FINALISTS ANNOUNCED: 2021 Executive of the Year Awards
Introducing the finalists in The CEO Magazine’s 2021 Executive of the Year Awards. From the pinnacle CEO of the Year category – which is being awarded to two CEOs for the first time in the awards' history – to Entrepreneur of the Year, these are the inspirational Australian leaders who have made this year's prestigious list.
CEO of the Year
Major Sponsor
A$0–100m turnover
CEO of the Year finalists (A$0m-A$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
CEO of the Year finalists (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).
Managing Director of the Year
Managing Director of the Year finalists
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.
CFO of the Year
CFO of the Year finalists
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.
COO of the Year
COO of the Year finalists
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.
Marketing Executive of the Year
Marketing Executive of the Year finalists
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.
Executive Assistant of the Year
Executive Assistant of the Year finalists
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.
HR and Recruitment Executive of the Year
HR and Recruitment Executive of the Year finalists
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.
Media Executive of the Year
Media Executive of the Year finalists
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.
Not-For-Profit Executive of the Year
Not-For-Profit Executive of the Year finalists
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.
Professional Services Executive of the Year
Professional Services Executive of the Year finalists
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.
Real Estate Executive of the Year
Real Estate Executive of the Year finalists
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.
Sales Executive of the Year
Sales Executive of the Year finalists
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.
Entrepreneur of the Year
Entrepreneur of the Year finalists
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.
Corporate Responsibility Executive of the Year
Corporate Responsibility Executive of the Year finalists
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.
Startup Executive of the Year
Startup Executive of the Year finalists
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.
Young Executive of the Year
Young Executive of the Year finalists
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.
