
Demonstrating its support for diversity and inclusion, CACC Corporate Sponsor MinterEllison held a boardroom briefing in Melbourne, entitled Leadership Diversity – from token to turning point. Distinguished guests included visiting CEO of Business Council of Canada, Goldy Hyder, both High Commissioners from Australia & Canada and various senior Australian & Canadian executives across all business sectors. CACC Director, Lesley Gillespie OAM, welcomed the President and CEO of Export Development Canada (EDC), Mairead Lavery as guest speaker to share her perspective on the topic as a business leader driving change. “As a young girl, I really remember thinking there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do if I worked for it. I really did see the world as a place of possibility,” she said. Despite being raised by a working-class family, and being female, Ms Lavery was determined to go to university, get a good job and make her mark on the world. Having grown up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, she knows all too well the consequences of not having an inclusive community. “Growing up in Belfast, I learnt the value of neighbours and community; it was a place where you could rely on your neighbours to help you do something and that really speaks to community and to diversity and inclusion. Those values have stayed with me and those lessons and values helped me make the decision to join EDC.” “EDC is a place where we really strive to have diversity and inclusion – diversity of thought, diversity of our employees, and we truly want our employees to reflect the diversity of our customers.” Ms Lavery said she was incredibly proud to be the first female CEO in the organisation’s 75-year history and was working hard to ensure better gender diversity across the organisation. “We have gender diversity at all levels across...
Read More