Local Leaders

To say Anne-Marie Perret is experienced would be a major understatement. With a special interest in innovation and technology, Anne-Marie is an incredibly experienced mentor and advisor who has helped turn many Canberrans' ideas into successful businesses. Anne-Marie has been part of CBRIN's GRIFFIN accelerator mentor team since its inception in 2014. The group's three-month intensive program is led by...

Whatever the weather, solar remains the best energy source for Canberrans in terms of the environment and the hip pocket. Canberra winters are a force to be reckoned with. But as long as there's sunlight, there's solar power. It's a common misconception that solar panels require heat to work. In fact, they convert sunlight into electricity, not heat, says Mondiaux...

If there are two careers that seem more polar opposite than being a lawyer and a DJ, you'd be hard-pressed to name them. However, in Snedden Hall & Gallop business lawyer Maarten Vlot, these two interests combine to create a formidable litigator and a renowned DJ. Four days a week, you'll find Maarten in his office at the Canberra law...

Many 15-year-old girls like lip gloss, but very few of them own their own cosmetics company they hope will one day become an empire. Year 10 Canberra Girls Grammar School student Sofia Green is the brains behind Apollo Cosmetics. The name for her business, which she wanted to be meaningful, came from her "science obsession" and her love for the...

Long before there was a need for people to check in to cafes, restaurants, shops, taxis and buses, and before there was a global pandemic which meant contract tracing was a daily reality, mates Mitchell Harmer and Alexandria Garlan saw a safety issue in the construction industry that could, in part, be solved by checking in. The pair had been...

Sport has always been a huge part of Dr Damian Smith’s life. It was during his teenage years, training and competing as a gymnast at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra he first discovered his interest in orthopaedics. After attaining his medical degree from the University of Sydney in 1997, and completing his orthopaedic training with the Australian Orthopaedic...

After graduating from the Australian National University, the big city lights of Sydney briefly attracted keen young lawyer Archie Tsirimokos, but it wasn’t long before he decided to remain in Canberra where he raised a family and cemented himself as one of the region’s leading commercial lawyers. Archie started out as an articled clerk with Vandenberg Reid, before working his...

A school holiday job of stripping machines for spare parts sparked Grae Munro’s passion for appliances and electrical. He attended Erindale College, where he began working at Detlev's electrical services as a casual employee on weekends and school holidays. His first role was entry level, stripping machines and managing minor workshop repairs. That’s when he first discovered his interest in...

A people person at heart, Canberra’s Mark Wolens is an avid traveller who loves getting away whenever he can. Even though COVID-19 has slowed him down in this regard, he is looking forward to the day when international borders reopen and he can get overseas again. Region Media sits down with Mark to get to know him beyond his professional...

During the course of Alan Tse's life, his relationship with alcohol has turned 180 degrees. From a young man immersed in the fast-paced, heavy drinking culture of financial consulting, he's now running a successful business that advocates for alcohol-free drinks to be included in corporate celebrations and life more broadly. "Back then, I thought I was living the dream," he...

For many years, Canberra orthopaedic surgeon Dr Damian Smith had thought about expanding his practice to include an in-house physiotherapy service, but it was the COVID-19 pandemic that finally kicked him into gear. While Dr Smith carried out his elective procedures during most of 2020, COVID-19 restrictions often meant his patients had limited access to preoperative and postoperative physiotherapy at...

At an age when most kids are glued to their screens, Freddy Gaffey is out the back in the cubby he's converted into a blacksmith shop working at his homemade forge. The year seven student has set up his own sculpture and blacksmithing business, Freddy's Forge, and already employs his younger brother Jim to remove nails from the horseshoes he...

Detlev’s Electrical is working on some pretty big construction projects, but the Canberra-based family business is now leading the way when it comes to changing people’s lives using home automation. While their booming commercial and residential departments have landed the company some shiny industry awards over the years, Detlev's managing director Grae Munro says their most recent project is making...