This episode, Shadé Zahrai interviews Julie Drago, CEO of Hero Properties, Non-Executive Director of Mendolia Seafoods and Director of Fairbridge Investments. Julie is a Member of the WA Divisional Council and Chair of WA Land and Infrastructure Committee of the Property Council of Australia. She is also a Committee Member of the City of Kalamunda.

Valuable Discussion Points

(01:25) What is the story of Julie’s leadership journey?

Julie’s parents immigrated from Italy in the 60s. Her father established a large fabrication business. From a very young age she was very fortunate to be able to have the opportunity to work in the facility. This is where she developed her passion for fabrication and workshops in that industry. She built the business up and tackled huge projects all around WA. In the early 2000s, the family decided to concentrate more on developing industrial property, close and lease out the fabrication business. Over the next 20 years, Julie built large workshops and leased them out to mining, oil, and gas multinational companies. In 2019, she was appointed the CEO.

(03:08) What were the barriers that Julie faced and practical ways she navigated her way through male-dominated industry and environments?

Growing up in a male-dominated industry, Julie did not really work with a lot of women, apart from the administration roles. The biggest thing she learnt was that she needed to step up and back herself. Going into these environments, she would often be the only woman in the room. She had to learn to believe in what she was doing and what she was saying, so she could make her own voice that people would listen to.

(04:09) Why does Julie feel that it is so important for women to embrace and amplify their natural skills?

Julie thinks that women are naturally more empathetic. When women look at problems, they look at the problem from both sides of the argument and sometimes people can get caught up on trying to win an argument but being more open and understanding about where the other person is coming from enables women to be really good negotiators and that's how Julie tackle things all the time.

(18:20) How does Julie use networking as a strategy for building relationships?

The biggest thing is do your research before you go to an event like apart from get involved, go to events and find out where you can have some input. Use LinkedIn, get to know them and figure out who they are and then actively go up to them and say, look, I'm really interested in what you've done here and here and have that conversation. Don't try to be so random about it.

Key Learnings

• Julie learned that she had to stop questioning herself. She struggled to put herself out there and really speak up. Women need to ask themselves, what can go wrong? Once women get over that hurdle, they will realise that they have got a voice, that they can use it and that it is very powerful.

Quotable Quotes

“I've got a voice and I can use this and it's very powerful.” – Julie Drago

“You can't literally win every deal. You know, they're going to win one. You'll win one that's it and that's life. You know, and if you think like that, you'll have a lot better relationship with your competitors.”– Julie Drago

“There's no point complaining about something, get involved and be active about changing it.”– Julie Drago

Important Resources and Links

If you would like to learn more about how CommBank is ensuring women are advancing their growth in business, visit https://www.commbank.com.au/women-in-focus.html.

Host of the Leading Women podcast, Shadé Zahrai helps women hack their careers to advance faster, overcome their limiting beliefs and confidently create the life they deserve. She is featured in Forbes, the New York Times, TED, Daily Mail and other media. If you’re interested in learning more about Shadé and the issues she’s currently discussing, visit https://www.shadezahrai.com

If you’re interested in connecting with Julie Drago or viewing her professional portfolios and achievements, visit her LinkedIn via https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-drago-21324b66

The Leading Women podcast is produced by Nicole Hatherly, recorded at RadioHub Studios with post production by Cooper Silk and Iain Wilson.

This episode, Shadé Zahrai interviews Anna Marsden, Managing Director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. Anna was previously the CEO of the Queensland Ballet, Director of the Queensland Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art and General Manager of the Institute of Modern Art.

Valuable Discussion Points

(01:39) What is Anna’s leadership journey?

Anna started her leadership journey in the industry of her passion - the arts. As a teenager, Anna’s dream was to be on stage, however she decided that her personality and interests were also suited towards arts management so she began pursuing this as a career. For the first 14 years of her career, Anna worked in art galleries that took her around the world and unlocked a passion for connecting great brands, great work and great people with fundraising and investment. After a stint in corporate communications and consultancy, Anna became the CEO of the Queensland Ballet where she remained for seven years. Today, Anna is the Managing Director of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.

(03:39) How does Anna see women activating leadership in male dominated industries and environments?

Whilst Anna has worked with a lot of powerful women throughout her career, she still sits at many top leadership tables as the only woman which is something she believes has to change. Anna recalls one moment, around 15 years ago, when she was attending a women's lunch with some amazing guest speakers who broke various glass ceilings in Australia. One of the speakers commented that once you have children, you start climbing the ladder and progressing up. This spurred Anna on later in her career after having children herself to work harder and continuing progressing her career as a working mother as she strongly believes there is no more productive, empathetic, powerful or purposeful creature on this planet than a working mother. Anna comments on the importance of women being able to quieten the voice in the back of our heads that evokes a feeling of guilt or uncertainty as a working mother, particularly when holding a leadership position.

(09:04) What are Anna’s insights into people generally being more aware and focused on their purpose?

In 2020, we faced bushfires, the COVID-19 pandemic and various other challenges. Not only did the the world stopped but it was completely disrupted. People had to confront the fragility of life. Anna believes what it did do is to make people realise they only have one life and one community so it’s important to understand how we can be purposeful and make it count. Anna states that we are currently in a transition where people are trying to find a more purposeful life in a more purposeful vocation.

(25:27) What is on the horizon for the Great Barrier Reef?

Anna strongly believes that when we talk about collective impact, one of the big aha's and oversights for all of us is to truly understand the role and the necessity of this bio culture stewardship of the Great Barrier Reef and its protection and that can only be done with deep, authentic relationships with the First Nations people. Through some incredible investment from the Australian Government, and working closely with the traditional ownership communities, Anna is excited and proud of the work being carried out to manage, protect and love these beautiful ecosystems forever.

Key Learnings

• Some women have a tendency to listen to the voice in their head that tells them to feel guilty about being in leadership roles. Anna suggests that women disregard this voice because it can hold them back at critical times and make them think they are not good enough.

Quotable Quotes

“There is no more productive, empathetic, powerful, purposeful creature on this planet than a working mother and I don't have the psychology or the data but I will fight anybody on that fact.” – Anna Marsden

“The world didn't stop. The challenges didn't stop but people did have a disruption. They had to confront the fragility of life.”– Anna Marsden

“We will prevail because we will get the right combination of great brands from around the world to work this and we will leave nothing in the tank and so that's my drive is that team Australia will prevail.”– Anna Marsden

“We're all learning together but I have to say, out of everything that I've done in my life and a few of the executives share this with me, this is the work that we think we'll be most proud of is how we work together with First Nations communities to protect a special part of Australia.” – Anna Marsden

Important Resources and Links

If you would like to learn more about how CommBank is ensuring women are advancing their growth in business, visit https://www.commbank.com.au/women-in-focus.html.

Host of the Leading Women podcast, Shadé Zahrai helps women hack their careers to advance faster, overcome their limiting beliefs and confidently create the life they deserve. She is featured in Forbes, the New York Times, TED, Daily Mail and other media. If you’re interested in learning more about Shadé and the issues she’s currently discussing, visit https://www.shadezahrai.com

If you’re interested in connecting with Anna Marsden or viewing her professional portfolios and achievements, visit her LinkedIn via https://au.linkedin.com/in/anna-marsden-b10b892b 

The Leading Women podcast is produced by Nicole Hatherly, recorded at RadioHub Studios with post production by Cooper Silk and Iain Wilson.

Together we can shift business leadership from aspirational to actionable. We know diversity in leadership doesn’t just make sense, it strengthens overall business performance and drives economic growth. When we activate leadership for women, we redefine our business landscape. 

Join Shadé Zahrai, Award-Winning Business Woman and Leadership Expert as she reaches beyond ‘business as usual’ to unearth the human stories and rich, relatable experiences of women leading business across the country. Access the practical tips, actionable frameworks and stories of smart risk-taking to ignite your leadership.

Whether you’re a business leader, emerging leader, or passionate about supporting leaders to redefine the business landscape, this podcast is for you.