Alumni
In its 13th year now, the 40under40 Awards have accumulated almost 500 winners who have each inspired and demonstrated true Western Australian entrepreneurship within their chosen field.
Industries have ranged from Information Technology, Mining, Tourism, Agriculture, Food & Beverage and many more! There are no limits to who is chosen – each winner has recognised the opportunity to deliver beyond conventional means and stood up above the rest when it was demanded of them.
2014 First Amongst Equals
Mr Tony Loxton
Owner and Director
Digital Dialogue
Tony Loxton is Founder and Director of Digital Dialogue, a full service digital marketing agency that specialises in the use of data analytic systems. After working in the digital field for a few years, Tony observed that many companies invested heavily in marketing campaigns, but with no measure of their campaigns’ effectiveness. Digital Dialogue not only builds digital campaigns, but tracks performance from start to end.
Since founding the company in 2009, it has experienced rapid growth, now with 35 employees that work seamlessly across three time zones in Perth, Melbourne and New Zealand.
Tony developed the world’s first analytics platform for television advertising and another breakthrough product measure walk-in traffic for retail environments, via Wi-Fi signals.
He supports World Vision, a family in Zambia and also the Smiths Family charity.
Tony was nominated by James Wyper of Digital Dialogue.
2013 First Amongst Equals
Mr Bill Beament
Managing Director
Northern Star Services Ltd
Bill was 13 years old when he decided that he wanted to work in the mining industry. Two decades later, he joined Northern Star Resources as managing director. Barely a year later, projects didn’t take shape and the GFC started to stir. Bill drastically wound back operations to save the company from bankruptcy. At a time when shares were valued at 1 cent and with only $5000 in the bank, a conversation in a car park resulted in Northern Star Resources attempting to purchase the Paulsens gold mine for $40 million. Against all odds, Bill secured the financing and Northern Star managed to pay back the full acquisition price in just 7 months.
Bill was nominated by Michael Fotios of Northern Star.
2012 First Amongst Equals
Mr Grey Egerton-Warburton
Since co-leading a management buyout of the firm in 2003, Grey Egerton-Warburton has grown Hartleys into one of the top corporate advisory firms in Western Australia.
Harlteys has recovered from a $30 million loss in the year prior to the buyout to a firm that achieved a $17.5 million profit in the last financial year.
As head of corporate finance, Grey has established Hartleys as the top ranked mergers and acquisitions resources adviser in Australia by number of deals completed for three straight years.
In addition, Hartleys is consistently one of the top three capital raisers of WA firms.
Grey attributes the success to the companies Hartleys works with, saying: “our strengths and achievements are best measured by those of our clients”.
2011 First Amongst Equals
Mr Zhenya Tsvetnenko
CEO
Zhenya Group of Companies
From his base in Perth, Zhenya Tsvetnenko has built an innovative international business at the cutting edge of modern technology. He has been a market leader in the development of mobile messaging services, specialising in the delivery of text alerts, and pioneered advertising on the Google content network. With a strong international presence, including the United States, Zhenya is pursuing growth in new geographic markets while continuing to invest in R&D for new business opportunities. With his partner, Zhenya has also established an event production company to raise money for charities.
2010 First Amongst Equals
Ms Suzanne Daubney
Managing Director
Bannister Downs Dairy Company
www.bannisterdowns.com.au
Suzanne is the Managing Director of Bannister Downs Dairy Company, producers of high quality fresh milk products for retails and food service industries. Bannister Downs farms, processes and distributes directly state wide in WA.
Suzanne’s most significant business achievement has been to create a vertically integrated processing facility to value-add to the raw product produced by an unprofitable farming business and within 4 years to have it achieving net profits.
TOP BUSINESS TIP: Surround yourself with ‘can do’ people and you will be able to overcome the any hurdles.
2009 First Amongst Equals
Mr David Flanagan
Managing Director
Atlas Iron Limited
www.atlasiron.com.au
David has always worked hard to get as much varied experience as possible to ensured he could get a job in a competitive market. His work in regional exploration, mine work in both underground and open pits in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Indonesia has enabled him with this extensive experience. David’s most significant business achievement was establishing and listing Atlas Iron on the Australian Securities Exchange and subsequently growing it into a leading S&P ASX 200 mining company that is well known and highly respected in the Australian mining industry.
2008 First Amongst Equals
Dr Michelle Ammerer
Director of Coronary Care
Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital
www.scgh.health.wa.gov.au
In 2004 Michelle was one of five chosen from 900 applicant’s worldwide to complete a Clinical and Research Fellowship in Interventional Cardiology through Harvard Medical School in Boston. Currently Michelle is the only female Cardiologist in Western Australia specialising in Angioplasty.
At the age of 34, Michelle was appointed Director of the Coronary Care Unit at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, the largest Coronary Care Unit in Western Australia. Michelle’s responsibilities include the management of patient care, 71 staff and budgets while also balancing political constraints and public and media awareness.
Dr Michelle Ammerer is also a Director on the National Heart Foundation-WA Branch Board. She is also a founding member of the Go Red for Women campaign including the role of medical spokesperson to help raise awareness of heart disease in women.
Michelle’s business tip is this:
‘If you’re passionate about your work, perseverance will bring success, you won’t succeed if your hearts not in it.’
2007 First Amongst Equals
Julie Smith-Massara
Co-founder
Australian Mine Services Pty Ltd
www.australianmineservices.com.au
Following several years of detailed research into the mining services industry, Julie Smith-Massara and her husband Ian, made the entrepreneurial decision to sell their house to finance the establishment of Australian Mining Services.
Through offering superior technical innovation, quick friendly customer care and meticulous office controls, Julie was able to gain the confidence and business of large multi-national clients including BHP, Rio Tinto and MacMahon Holdings.
Three years later, Australian Mine Services now employees 95 staff and is on target to reach a turnover of $20 million this year.
2006 First Amongst Equals
Michael Malone
Managing Director
iiNet Ltd
www.iinet.net.au
When Michael Malone graduated from the university in the early nineties, only academic institutions and large government organisations had access to the very first form of the internet.
A reluctance to give up access to this growing technology spurred him and his friend Michael O’Reilly to establish their own Internet service company from the Malone family’s garage. The result was iiNet, WA’s first Internet Service Provider (ISP) offering services to the public.
2005 First Amongst Equals
Lyle Palmer
Foundation Chair in Genetic Epidemiology
West Australian Institute of Medical Research (www.waimr.uwa.edu.au); and
Professor, School of Population Health and School of Medicine & Pharmacology
University of Western Australia (www.uwa.edu.au)
Lyle Palmer has dedicated his exceptional career to the study of genetics to improve human health. Professor Palmer has taught at prestigious institutions around the world, including Harvard and Oxford, but returned to Western Australia in 2003 to take up a position at the University of Western Australia medical school as the foundation chair in genetic epidemiology.
2004 First Amongst Equals
Darren Haunold
Managing Director
Wills Domain
www.willsdomain.com.au
Darren Haunold discovered his calling as a winemaker on a four-wheel drive adventure around Australia. Overcoming the obstacles that faced him as a paraplegic, Mr Haunold threw himself into his work as a vineyard manager in Dunsborough and, after one year of experience, purchased Wills Domain in Margaret River.
2003 First Amongst Equals
Nathan Buzza
Chief Executive Officer
Commtech Wireless
www.commtechwireless.com
Diagnosed with a rare form of brain tumour at age 14, Nathan Buzza was left invalid for several months. Mr Buzza started tinkering with computers during his recuperation and taught himself computer programming.
2002 First Amongst Equals
Mark Barnaba
Managing Director
Azure Capital
www.azurecapital.com.au
Mark is managing director of Azure Capital a corporate advisory business started in 2004, after he and his partners sold their Poynton and Partners business to a multi-national firm.
Manny Papadoulis
Managing Director
Feature Tours Pty Ltd
www.ft.com.au
Manny has re-emrged as a consultant to the tourism industry with his firm Icon Tourism, following the heart wrenching collapse of his family business Feature Tours.
