In honor of International Women's Day, we had the pleasure of hosting two global panel discussions with some of the amazing female leaders in our industry across Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Ireland.
Framed around the theme of International Women’s Day’s #EmbraceEquity, it was an incredible opportunity to learn from these inspiring women about their experiences and insights on topics such as leadership, creating an inclusive work environment, and the power of embracing our differences.
About Sirma…
Sirma joined the Meat Industry Association (MIA) as Trade and Economic Manager in March 2015 following a career in the public sector during which she developed a deep knowledge of trade policy and significant trade negotiations experience.
She was appointed as CEO in April 2020.
About Aliette…
Aliette lives in Melbourne with her husband and two adorable, but demanding young boys. Originally from France, she graduated in the UK and worked for a variety of small to very large FMCG retailers and distributors in the UK. She bought everything from wine to furniture before leading the buying efforts for Medicinal and Health and Beauty across the UK for one of their largest supermarkets.
A friend’s wedding precipitated a move to Melbourne 12 years ago where she joined Coles.
Highly commercial and outward looking, Aliette loves building long term relationships with strategic partners. She has had a successful career at Coles where she now leads the BBQ and Value Added categories. Aliette has a passion for looking at the end to end supply chain, looking for transformational opportunities to optimise value for Coles and its supplier partners, and deliver value for customers
About Raige…
Raige is the Finance Manager – Financial Planning & Analysis for JBS Southern Business Unit.
Before joining JBS, she finished her Bachelor of Science major in Accountancy degree in the Philippines and has been a Certified Practicing Accountant (CPA) both in Philippines and Australia. She moved overseas to Dubai as a Management Accountant in multinational companies for 5 years mainly performing financial analysis, financial forecast and month-end closing process.
She joined JBS 7 years ago as an Assistant Accountant in Bordertown and played a key role in streamlining month-end processes and continued improvement within the plant’s finance department. With JBS support, she was given an opportunity to handle her first leadership role as a Management Accountant looking after several sites in the Southern business and providing support to the site Accountants.
Currently, she is now the Finance Manager for FP&A leading a team of 5 diverse women responsible for the BU’s periodic reporting, manage budgeting and forecasting processes for the business. She is very passionate about developing her young team and finding opportunities for them to learn and grow professionally within JBS.
About Michelle…
Michelle is a globally recognised gender equality, diversity and inclusion consultant. She advises organisations in the business and sporting sectors on DEI strategy development and implementation and works directly with women leaders to advance their careers.
Michelle has been recognised as one of Australia’s Top 100 Women of Influence and won awards for her contribution to women’s advancement. She is passionate about what sets her soul on fire, closing the global leadership gender gap.