11. Sarina Russo
Company: Sarina Russo Group
Established: 1979
Revenue: $106 million
Sarina Russo first realised she had a gift for motivating people when she opened her first typing school in some loaned space above a bank more than 30 years ago, and every student went on to get a job.
Today her business has grown to incorporate job placement and recruitment services, workplace training and international education with more than 1000 staff across the world.
Last year her apprenticeship services arm signed up 9000 apprentices and trainees with employers such as Telstra, St George Bank, Foxtel and Qantas.
More than 5000 students with workforce barriers have just been trained in certificate II courses in hospitality, business, retail, financial services and customer contract and 2753 students have gained employment.
12. Diana Williams
Company: Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs
Established: 1989
Revenue: $90 million*
Fernwood is a pioneer in women only fitness in Australia. Since opening her first gym in 1989, Diana Williams has continued to expand the company, which is now the largest of its kind in Australia with more than 68,000 members and 2200 employees.
Over the past year Williams has overseen a design overhaul, including a revamped logo and a colour-scheme make-over for the clubs. Pinks, charcoal, silver and natural white have replaced the strong blues and greens, which once represented women’s strength when challenging male-dominated stereotypes over two decades ago.
Company: Carbon Management Solutions
Established: 2002
Revenue: $82.6 million
Carbon Management Solutions will celebrate 10 years in business this year, after husband and wife team Amber and Cameron Ferguson found a large gap in the renewable energy market.
After a research trip that took them across the world, they realised that Australia lagged in solar power technology and upgrades to electricity distribution. So they began simplifying solar panel installation and bought the exclusive distribution rights for Enertech Solar panels, which they still own today.
They are now Australia’s leading wholesaler of solar panels, and have grown from a home-based business to a parent company with 40 employees.
The company’s most recent project has been the development of a range of smart inverters, which allow consumers to check their energy production and consumption at any time on the internet.
Company: The Heat Group
Established: 2000
Revenue: $70 million
Cosmetics queen Gillian Franklin has had a bumper year, with long-time shareholders Carol Schwarz and Geoff Morgan departing and former Business Council president Hugh Morgan joining Heat Group as a director and part-owner.
Heat Group just last month acquired soap business Billie Goat Soap, which specialises in sensitive skin, and says it is looking to buy more brands as it starts exporting.
The distributor of brands including Max Factor and Covergirl is also focused on launching European cosmetics brands Essence and exports to Asia.
Company: Cosmetics Cubed
Established: 1997
Revenue: $50 million*
Mecca, the prestige cosmetics retailer, turns 15 this year and has come a long way from its self-proclaimed “humble beginnings with one store in Toorak Rd, South Yarra.”
Credited with sassing up Australia’s dull cosmetics offerings, Mecca now has dozens of stores across Australia, plus Kit Cosmetics and a special Mecca Maxima shop in Melbourne.
Horgan, who studied English literature and Latin at university before working in marketing for L’Oreal, has told Vogue that her best received advice is surrounding yourself with the best people – staff, brands and suppliers – you can possibly find.
Company: Red Balloon
Established: 2001
Revenue: $43 million
Reflecting on Red Balloon’s 11th birthday and a recent trip to New York that included a visit to the Cindy Sherman exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art and reading a book on Coco Chanel, Simson says it took her years to learn how to make a difference.
“These women remind me that true greatness is not created in a few days – it takes years of commitment and single mindedness to really do something worthwhile. My legacy is not yet determined but I am driven to continue to create a truly great Australian business.”
Red Balloon, an experience gifts site that has just turned 11 years old, is the winner of several employer awards.
Company: sass & bide
Established: 1999
Revenue: $39 million*
Sarah-Jane Clarke and Heidi Middleton have proven to be stayers in the cut-throat fashion industry, with revenue lifting about 50% over the past two years to $37 million last year.
Staging a comeback under former Mimco boss David Briskin, the women’s fashionwear label is now ensconced in Myer, which paid $42.5 million for a 65% stake early last year.
There’s no doubt times have been tough for discretionary retailers, but Myer says sass & bide has “significant growth potential” and its products are sold across about dozens of Myer and standalone stores.
BRW magazine has put their combined wealth at $26 million.
Company: Kikki.K
Established: 2001
Revenue: $37 million*
A self-proclaimed “stationary freak”, Kristina Karlsson says she was first inspired to create a business that would connect her to her home of Sweden, draw on her passion for design and allow her to be excited about driving to work on a Monday morning.
More than a decade later, Melbourne-based Karlsson has nabbed a swag of her awards for Kikki.K business, which has 82 stores across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, as well as an online store. It says sights are set on further local and international expansion for 2012.
While the company is tight-lipped about its revenue, it is estimated to be around $35 million.
Company: Wild Retail Group
Established: 2002
Revenue: $33 million
Retail veteran Sandra Boyle heads Australia’s largest card and gift chain, the decade-old Wild Card & Gifts which has more than 40 stores across the country.
Beyond problems with the carbon tax and getting bank funding for franchisees, Boyle says there’s great news out there: landlords are being more reasonable, the high Australian dollar can be passed on to its customers, and technology and social media is enabling the company to communicate with its customers.
Company: Carla Zampatti
Established: 1965
Revenue: $30 million*
Award winner, car designer, legend: The Italian-born Australian fashion icon designed her first collection in the 1960s, and now owns a chain of boutiques and concept stores across the country.
Almost every big accolade has been bestowed on this matron of Australian fashion. Zampatti was made a member of the Order of Australia in 1987 and raised to Companion level in 2009.
She has received a centenary medal, was made a Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and was awarded Australian Fashion Laureate in 2008 among many other things.
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