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    Work & Careers

    Boss

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    How this CEO wins back clients his business has lost

    Advertising boss Michael Rebelo is a big believer in being magnanimous when he loses a deal or a client.

    • Sally Patten and Lap Phan
    NRMA CEO Julie Batch.

    The one question NRMA boss Julie Batch uses to progress her career

    She comes from a long line of insurance executives. Earlier in her career she worked in Monaco in the reinsurance industry.

    • Sally Patten
    Anna Baker, pictured with four-month-old Luka at a client’s home, helps CEOs get better sleep by sleep-training their babies.

    Meet the sleep coach charging CEOs $1500 a night to train their babies

    Sleep consultant Anna Baker says CEOs consider her services good value for money given a bad night’s sleep could cost them much more.

    • Euan Black
    Vas Katos, CEO at Anthem

    Why this CEO abandoned his rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle

    Anthem chief executive Vas Katos is behind many of the country’s biggest shows and events, but family now comes first.

    • Patrick Durkin
    Sharon Lewin, a night owl, does a lot of her emails at night and sends them the following morning.

    MH17 taught this leader how to manage through a crisis

    The Malaysia Airlines plane was shot out of the sky two days before a large health conference being organised by Doherty Institute director Sharon Lewin was due to begin. Several delegates were on board.

    • Sally Patten
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    This Month

    Aussie Broadband’s Phil Britt loves a sense of community – in his daily life and at work.

    The co-founder of this $1b company was told he’d ‘never amount to anything’

    Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, home to some of the country’s largest coal power plants, is an unlikely birthplace for Aussie Broadband and its managing director.

    • Patrick Durkin
    Herbert Smith Freehills partner Christine Wong

    It’s not just Olympians – lawyers get post-project blues too

    In some cases, it manifests as a mild illness or a slight drop in motivation or energy levels. But in others, it can morph into depression.

    • Euan Black
    Cameron Mitchell, head of geopolitical risk at ANZ Bank.

    How geopolitical tension is changing ANZ and its clients

    Geopolitical risk is hitting boardrooms with a bang, with ANZ the first of the big four banks to create a specialised unit.

    • Patrick Durkin
    Mick O’Brien

    Why most executives don’t reach their full potential

    Early in his career, a senior colleague suggested Mick O’Brien, now a $900 million company CEO, take on a management role. Luckily his colleague could see his potential.

    • Sally Patten and Lap Phan
    Altium CEO Aram Mirkazemi came to Australia when he was 18 as a refugee from Iran. Now, he’s behind Australia’s biggest software deal.

    How an Iranian refugee landed Australia’s biggest software deal

    When Altium CEO Aram Mirkazemi landed at Hobart Airport as a refugee from Iran he had very little English, but six weeks later he was studying at university.

    • Yolanda Redrup
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    Pronouns in bio don’t have to be a deal breaker at work.

    I won’t be bullied into stipulating my pronouns. Even if I get fired

    Why do my colleagues feel they must bring gender activism and their self-actualisation journeys into the office? Because I don’t.

    • Judith Woods

    July

    Renee Wootton was unsure if she would be able to complete her degree in aerospace engineering.

    This exec wants more than a CEO role. She wants to be an astronaut

    Renee Wootton is one of the 2024 BOSS Young Executives. She works in the fledgling sustainable aviation sector, but her real goal is to go to the International Space Station.

    • Sally Patten
    Kiria McNamara says one of the hardest things about her job is having to make people redundant.

    My sixth form teacher told me to lower my sights

    Kiria McNamara is one of the 2024 BOSS Young Executives. She was told she would have trouble getting the marks to get into her chosen university course.

    • Sally Patten
    Richard White’s WiseTech has always been profitable.

    Nation’s richest boss ‘can’t find anything to invest in’ but WiseTech

    This year’s list is stacked with tech founders such as Richard White – and shows how divorces can force bosses down the ranks.

    • Patrick Durkin and Sally Patten
    Sam Hupert of Pro Medicus says a lack of debt has been an important part of the company’s success.

    The secrets to becoming a rich boss

    There are good reasons why tech companies dominate this year’s Rich Bosses list.

    • Patrick Durkin and Sally Patten

    Why only four execs have kept spot on rich bosses list over decade

    Chris Ellison, Graham Turner, David Teoh and Gerry Harvey have maintained their positions while some of their richer peers of yesteryear have bowed out.

    • Sally Patten and Patrick Durkin
    You need a commitment bordering on obsession to set up a successful business, says David Dicker.

    This rich boss always wanted a private jet. Now he is on his second

    In his twenties, David Dicker had not yet figured out how he was going to make money, but he knew he wanted a private jet. Then he worked out how to afford one.

    • Sally Patten
    Jenn Morris won two Olympic gold medals with the Hockeyroos before going on to have a stellar career in business.

    Secrets of Olympians who have conquered the business world

    BOSS speaks to six Olympians, including Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott and Generation Life CEO Grant Hackett, about the most valuable business lessons they learnt from sport.

    • Euan Black and Patrick Durkin
    Joy Krige at Vans Cafe in Cottesloe, Perth. Krige likes to exercise in the morning, which she says is her time.

    What this CEO eats depends how bad the last meeting was

    Joy Krige, CEO of Cranecorp Australia in Perth, grazes from her snack drawer during the day, rather than eat a formal breakfast or lunch.

    • Sally Patten
    Anna Wiley, BHP’s asset president of copper South Australia; Siobhan Toohill, Westpac’s chief sustainability officer; Tammy Medard, managing director of ANZ’s Institutional in Australia and PNG.

    ‘I shot Bambi’: Women leaders on their toughest decisions

    Often the toughest decisions are those that affect other people. Here winners of the Women in Leadership awards share their hardest calls.

    • Updated
    • Sally Patten
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    Sue Houghton is happy to make calls on her way to work, but the drive home is her time.

    Why the local CEO of this $26b company likes her commute

    When QBE Australia chief Sue Houghton rises at 6am, the self-described introvert relishes a walk on her own.

    • Sally Patten

    June

    Productivity Commission chairwoman Danielle Wood.

    ‘You smile too much’: the early career advice Danielle Wood ignored

    Be brave and have fun, is what Australia’s leading women would say to their younger selves.

    • Lucy Dean
    AOC chef de mission Anna Meares knows a thing or two about going to the Olympics.

    Why Anna Meares chased the job of leading the Aussie Olympic team

    As one of the country’s most decorated athletes, Australia’s chef de mission knows the triumph and heartache of competing at this level better than most.

    • Zoe Samios
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    Tax cuts will prolong rate pain: directors

    Economic uncertainty and the energy transition are among the top issues being debated in our biggest boardrooms.

    • Patrick Durkin and Sally Patten
    Paul O’Sullivan says it is appropriate for directors to disclose personal information about themselves if they wish.

    ANZ’s openly gay chairman warns on ASX’s sexuality disclosure

    Asking boards to disclose the sexuality, age and ethnicity of directors risks encroaching on their privacy and could make them a target for activists, leading directors warn.

    • Sally Patten and Patrick Durkin