Local Leaders

Huy Nguyen graduated as an engineer from the Australian National University in 2014. In the same year became Canberra’s Young Australian of the Year. Huy calls himself a ‘humanitarian engineer’, working to find solutions for people with a disability by using his engineering skills, innovative technology and a personal passion for change to find technological solutions to barriers faced by...

The path to building a highly successful business does not usually start with a career ending injury, but as a testament to Ian and Maria Lindgren's vision they both saw an opportunity arise out of misfortune and took brave steps towards it. Ian and Maria are the founders of PayMe, now one of Australia's leading contractor payroll and salary packaging...

A good legal practitioner can use the law to help and enhance the lives of their clients. This has certainly been the experience of solicitor Taso Nicolaidis. Born and raised in Canberra, Taso completed his legal studies at the University of Canberra and Australian National University before managing a busy personal injury practice for five years with a focus on...

Yoga on the grass outside the office might not be the very first thing you associate with the CEO of a dynamic professional services company. But Galia Cornish from Synergy is not your average corporate leader. The professional services firm is certainly a significant player in the Canberra market: it turns over around $85 million per annum and employs 325...

Ten years ago, Tom Martin was a young man with a plan. A plan to build a successful plumbing business from scratch. Tom now owns Water Tight Canberra, a plumbing, drainage and gas fitting company servicing Canberra and surrounding areas. Tom and his business are a testament to the value of planning, preparation and hard work, recently recognised by winning...

Retrenchment can be one of life's more stressful events and the question 'where to next?' can be difficult to answer. For Belle Property real estate agent Amy Wilson, the answer came when she was selling her house. Amy's life took a new direction after she was retrenched from her role as a graphic designer with the CSIRO. "I was pregnant...

Fast-rising Canberra professional services firm Rubik3 grew its year-on-year revenue by 98 per cent in 2019, an extraordinary effort after achieving 130 per cent growth in the previous financial year. Rubik3 is the Australian Growth Company 2019 Business Services Growth Company of the Year. Ranked by The Australian Financial Review as the country’s second-fastest growing firm, Rubik3 has achieved more...

For Local Leader Dean Hill, good business is all about helping people. Driven by a desire to help and to be a part of the community, Dean is changing the focus of recruitment. With a business philosophy grounded in years of working in different industries, Dean is now the CEO of Effective People, an Australian-owned and operated recruitment company based...

What’s the secret to running one of Canberra’s top recruitment companies? If you ask Ian Lindgren, who has owned recruitment agency Effective People alongside wife Maria since 2015, the answer may surprise you. While other recruitment businesses rely on generous commission structures and measure success by the number of candidates placed in roles, for the Lindgrens, it’s all about people...

Sofia Ligeros knows the power of going that extra mile. It’s her determination that makes her a great cultural fit for Independent Property Management. Sofia’s magic combination of professionalism, empathy and high-energy levels enable her to make such a difference to landlords and tenants. Like the prospective tenant she met around a year ago who was desperate to find a...

Corkhill’s Engineering has won a substantial contract to supply Harvey Norman with steel-framed glass screens for shop fit-outs, in another example of ingenuity from a workshop that has put Boorowa, northwest of Canberra, on the map. In a village of 1600 people, creativity and an extensive network underpin Corkhill’s Engineering, without which the business would not thrive. The engineering firm...

home.byholly has just had a major growth spurt, with the addition of the McReynolds family — a father, mother and son team, all passionate about, and experts in, real estate. Even though now larger, the home.byholly team remains dedicated to providing boutique, personal, hands-on service, something the McReynolds are masters at. Jenny McReynolds says the trio was attracted to join...

"Let’s break the stigma against mental health, and support men speaking out about it." Forty minutes into my conversation with Golnar Nekoee, what impresses me most is not the many and varied professional goals she's already achieved. It's the way she continually brings our conversation back to a personal passion; removing the stigma surrounding mental health issues, specifically that of...

Justin Wong is a numbers guy. He loves crunching them, and helping clients understand and use them to full advantage in business. That’s why Justin opened PAQ Group, a bookkeeping and payroll solution that has designed its services especially for small business. “The benefits of understanding your financial position are enormous,” says Justin. “It lets business owners focus on their...

Damien Holder is excited how tradies of the future are being developed. Over the next 10 years, they will be stronger, plumbing designs will maximise efficiencies and have the ability to be remotely monitored and a plumber will be notified and dispatched before issues become problems. “This is all exciting stuff and we need people to develop,” he says enthusiastically....

Sheena Ireland says opening her own business, Specialists in Communications, is one of the best decisions she's ever made. Sheena Ireland dreamt of moving into business for a long time. She loved her job but couldn’t shake the feeling that it was time to explore what could be. So one day she jumped from her secure position to opening Specialists...