Australia’s Recipients of First 100 Women of Influence Awards Named

What do Business Council of Australia Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott, Origin Energy Chief Operating Officer Karen Moses, Kraft Foods Chief Rebecca Dee-Bradbury, philanthropists Layne Beachley, Carol Schwartz and Debbie Dadon, and Reconciliation Australia Chief Executive Leah Armstrong have in common? These strong-willed and leadership-capable women have been included in the first ever conducted 100 Women of Influence awards by the Australian Financial Review newspaper and Westpac Bank.

Handpicked from a list of 350 nominees, the final 100 were chosen based on their attained success in their chosen careers, plus influence in trying to shape up a better and improved Australia, not just economically but also socially. The finalists were selected from across the economy by a panel of leading Australians, the AFR reported.

"Influence often seems so wishy-washy when compared with the assumptions that power is absolute," Wendy McCarthy, judge and director of the 100 Women of Influence awards, said. "Influence is what women can have when they do not have power. If we want to change the world we need both . . . influence can be powerful and change culture."

The women were judged based on 10 categories, including board/management, innovation, public policy, business entrepreneur, diversity, young leader, global, social enterprise, philanthropy and local/regional.

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"Women to date haven't spoken out with an open voice in the community and the awards are part of the pathway of encouraging women to be active," Jillian Segal, ASX Director and one of Australia's 100 Women of Influence, said.

"Women are often criticised for not putting their hands up for recognition and are often too busy keeping their heads down doing their job. There are more and more models out there to show women can and need to play a significant role in society."

"It's part of having a dynamic and mature society to have women, who represent half the population and the majority of decision-makers as consumers, to have a voice and play a leading role in different fields and seek to shift society for the benefit of all," Ms Segal noted.

The overall 2012 Woman of Influence as well as the winners of the 10 categories will be revealed on Friday at a ceremony at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney .

Category	Woman of Influence	Title	State/Country
Young Leader	Abdel-Magied, Yassmin	Founder, President, Youth Without Borders	QLD
Board & Management	Argaman, Rachel	CEO, Toga Hospitality	NSW
Public Policy	Armstrong, Leah	CEO, Reconciliation Australia	NSW
Social Enterprise	Badcoe, Carey	CEO Australian Business and Community Network	NSW
Philanthropy	Beachley, Layne	Founder, Aim for the Stars Foundation	NSW
Diversity	Beazley, Margaret	Judge, NSW Court of Appeal	NSW
Young Leader	Briody, Felicity	Water Resources Engineer, AECOM	QLD
Public Policy	Bruniges, Michele	Director-General Education and Communities, MD TAFE, NSW	NSW
Innovation	Burns, Jane	CEO, Young and Well Cooperative Research Centre	VIC
Local/Regional	Burns, Maggie	Co-Founder and Director, Appin Hall Children's Foundation	TAS
Social Enterprise	Callister, Sharon	CEO, Salvation Army Aged Care Plus	NSW
Business Entrepreneur	Cameron, Christine	Co-owner and director, Rockcote Enterprises	QLD
Public Policy	Casey, Dawn	Director, Powerhouse Museum	NSW
Philanthropy	Chauncy, Annabelle	Co-founder and Managing Director, School for Life Foundation Ltd	NSW
Young Leader	Cheng, Marita	Founder and Director, Robogals	VIC
Innovation	Clark, Megan	Chief Executive CSIRO	NSW
Board & Management	Cobley, Lyn	Group Treasurer, CBA	NSW
Local/Regional	Conway, Deborah	Artistic director and musician	QLD
Board & Management	Cook, Sharon	Managing Partner, Henry Davis York	NSW
Innovation	Cory, Suzanne	President, Australian Academy of Science	VIC
Young Leader	Cran, Samantha	CEO, One Disease at a Time	NSW
Philanthropy	Crawford, Annie	Founder and Director, Can Too Run and Swim	NSW
Philanthropy	Dadon, Debbie	Director, Highpoint Property Group and Executive Officer, Besen Family Foundation	VIC
Business Entrepreneur	Davenport, Liz	MD Liz Davenport Pty Ltd	WA
Board & Management	Dee-Bradbury, Rebecca	CEO Kraft Foods Australia	VIC
Global	Dodd, Moya	Vice-President, Asian Football Confederation, Partner, Gilbert and Tobin Lawyers	NSW
Social Enterprise	Donnelly, Merinda	Indigenous program officer, Australia Council for the Arts	NSW
Global	Dvorak, Suzanne	CEO, Save the Children	VIC
Local/Regional	Eastland, Elizabeth	Director Commercial Research and Tech Transfer, University of Wollongong	NSW
Innovation	Elliott, Elizabeth	Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Sydney	NSW
Global	Exel, Audette	Founder and CEO, ISIS Group	NSW
Local/Regional	Fitzpatrick, Lesley	CEO, Australian Rural Leadership Foundation	ACT
Diversity	Flood, Nadine	National Secretary, CPSU	NSW
Board & Management	Foley, Marianne	Principal, Sydney Office Leader Arup	NSW
Board & Management	Gillies, Helen	General Manager, Risk SKM and Corporate Counsel	NSW
Public Policy	Goldie, Cassandra	CEO, Australian Council of Social Service	NSW
Business Entrepreneur	Gunn, Catherine (Kate)	Founder and Director, Balance! Healthcare Pty Ltd	NSW
Local/Regional	Hansen, Justine	Promotion Co-ordinator, Women's Health Service (Tom Price)	WA
Diversity	Harley, Felicity	Editor, Women's Health	NSW
Public Policy	Hodges, Jacky	Regional Director WA, Australian Bureau of Statistics	WA
Social Enterprise	Honor Lloyd, Elizabeth	Member, Ministerial Council of Asylum Seekers, Chair of Violence Against Women Advisory Group	ACT
Philanthropy	Hosch, Tanya	Consultant and director	SA
Public Policy	Houghton, Megan	CEO, CitySmart Pty Ltd	QLD
Global	Jinks, Barbara	Vice-Chair Gas marketing committee, International Gas Union	QLD
Local/Regional	Johnson, Alana	Founder, Rural Women's Network	VIC
Social Enterprise	Kahn, Ronni	Founder, Oz Harvest	NSW
Board & Management	Kelly, Cassandra	Joint CEO Pottinger	NSW
Diversity	Lewitan, Rachelle	Judge, County Court of Victoria	VIC
Young Leader	Long, April	National Manager, National Indigenous Youth Leadership Academy	NSW
Board & Management	Lumlock, Becky	Vice President, QGC Asset Management, BG Australia	QLD
Board & Management	Madew, Romilly	CEO Green Building Council of Australia	NSW
Social Enterprise	Mahlab, Karen	CEO, Pro Bono Australia	NSW
Global	Maiorano, Serafina	CEO, Advance	US
Board & Management	Mather, Kerrie	Chief Executive, Sydney Airport	NSW
Board & Management	Matton, Janet	Vice President Operations, IBM Australia/NZ	VIC
Business Entrepreneur	May, Tammy	Director MyBudget	SA
Board & Management	McFadden, Vikki	Director Skilled Group	NSW
Board & Management	McGrath, Lyn	Executive General Manager, Retail Sales, CBA	NSW
Public Policy	McGregor, Carmel	Deputy Secretary People Strategies and Policy, Department of Defence	ACT
Diversity	Medd, Ruth	Joint Founder and Chair, Women on Boards	NSW
Board & Management	Moses, Karen	Executive Director, Finance and Strategy, Origin Energy	NSW
Board & Management	Mostyn, Sam	Director Virgin Australia, Transurban, Citigroup Australia, AFL Commissioner	NSW
Young Leader	Orsini, Bianca	Territorial Oasis Schools Liaison, The Salvation Army	NSW
Social Enterprise	Owen, Jan	CEO, Foundation for Young Australians	VIC
Social Enterprise	Parker, Kirstie	Managing Editor Koori Mail	NSW
Philanthropy	Pratt, Jeanne	Co-founder, The Pratt Foundation, Chair The Production Company	VIC
Business Entrepreneur	Preston, Leanne	CEO, Wild Child (WA) Pty Ltd	WA
Global	Randell, Shirley Kaye	Founder and Director, Centre for Gender, Culture and Development (KIE) Rwanda	NSW
Young Leader	Ransom, Holly	Business Analyst, Rio Tinto	WA
Public Policy	Raper, Judy	Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) University of Wollongong	NSW
Diversity	Raymond, Fran	Director, Defence Bank and UN Women, General Manager Corporate (COO and CFO) Rural Industries and Research Development Corporation	ACT
Local/Regional	Raymond, Melanie	Chair, Youth Projects Ltd	VIC
Public Policy	Reynolds, Fiona	CEO, Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees	VIC
Public Policy	Rubenstein, Kim	Director, Centre for International and Public Law, ANU	ACT
Philanthropy	Schwartz,Carol	Chairman, Qualitas and director Stockland	VIC
Social Enterprise	Scott, Rebecca	Founder, CEO STREAT	VIC
Board & Management	Segal, Jillan	Director NAB Ltd, ASX Ltd	NSW
Board & Management	Shanahan, Brenda	Director	VIC
Public Policy	Sheil, Margaret	Provost, University of Melbourne	VIC
Local/Regional	Shewring, Fiona	Founder and President, Supporting and Linking Tradeswomen	NSW
Diversity	Silva, Miriam	Former GM Commercial Operations, Elders; Deputy chair SA Training and Skills Commission	SA
Public Policy	Silver, Helen	Secretary Dept Premier and Cabinet, Victoria	VIC
Global	Sisia, Gemma	Founder and Director, The School of St Jude	Tanzania
Social Enterprise	Sizer, Jodie	National director, Ingenuity Australia	VIC
Board & Management	Skira, Eva	Chairman, Water Corporation; Deputy Chancellor, Murdoch University	WA
Public Policy	Staib, Margaret	Former Commander Joint Logistics Australian Defence Force; incoming CEO Air Services Australia	ACT
Public Policy	Stutsel, Melanie	Director, Health, Safety, Environment and Community Policy MCA	ACT
Local/Regional	Thompson, Clare	Director, Aboriginal Women's Legal Education Trust	WA
Global	Torres, Vanessa	VP Group Planning, BHP Billiton	VIC
Innovation	Visvader, Jane	Joint head, Division of Stem Cells and Cancer and the Breast Cancer Laboratory, Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research	VIC
Board & Management	Wakefield-Evans, Nicola	Partner, King & Wood Mallesons, Director Toll Holdings Group Ltd	NSW
Social Enterprise	Walker, Natalie	CEO Australian Indigenous Minority Suppliers Council	NSW
Business Entrepreneur	Waterhouse, Gai	Gai Waterhouse Stables	NSW
Board & Management	Westacott, Jennifer	CEO, Business Council of Australia	VIC
Local/Regional	Whitehead, Janelle	CEO, Murdi Paaki Regional Enterprise Corporation Ltd	NSW
Board & Management	Whiting, Janet	Partner, Corrs Chambers Westgarth	VIC
Business Entrepreneur	Whitlam, Anna	Director, Anna Whitlam People Pty Ltd	VIC
Local/Regional	Wilkes, Deb	Executive Manager Community Development, Shire of Ashburton	WA
Board & Management	Wilson, Jane	Director Sonic Healthcare Ltd, Universal Biosensors Inc, CathRx Ltd.	QLD
Diversity	Young, Nareen	CEO, Diversity Council of Australia	NSW