Last night, the winners of The CEO Magazine’s 2019 Executive of the Year Awards were announced. Judged by a renowned panel of business professionals, there were 23 award categories and David Hackett, CEO of MLC Life Insurance, took out the major award – CEO of the Year. 
The prestigious black-tie awards evening took place at The Palladium at Crown, Melbourne where 600 guests from Australia’s major industries mingled and enjoyed the flow of champagne and canapés before a beautiful sit-down dinner. The event was hosted by media journalist and Channel 7 personality Larry Emdur who entertained guests with charisma and class while announcing the winners across the various categories.
New for 2019 was the Lifetime Achievement Award which went to Hancock Prospecting’s Gina Rinehart in recognition of her outstanding contributions and accomplishments over the course of her career. She said after accepting the award: “Thank you to Chris [Dutton, CEO and Founder of The CEO Magazine] and The CEO Magazine. It is without a doubt that The CEO Magazine is our country’s leading business magazine and not only in Australia, The CEO Magazine I understand is in several other countries too. I am delighted to be here tonight accepting this award.”
This incredible event highlights and celebrates the best leaders in Australia’s businesses and industries by recognising the success and extraordinary achievements made by CEOs, managing directors and senior management.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Executive of the Year Awards! They are as follows:
MAJOR AWARD
CEO of the Year
• Winner – David Hackett, MLC Life Insurance
• Runner-Up -– Fiona Johnston, UM Australia
• Highly Commended – Anthony Nantes, Wisr
JOB-SPECIFIC AWARDS
Managing Director
• Winner – Caleb Bush, GPJ ANZ
• Runner-Up – Leanne Harwood, InterContinental Hotels Group
COO of the Year
• Winner – Kiri Brain, Nexia Australia
• Runner-Up – Jeff Yu, One Stop Warehouse
CFO of the Year
• Winner – Leah Weckert, Coles Group
• Runner-Up – Matt Young, Treasury Wine Estates
HR Executive of the Year
• Winner – Natalie Brooke, Menulog
Marketing Executive of the Year
• Winner – Krystel Cochico, VISA Global Logistics
Sales Executive of the Year
• Winner – Michael Reid, Cisco
RECOGNITION AWARDS
Lifetime Achievement Award
• Winner – Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting
Young Executive of the Year
• Winner – Caleb Bush, GPJ ANZ and Project Worldwide
Start-Up Executive of the Year
• Winner – Kristofer Rogers, Split Payments
Executive Assistant of the Year
• Winner – Justin Barwick, Serco Asia Pacific
INDUSTRY AWARDS
Education Executive of the Year
• Winner – Jon Whittle, Monash University
Professional Services Executive of the Year
• Winner – Milan Andjelkovic, TM Insight
Financial Services and Insurance Executive of the Year
• Winner – Bobby Lehane, CHU Underwriting Agencies
Hospitality and Tourism Executive of the Year
• Winner – Phillipa Harrison, Tourism Australia
Energy and resources Executive of the Year
• Winner – Gina Rinehart, Hancock Prospecting
Building and Construction Executive of the Year
• Winner – Sam El Rihani, Decode Group
Health and Pharmaceutical Executive of the Year
• Winner – Stuart Chesneau, Australian Red Cross Blood Service
IT and Telecommunications Executive of the Year
• Winner – David Dicker, Dicker Data
Transport and Logistics Executive of the Year
• Joint Winner – Julian Leach, ParcelPoint
• Joint Winner – Scott Walker, VISA Global Logistics
Retail Executive of the Year
• Winner – Matthew Keighran, Hugo Boss
Media Executive of the Year
• Winner – Fiona Johnston, UM Australia
Not-For-Profit Executive of the Year
• Winner – Vedran Drakulic OAM, Gandel Philanthropy
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