Glenda Korporaal is the editor of The Deal – The Australian newspaper’s highly influential monthly business magazine. And this month’s issue has more than a few people’s attention. In this special edition, Glenda reveals the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business.
We spoke to Glenda to find out the back story, the top five most powerful, and some of the best advice she heard – for other women climbing the ladder…
Q. Why did you create the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business special issue?
A. “I wanted to do something a bit different for the first issue of The Deal for the year. The headlines in the business press inevitably focus on high profile male business leaders, and with the occasional high profile business woman such as former Westpac chief Gail Kelly. But behind the scenes, there are some very talented women undertaking some very challenging jobs in Australian business.
The aim of the list is to search out women who are actually running things, even if they are flying below the public radar. The focus is on personal responsibility, not the collective responsibility of being a company director. So far it has received a fantastic response, and the plan is that we will keep doing it.”
Q. How did you come up with the list?
A. “Part of the goal was to show there is a broad range of talent. We have two women running two of our top three airports and a woman running Jetstar, and they don’t get a lot of publicity.
I deliberately looked at women CEOs, the top 50 companies and companies that turn over big profits. They are people who have real power, running major businesses or divisions, making hard decisions with real profit and loss accounts, affecting many people’s lives. There are a lot of women reporting to the managing director, particularly in some of the big banks, so I also wanted to recognise them. It was not a popularity contest or a ‘vote for your favourite person’. We cast a broad net and there were plenty more out there but we had to keep it at 50.”
Q. What’s the biggest mistake women make?
A. “Sometimes women are so busy doing the job that they forget they need to put the tools down and go out and network. The women who did something else, proactively networking, where all able to meet a broader range of people. There’s a lot of connections made on charity boards, not-for-profit organisations and school committees. The other thing is women have to learn to sell themselves – tell people what they can do. Just because you are doing a good job does not necessarily gain them the recognition – they have to proactively sell themselves and network.”
Q. “What was the most powerful advice ‘the list’ had to share?
A. “It’s all very well to be head of corporate communications or strategy or HR, but the people who move up the ladder to the top jobs are those in operational roles who run a division. Gail Kelly’s advice for women wanting to climb the corporate ladder is echoed by Transfield Services chair Diane Smith-Gander, president of lobby group, Chief Executive Women. As she explained in her interview with The Deal: “The most important thing is you have to have roles which ring the cash register in your organisation. Direct profit and loss experience is the really critical thing. It gets you over the ‘Are you financially literate? Do you understand the numbers? Questions. If you have had to manage your own numbers and be accountable for delivering them – that’s the single best thing.”
50 Most Powerful Women in Business, according to The Deal
1. Gina Rinehart, Chair, Hancock Prospecting
Estimated Net Worth: $16bn
“Twenty two years since Gina Rinehart took control of the Roy Hill iron ore tenements in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, her most ambitious dream is set to come true. Dismissed by BHP Billiton, and other experts as being almost worthless, the tenements will this year become the centre of a $US10 billion iron operation which will begin exporting to Asia by year end. The development will make her company the fourth largest iron exporter in Australia.”
2. Catherine Livingstone, Chair, Telstra
Market cap: $76bn
“Catherine Livingstone took over as first woman president of the Business Council last year. Catherine has been chair of Telstra, one of Australia’s largest companies with revenues of $26bn. Has helped to turn around the company’s fortunes and public image following the bruising years under American Sol Trujillo. The company’s share price has more than doubled in the past four years.”
3. Alison Watkins
Chief executive, Coca-Cola Amatil
Market cap: $7bn
“The former chief executive of ASX-listed Graincorp took over beverages company Coca-Cola Amatil in March last year from long-time chief executive terry Davis. Watkins has moved quickly to make big changes at the company, which has been suffering falling sales and profits. She has shaken up senior management, negotiated a $600 million dollar funding deal with US Coca-Cola and is set to slash $100 million in costs.”
4. Katie Page
Chief executive, Harvey Norman
Market cap: $3.8bn
“As Harvey Norman Chief executive, Katie Page runs a business that has more than 200 stores in Australia and seven other countries. It turns over more than $2.6 billion a year, and has franchise operations that turn over another $4.8bn.”
5. Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, Chief executive, Mirvac,
Market cap: $6.8bn
“Lloyd-Hurwitz has set her stamp on the company, whose market capitalisation of about $7 billion ranks it in the top 50 of ASX-listed companies. She had brought a more collective approach to decision making at the group, with a focus on return on investment rather than growth. She has restructured the group’s property portfolio in the past year – spending $1bn buying new assets, including the $310 million Birkenhead shopping centre in Sydney, two office towers in Melbourne and a portfolio of $224m industrial properties.”
Here are 15 more power forces from The Deal….
6. Diane Smith-Gander, Chair, Transfield Services
Market cap: $800m
7. Kerrie Mather, Chief executive, Sydney Airport Holdings
Market cap: $11bn
8. Jayne Hrdlicka, Chief executive, Jetstar
Turnover: $3.2bn
9. Elizabeth Bryan, Chair, Caltex Australia
Market cap: $9.6bn
10. Naomi Milgrom, Executive Chair, Sussan Group
Turnover: More than $450m
11. Shemara Wikramanayake, Chief executive, Maquarie Funds Group
Fund under management: $432bn
12. Heather Ridout,Chair, Australian Super
Assets: $80bn
13. Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, Group executive, Institutional Banking and markets business, Commonwealth Bank
14. Annabel Spring, Group executive, Wealth Management, Commonwealth Bank
15. Elizabeth Alexander, Chair, Medibank Private
Market cap: $6.5bn
16. Paula Dwyer, Chair, Healthscope
Market cap: $4.7bn
Chair, Tabcorp Holdings
Market cap: $3.2bn
17. Alex Holcomb, Chief risk officer, Westpac
18. Tracey Fellows, Chief executive, REA Group
Market cap: $6bn
19. Catherine Tanna, Chief executive Energy Australia
20. Julianne Alroe, Chief executive, Brisbane Airport
