Cream of crop up for awards
NQ offers top quality leadership candidates
FIVE celebrated leaders have been named winners in the North Queensland regional Australian Leadership Excellence Awards in Townsville.
The national award series is presented by the Institute of Managers and Leaders which has been championing outstanding leadership Australia- wide for 28 years.
This year 17 North Queensland leaders were short- listed as finalists across several categories including Leader/ Manager, Owner/ Entrepreneur, Not for Profit, Community Leader and Emerging Leader.
The finalists reflected diverse professional backgrounds from the public sector to small business and to charity organisations. The five North Queensland winners were:
Breece Gevaux, 2IC at the Australian Defence Force ( Leader/ Manager), Patrice Brown, company director and founder at CQG Consulting ( Owner/ Entrepreneur), Marsha Zuhorn, CEO at Coast to Country Housing Company ( Not For Profit), Michael Gleandow, chair at Seed Foundation Australia ( Community Leader) and Don McPhail, Senior Engineer at Energy Queensland ( Emerging Leader).
Chief Executive of the Institute of Managers and Leaders David Pich said: “The consistently high calibre of finalists and winners in regional Queensland shows that great leadership isn’t only found in places like Silicon Valley or New York, and isn’t limited to the capital cities like Sydney or Brisbane.
“Great leadership is as prevalent in regional Queensland through community leaders and local business owners, as in large multinational corporations.
“Regional Queensland’s outstanding leaders are an inspiration to everyday Australians and we are honoured to be celebrating their accomplishments.”
The regional winners were judged and awarded from a short- listed group of 17 leaders.
Finalists included: Nicole Hynes, Procurement and Contract Manager at the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services ( Leader/ Manager), Baf Kuka, Compliance Manager at First Aid Safety Training ( Leader/ Manager), Robin Sprott, Principal at Northern Beaches State High School ( Leader/ Manager), Douglas Dunstan, Non- Executive Director at Yumba Meta Housing Association ( Leader/ Manager), Sean Johnson, Co- founder and Executive Director at Applied Inspiration ( Owner/ Entrepreneur), Rachelle Foley, Director at Dexion North Queensland ( Owner/ Entrepreneur), Tara Parish, Founder and Director at TJIP ( Owner/ Entrepreneur), Warwick Powell, Founding Chairman at Sister City Partners Ltd ( Not For Profit), Patricia O’Callaghan, CEO at Townsville Enterprise ( Not For Profit), Joanna Murray, President at Townsville Business Women’s Circle ( Not For Profit), David Donohue, Chair Governing Council at The Good Shepherd Home ( Community Leader), Lachlan Grant, Planning and Program Manager at Building and Asset Services ( Emerging Leader).
The regional winners will become finalists in the Queensland State awards to be held in Brisbane next month.
The Institute of Managers and Leaders, formerly the Australian Institute of Management, is a professional body for management and leadership excellence.