpharma Holdings, and Visioneering Technologies. She is also on the Board of The Hudson Institute for Medical Research, a not-for-profit institute and on the Advisory Board for Luina Group.
Her Board career started out by representing industry bodies for the organisations and companies she was involved in, which sparked a real enjoyment for serving on committees. Zita was the first to nominate herself to attend functions and discovered early the importance of actively seeking Board opportunities and networking in the Board community. She got to know industry colleges, politicians, venture capitalists, bankers and head-hunters, and found herself transitioning from CSL Limited to Fresenius Kabi while accepting two Board positions with ASX listed companies.
Hear from Zita on the differences between being a NED and a Chair and why everyone needs a mentor. Zita is chairing the next WOBSX syndicate, a director-led, peer support program to assist women achieve ASX Board roles.
LinkedIn Zita Peach Claire Braund (host)