Jennifer runs her own business Creativeworkz and lectures at CSU. Jennifer assists businesses and individuals to grow themselves and their businesses. Jennifer started her working life as a microbiologist at Tooths Brewery. Moving on to Technical Manager at SPC before joining Uncle Tobys as Research and Development Manager. At Uncle Tobys /GF she has held several roles including Quality leadership, Project Management and Manufacturing Benchmarking. In her role as Corporate Consumer Sciences and Insights Manager for Goodman Fielder she was involved with conducting marketing and sensory research internationally to develop insight, brand visions, and product development insight. Jennifer was General Manager of Hadar homes. She developed the business to win awards in both the Yarrawonga and Moira Shire business award. Jennifer was a finalist in the 2007 Telstra Business Women’s Award in The Business Innovation Category and the Victorian Winner of the 2007 Telstra Business Woman of the Year in the corporate sector and was awarded Business Woman of the year 2004 by Business and Professional Women’s International Albury.

Natasha Callewaert’s career spans over 20 years in accommodation, 13 of which she has owned her own businesses all within the Quest Apartment Hotel Group.? Natasha currently owns & operates Quest Wodonga & also holds an advisory position in the Franchise Advisory Council for Quest.? Her strengths & experience extend to team building & leadership, strategic planning, marketing & communications, human resources, business & risk management.? Having been a small business operator for over a decade Natasha understands some of the challenges that small business owners face in cash flow management & driving business outcomes through innovation. Natasha moved from inner city Melbourne to Albury/Wodonga 5 years ago & has been a strong advocate for growth in the twin city with her focus on promoting Albury/Wodonga & works hard to maintain strong regional business networks.? She is passionate about her community & an active participant who seeks opportunities to promote the region through her business platform. 

David Thurley is an Albury City Councillor being first elected in 2012.  As a Councillor he sits on the Audit Risk and Improvement Committee as well as several external committees such as Murray Arts, the MAMA Advisory Board and the South West Public Libraries Association.  David is also the National President of the Murray Darling Association and a member of the Basin Community Committee.  He is also a member of several community organisations.

David is a Chemical Engineer and worked for a large multinational company for many years before starting his own consulting company specialising in industrial wastewater treatment, dangerous goods and environmental planning. This phase of his career saw him working in many countries including Malaysia, Brazil, Greece and France. Early in his career he was an industry advisor to a Commonwealth Government department.

Karen is literally the left hand of Albury Precision Engineering.Having spent her entire working career involved in all facets of manufacturing (from jeans to weapons and everything in between) she assisted her husband Linton in the setup of their company back in 1989.  With her industrial engineering and business management background, they have established a niche engineering facility boasting some of the most modern CNC equipment located between Sydney and Melbourne, employing over a dozen specialist tradesmen and affiliated personnel. In her spare time she annoys her adult children, plays the piano and attempts to expand her ability in Japanese inspired cuisine.

Susan is the joint owner of E2E The Change Agency. She is passionate about helping organisations be the best they can be. For over 25 years Susan has provided strategic leadership and hands on help to her clients, creating change and delivering projects that make a difference.  Susan’s clients have been large and small, private and public.  They have been in a diverse range of industries including: Healthcare; Finance; Agriculture, Engineering and Construction.  Susan’s company is a silver sponsor of Albury Northside Chamber of Commerce (ANCC). In conjunction with ANCC, Susan has founded the Project Management in Action (PMiA) professional group to support the local Project community. When Susan isn’t rolling up her sleeves helping companies succeed she can be found on the golf course or sampling our wonderful local cuisine and wines.

Bev is an Albury-Wodonga born and bred local who has been on several big adventures in Wagga, Sydney, Melbourne and the Northern Territory, working firstly as a nanny and then as a teacher in five Aboriginal community schools across the Barkly Tableland. Since returning to North East Victoria in 1999, she has been employed in a variety of roles in the education, community development, health, local government, theatre, cultural development and human services sectors. She built a home in Yackandandah, moving there in 2010, and has been the CEO of the North East Local Learning and Employment Network (NELLEN) since 2016.

Lecturer, Human Resource Management at Charles Sturt University Pete has over twenty years of experience in the HR field as a specialist, manager, director and now teacher. He spent 15 years working abroad in Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong, and has career experience in fortune 500 firms such as Pricewaterhouse Coopers Consulting (PWC) and General Electric (GE). Pete is a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI), and holds a Masters of Global Human Resource Management from the University of Liverpool in the U.K. He also has experience as a founder/operator of a small business abroad.

Barbara's background is Finance, Marketing, Media, & Technology in the Health, B2B & Retail space. 

In 1998 at the age 35, Barbara moved from near Liverpool in the UK after marrying her Australian husband.  Working in B2B advising her clients on marketing strategies and business development helping their businesses grow, from this Barbara was able to pick up the best secrets to success also identifying new opportunities, from a variety of passionate businesses. Barbara started in Telstra in 2000 and became Director & Local Telstra Licensee with Telstra Wodonga / Telstra Albury Telstra Business Centre Albury. Working seven days a week for the first seven years Barbara certainly knows the hard yards to get a business up and running from a local team of 8 to now employing over 60. Barbara cares about her team and Telstra’s local valued customers. The biggest thing in her business life is that Barbara encourages others to take risks and have a go, understand their customer needs, have passion in their business, and above all strive for excellence. Building a solid reputation as always above board is her “Thing” – being sincere & ethical is her mantra. Barbara is a loyal & committed professional, giving back to the Albury Wodonga community and its charities. Whoever gets the chance to meet Barbara will remember her! 

Phil invested the first 31 years of his working life building a career at Senior Management level in a number of highly recognisable Food Industry Companies. Over the past 12 years, Phil has run several of his own businesses and understands the pressures, challenges and pleasures associated with being your own boss. His passion in life is to work with business owners and inspire them to make positive and simple changes in their business and personal lives, so that they minimise risk and avoid mistakes; mistakes that cost them Time, Energy and Money. Doing that, then allows those businesses to get on a positive growth track that allows us, together, to create more local jobs and as a result build stronger local communities and impact lives positively. My vision is to provide the operational framework for business owners looking to achieve substantial business improvements across the spectrum of Strategy & Business Management, Sales & Marketing, Leadership & Team Building and Financial Management.

'Do not expect to do the same thing everyday and get a different outcome'. If you want your business to change then take the first step and change what you do.

Amelia Hartney is a Partner within the Crowe Horwath, Albury team. Amelia is a Performance Consultant, supporting local companies with strategy and growth solutions. Her specialist knowledge areas include Manufacturing, Agriculture, Government Incentives and International Trade. Amelia’s broader consulting experience includes managing client engagements encompassing business process improvements, strategy development, research & development identification, supply chain reviews, network design development, distribution strategies, transformational project management, change management, stakeholder management and team leadership. Amelia is part of the local Albury Wodonga and broader regional community, through supporting local sporting clubs and not for profit Boards

Kellie Howard is the Acting Chief Executive Officer at Apprentices Trainees Employment Limited. Kellie has spent her entire life in North East Victoria.  Moving to Albury/Wodonga from Rutherglen when she was completing her degree in Bachelor Business Accounting/Marketing part time,  whilst working full time for a small accounting firm. After completing her studies at the Albury Campus of Charles Sturt University, she moved onto completing her CPA studies and continued working with various accounting firms in Albury/Wodonga, assisting businesses in the Albury/Wodonga region with their accounting and taxation requirements. In 2013 Kellie began working with Apprentices Trainees Employment Limited (ATEL) in the role of Finance Manager and as member of the Executive team.  In March 2018 she was appointed by the Board as the acting CEO. Kellie loves that the organisation and team she works with at ATEL, connecting businesses and job seekers through employment, training, consulting and mentoring to ultimately build a stronger workforce. 

Vicki Gray has an extensive background in?Retail and Hospitality as well as?Financial?and Insurance services. 

In 2010 Vicki started?her own business (Willowbank Events) 

Willowbank Events has successfully?hosted?numerous?weddings, corporate functions, album launches, roadshows and themed events for local, national and international clients including an Audi Quattro product launch.  

Since 2017, Willowbank has been the home of Albury’s first music festival, By the Banks. 

Vicki also offers consulting services to clients in event management and co-ordination, including extensive expertise in dealing with statutory bodies and creating associated documentation supporting timely and seamless certification for public events. 

Vicki has a Diploma in Event Management and Tourism. 

Gerard is a Certified Practising Accountant and Managing Director of ATS Partners.

Gerard has extensive experience in advising small business in regard to accounting and tax advice.

He is also a registered SMSF auditor and a Quality Assurance reviewer with CPA Australia.

Gerard’s passion is being a mentor to small business owners and other accountants

Kevin has a varied career background, including working in Canberra as an agricultural economist where he advised on the wool and meat industries, and later in aviation on bilateral air service agreements. A tree change took him down a different path, being involved with his wife in retail ventures in the Gold Coast hinterland and in Albury where he has lived and worked for the past 30 years.  His extensive consulting in the wine and tourism industries included development of the ground breaking North East Valleys food and wine concept and the widespread adoption of wine clubs amongst SME wineries in Victoria. Now as an advisor with BEC Business Advice he works with a broad range of B2B and B2C clients assisting them to further grow their revenues through building a strategic approach to winning new customers and increasing the spend of existing customers and clients.

David is General Sales Manager and a member of a third generation of the Baker Family Business - Baker Motors Pt Ltd Albury-Wodonga, established 1946. He is also Dealer Principal of Baker Mercedes-Benz. David has worked in the Business for 37 years after completing Business Management studies in Canberra and also working in the Motor Industry in the ACT.

David is passionate about the quality of life on offer in our region for all age groups and sees many positives for growth and prosperity into the future.

Erin is the General Manager of Atura Hotel, a 140 room hotel with conference and food and beverage facilities in Dean Street, Albury.   Born and bred on her family farm just outside of Albury, Erin moved to Melbourne to further her experience after completing her Bachelor of Business, majoring in Marketing & Tourism.  Erin moved to Albury with her husband and two children to make Albury their home where she joined Atura Albury as the General Manager in 2017 with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry.    Erin has a passion for exceeding guest’s expectations by creating unique and memorable experiences.  Erin is also involved in the Raising Funds committee of the Border Trust, Albury Wodonga’s local Community Foundation, which generates and activates fundraising activities.

Nigel has been the Chief Executive Officer of Aspire Support Services in Albury/Wodonga for over 10 years and has overseen Aspire transform from a small Disability Service Provider employing 38 people to now being a major player in the region and operating within the National Disability Insurance Scheme with over 200 employee’s. Aspire has been supporting people with a disability in the local regional for over a decade and has been a part of some major initiatives in the past such as the development of the Murray Children’s Centre facility at CSU which also houses Aspires Early Childhood facility.

Nigel is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors regional organising committee and is interested in seeing local businesses grow and thrive throughout Albury/Wodonga. He believes that the Albury/Wodonga Business Awards are a great way to show case the amazing local talent and recognize the wonderful achievements of small, medium and large business in the area and to also recognise the outstanding efforts of individuals. It’s a great honour to be a part of the judging panel for the 2019 Business Awards.

Tom is the General Manager of the Wodonga & District Turf Club. Originally from Adelaide where he completed studies in Sport Management Recreation and Tourism, Tom’s career has seen him work across all three levels of Government including a stint in Canberra with the Australian Sports Commission. Settling in Wodonga with wife Vanessa and two boys Edward and Arthur, Tom has worked in football with the Ovens & Murray Football Netball League and now racing. Tom has an extensive knowledge in event and facility management with a strong emphasis on innovation and customer service.

Natasha is the Commercial and Finance Manager at Junction Support Services, a not-for-profit organisation based in Wodonga that has been changing lives since 1989.

Natasha over sees finance for 150 staff and 28 programs that support people in need in communities across north-east Victoria, with her main focus being on balancing the financial requirements of the organisation while continuing to meet the needs of both Junction's clients and employees. 

A qualified CPA with a degree in Accounting and Human Resource Management from Charles Sturt University, Natasha has established and operated her own business and throughout her career has worked with many small to medium business to help them achieve their financial goals. 

I joined Wodonga TAFE in 2009 as Manager for the Agriculture/Horticulture Department, following 10 years in the Vocational Education and Training sector.

Over the past eight years at Wodonga TAFE, I have been the Director for the Industry Skills and Trades Department.

My interest in training for sustainable food production, processing, storage and distribution including service industries within the region stems from a background of 25 years. This has been in agriculture as a farmer/business owner operator along with a period in the trades.

I have served the community in volunteer organisations such as the CFA with office bearer responsibilities for many years including periods on various agriculture related industry groups.

Up until recently, I have represented Wodonga TAFE as a FoodShare Board member.

I am currently on the State Agriculture Safety Reference Group with a focus on changing the practices and culture around Farm Safety.