This category is for young managers who lead an organisation or major business unit in a professional capacity or own and operate their own business that employs more than five people. Nominees in this category must be 35 years of age or younger.
Presenting the Award this evening is Professor Michael Powell, Pro Vice Chancellor (Business) from Griffith Business School.
The 2007 State Finalists for the Young Manager of the Year are:
Michelle Kretschmer AIMM
National Manager Finance Sales and Support, Westpac Banking Corporation
representing Brisbane
For Michelle, managing is a journey to creating greater personal and professional growth, and bringing individuals to the realisation that ordinary people can accomplish great things. She maintains a culture of empowerment and innovation in the workplace, and in doing so has greatly increased efficiency. Michelle recognises the importance of attracting, retaining and developing people to deliver their best for the organization. She aims to instill character, passion and drive in others.
Tania Cobham, Manager
Arup Water, Cairns
representing Cairns
As the manager of Arup Water, Cairns, Tania has worked hard to bring about new service offerings and secure important projects for the company. She believes in infusing a sense of bravery in those who work around her, in order to be creative with their approaches and in return reap bigger benefits. She works hard to provide an environment where people are challenged to reach their full potential, and rewarded. Tania is often praised for her innovative style of looking for new avenues of development and also her strong client relationships.
Melissa Tomlins
Environment Superintendent, Queensland Alumina Limited
representing Gladstone
Since beginning at QAL Melissa has taken the initiative to move through the company to her desired level. Coming to the realisation that she wanted to make a difference, Melissa knew she needed to advance in her role. To do this she made a plan, developed the characteristics and gained the experience she needed to make herself marketable as a manager. In addition to her management position at QAL, she also now represents the company on a number of community committees. Melissa is able to influence a broad spectrum of activities, well beyond her years and experience.
Arron Johnson
Logistics Manager VIC/TAS/Hunter (formerly Logisitcs Manager Mackay), Reliance Petroleum
representing Mackay
Arron has a management style of walking the talk, and expects nothing of others that he cannot achieve himself. He also believes that it is important for him to place trust in colleagues and employees, and furthermore that they can see it. To achieve this, Arron strives for consistency in his behavior and honoring confidences. He also sees the importance of giving autonomy within roles, and giving people real responsibility to run their own projects without limitation. The judges believe that Arron has achieved his level of management through being well rounded in his approach, and adopting the philosophy of “Management is doing the things right; Leadership is doing the right things”.
Leah Ronczka
Project Engineer, RoadTek
representing Rockhampton
As project engineer of RoadTek, Leah has chosen to work on assignments that enable her to manage the total project - from construction methods to human resources, she puts the principles she has learnt through her studies of management into practice in order to develop them. She strives to be instrumental in leading her team through numerous varied projects. In addition to this, Leah takes on several community based activities that allow her to exercise professional skills. It is the passion towards her team, her maturity, and her enthusiasm in her work that make her a respected manager.
Amber Werchon
Real Estate Agent, Ray White Maroochydore - The Amber Werchon Team
representing the Sunshine Coast
Since starting her own business 3 years ago, Amber has taken Ray White Maroochydore from strength to strength, growing from a staff of 2 to 14. With a career goal of running Australia’s most successful boutique real estate office, she sees the importance of nourishing the talent within the team because the business will only be as good as the people in it. Amber is a consummate professional. The platform she has built for herself at the age of 24 will enable her to shine on a national level.
Carmela Littlejohn
Loans Processing Manager, Heritage Building Society
representing Toowoomba
Having been instrumental in product development, internal organizational efficiency, and member satisfaction, Carmela has elevated the priority given to customer needs, and readdressed service standards in her organisation. In doing so she has engaged her team and moved closer to her goal of making her staff self sufficient. To maintain the high level of service and professionalism she has obtained, Carmela looks to developing the skills of newcomers to the workforce and enjoys watching their hard work come to fruition.
Jeff Reibel
Business Development Manager, North Queensland Cowboys
representing the Townsville
Since his initial appointment 4 years ago, Jeff has become part of the North Queensland Cowboys management team. He sees his position as an opportunity to evolve and set new challenges for himself rather than just for others. Jeff recognizes that complying to his day to day responsibilities has an impact on the larger team, even those he is not involved with directly. He believes in delivering and performing exactly what he communicates to staff, members, and stakeholders. The judges commend Jeff’s stance in being prepared to differ from popular points of view and is ability to consult widely in order to create workable alternatives in difficult situations.
And the winner is...
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