Special Report: 2007 40 Under 40 Awards

The decision to sell the family home to fund a new business, with two children under three years of age, was one Julie Smith-Massara did not make lightly.

The entire team at WA Business News is proud to introduce the 2007 class of 40under40 winners. They are a remarkable group of individuals who, through sheer determination and passion, have worked hard to achieve their goals and objectives.

The venue for this year’s 40under40 Awards gala has a touch of the exotic, and certainly a touch of class about it.

Title: Director, group dwellingsBusiness: Multi-disciplined property and construction companyTotal employees: 25Reporting directly: 25 AccomplishmentsEmployed at Pindan at the age of 18, Chris Lillis

Title: MayorBusiness: Local governmentTotal employees: 580Reporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentsTroy Pickard was elected mayor of the City of Joondalup in May 2006 and, not surprisingly, it’s a role

Title: Founder and managing directorBusiness: Engineering companyTotal employees: 20Reporting directly: 20 AccomplishmentsDarren Lomman has established a business that specialises in the development o

Title: Owner/managerBusiness: Mortgage brokerTotal employees: 8Reporting directly: 8 AccomplishmentsSusan Mason’s biggest business achievement is to have esablished a successful business based on ethi

Title: Chief financial officerBusiness: Insurance and commercial businessesTotal employees: 904 (group)Reporting directly: 6 AccomplishmentsGeoffrey Mather started at RAC as a trainee accountant and w

Title: Project managerBusiness: Oil and gas explorationTotal employees: 200Reporting directly: 8 AccomplishmentsAs project manager for Woodside’s oil and gas exploration programs, Debbie Morrow says h

Title: Managing directorBusiness: Business training and coachingTotal employees: 6Reporting directly: 6 AccomplishmentsKaren Quick says she realised her most significant business achievement over the

Title: General manager/dealer principalBusiness: Motorcycle retailerTotal employees: 12Reporting directly: 11 AccomplishmentsWhen Andrew Repacholi took over as general manager at Bunbury City Motorcyc

Title: General managerBusiness: Non-campaign advertising specialistTotal employees: 30Reporting directly: 30 AccomplishmentsCraig Sadler took over the reins at Marketforce productions (MfP) in April 1

Title: Equity principal and discipline leader, landscape architecture, PerthBusiness: Multi-disciplinary design practiceTotal employees: 700Reporting directly: 100 AccomplishmentsAndrew Sharp started

Title: Chief executive officerBusiness: Engineering, construction and contracting companyTotal employees: 82Reporting directly: 77 AccomplishmentsMr Simmons regards saving a viable company from closin

Title: General managerBusiness: Engineering servicesTotal employees: 16Reporting directly: 5 AccomplishmentsJason Stirbinskis regards wining the 2006 State Telstra/MYOB Business of the Year, as well a

Title: Principal, business developmentBusiness: global mining groupTotal employees: 10,000Reporting directly: 10 AccomplishmentsSimon Trott led the team that negotiated the transaction documents for t

Title: Managing directorBusiness: Fruit and vegetable pack houseTotal employees: 46Reporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentsWith the success of her previous company – The Sprout Factory – setting up and

Title: General manager, North WestBusiness: Not-for-profit organisation for indigenous youthTotal employees: n/aReporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentsFiona White-Hartig says her most significant busi

Title: Chief executive officerBusiness: Imaging services to regional areasTotal employees: 95Reporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentsMs Wittington says her greatest business achievement was to restruct

Title: Chief executive officerBusiness: WineTotal employees: 50Reporting directly: 8 AccomplishmentsWhen Anthony Wilkes took on Ferngrove’s CEO role at 30 years of age, the company needed to establish

Title: Deputy managing directorBusiness: Oil and gas explorerTotal employees: 25Reporting directly: 10  AccomplishmentsJoanne Williams says her most significant business achievement was the effective

Title: OwnerBusiness: Management consultancy businessTotal employees: 9Reporting directly: 7 AccomplishmentsThe David Reid Group is a management consultancy aiming to help growing businesses by focusi

Title: Managing directorBusiness: Engineering servicesTotal employees: 20Reporting directly: 20 AccomplishmentsChristian Lange’s most significant business achievement was the transformation of Neptune

Title: Director Business: Management consultancy Total employees: 20 Reporting directly: 17    Accomplishments Carl Adams says his most significant achievement

Title: Divisional director, transaction advisory servicesBusiness: Professional services firmTotal employees: 500 (Perth)Reporting directly: 30 AccomplishmentsMichael Anghie says his promotion to part

Title: Chief executive officer/director of nursingBusiness: HospitalTotal employees: 161Reporting directly: 10 AccomplishmentsTammy Maree Batten believes her most significant business achievement is t

Title: Founder, managing director and major shareholderBusiness: Regional bus and coach operatorTotal employees: 130Reporting directly: 3 AccomplishmentsMichael Baulch regards the establishment and gr

Title: CEOBusiness: Transport logisticsTotal employees: 83Reporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentsWhen Andrew Buralli decided to step into Hindle Buralli, where his father had been a partner, the busin

Title: Managing directorBusiness: Boutique design firmTotal employees: 12Reporting directly: 12 AccomplishmentsMiles Burke believes in running a socially responsible business based on respect, saying

Title: Director/CEOBusiness: Multi-arts organisationTotal employees: 18Reporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentsLeading and managing the transformation of Artrage has been one of Marcus Canning’s bigges

Title: DirectorBusiness: FabricationTotal employees: 10Reporting directly: 10 AccomplishmentsWith little backing, 25-year-old Rick Casagrande established Hotweld Fabrication three years ago.

Title: Managing directorBusiness: Boutique development  Total employees: 7Reporting directly: 7 AccomplishmentsLloyd Clark knows that, sometimes, bad situations can be turned into great achievements.

Title: Managing directorBusiness: Property investment consultancy group Total employees: 16Reporting directly: 16 AccomplishmentsDamian Collins recognised time-poor investors’ need for a trusted sourc

Title: General manager operations, Hope DownsBusiness: MiningTotal employees: 4,500Reporting directly: 336 AccomplishmentsDriving the introduction and implementation of the Lean process at Rio Tinto O

Title: Dealer principal/directorBusiness: Ford and Mitsubishi motor vehicle retail franchisesTotal employees: 70Reporting directly: 70 AccomplishmentsToni Lehaney regards the purchase of Range Ford in

Title: DirectorBusiness: Nickel miningTotal employees: 28Reporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentsLeigh Junk believes his most significant business achievement is what kick-started his business career –

Title: DirectorBusiness: Graphic design, branding and advertising agencyTotal employees: 9Reporting directly: 7 AccomplishmentsWhen Jonathan Jones joined Egg Design as a director, he perceived there t

Title: DirectorBusiness: Physiotherapy services and careTotal employees: 50Reporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentsLisa Hutchinson thinks her most significant business achievement was to establish a pr

Title: Managing directorBusiness: Strategic planning servicesTotal employees: 15Reporting directly: 8                         AccomplishmentsGary Hasler’s most significant accomplishment has been the

Title: Executive directorBusiness: Production houseTotal employees: 16Reporting directly: 16 AccomplishmentsDavid Green says his most significant achievement was the successful merger of Look Creative

Title: Executive directorBusiness: Technology companyTotal employees: 350Reporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentsSimon Forth says that driving the growth strategy to take Legend Corporation Ltd from a

Title: DirectorBusiness: Hotel and property management service Total employees: 36Reporting directly: n/a AccomplishmentTanya Forsyth says managing to combine motherhood and working in hospitality is

Title: General manager infrastructure Andrea Sutton completed a degree in chemical engineering at the University of Melbourne and joined Rio Tinto (formerly CRA) in 1994.After several years in the adv

Title: Deputy director general Gary Stokes took up his role as deputy director general at DoIR on July 1 2005, following 12 months as deputy director general, business and trade services.He is involve

Title: Marketing manager Heather Merritt has spent more than two decades in the marketing and communications industry, with senior positions in the international corporate world in Canada, Indonesia a

Title: Publisher Publishing has been Harry Kleyn’s passion since the early 1970s when, after a short career in the building industry, he became involved in operating what was then a small community pa

Title: General manager property Neil Kidd is general manager property of Westralia Airports Corporation (WAC), the operator of Perth Airport.

Title: Managing director South Fremantle-based corporate philanthropist, Terry Iannello, co-founded the TCC Group in April 1982.Since then, he has helped the business grow from an organisation occupyi

Title: General manager In the two first years Darren Hayes has held the position of Vodafone’s general manager (WA), the business has grown by 300 per cent.

Title: Managing director A former 40under40 winner, Anthony Hasluck is the managing director of Clarity Communications, which is the second largest public relations consultancy in Western Australia, a

Title: Executive dean Professor Robert Harvey, pro vice-chancellor (equity and indigenous) and executive dean of the Faculty of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University, came to ECU in 2003 after a

Title: Managing director Peter Harold was born and educated in Melbourne and holds a bachelor of applied science in chemistry from the University of Melbourne.

Title: CEO Frank Edwards has been chief executive officer of the City of Perth since April 2002.  Prior to this he was executive manager, customer services, and then chief executive officer at the Tow

Title: Chairman & CEO John Driscoll’s formal qualifications include a bachelor’s degree in economics and an MBA.

Title: Sales manager, WA Dawn Davis has worked with Singapore Airlines for more than 24 years, the past decade as sales manager WA.  With a background in travel and tourism dating back to 1979, Ms Dav

Title: Director/partner As a director of Perth Business and Tax Solutions, Rami Brass has worked for more than more than 20 years providing taxation advice and specialist tax consulting services.His e

Title: Head of corporate, WA John Bouffler has led the Commonwealth Bank’s corporate financial services business in Western Australia since September 2005.

Title: Business development manager North-West Shelf Venture Daniel Bathe graduated from Queens University of Belfast in chemical engineering (Hons) in 1982.He has 25 years’ experience in the oil and