Samantha Read, CEO of Chemistry Australia on manufacturing, diversity and mentorship.

Join Rebekah Campbell as she chats with Samantha Read, CEO of Chemistry Australia about manufacturing, diversity and mentorship. Samantha shares the power of backing yourself, leading with strategic thinking and creating formidable partnerships to ensure a more sustainable future.   Key Insights (01:22) How did Samantha start her leadership journey? Samantha’s journey didn’t start with one Big Bang moment; her leadership journey has been developing through her career. Samantha started as a research engineer with BHP and was fortunate enough to be nominated for the Committee for Melbourne for their Future Focus Group, which was a two-year leadership experience with other merging leaders. However, her first people leadership role was as a superintendent in a steel mill. It was a challenging environment at the time as a woman. She had four crews of eight operators, shift supervisors and maintenance.   (12:11) Partnerships can be hard but how does Samantha approach partnerships? Samantha thinks it’s important to understand whether there's a cultural and values fit. Reflecting on partnerships she has formed, they have emerged due to common needs and objectives and the opportunity to make or have a greater impact by working together. For Samantha, the key to a successful partnership is built on a good relationship of getting to know each other. Samantha says you have to understand the challenges and opportunities you face and how you can work through them together.   (23:08) What tool can Samantha share to the audience to add to their Leadership Toolbox? Samantha shares strategic thinking, strategy development and implementation skills are critical for all leaders. They require looking into the future and thinking about the conditions that impact your business at both a domestic and global level, and looking at how that might create both risk and opportunity to ensure that you can be sustainable for the future.   Important Resources and Links If you’d like to learn more about how CommBank is supporting the growth of women in business visit https://www.commbank.com.au/women-in-focus.html   Host of the Leading Women podcast, Rebekah Campbell is a high-profile entrepreneur and public speaker who spoke at TEDx Sydney (2012). Rebekah is co-founder of payments app Hey You and author of the book ‘138 Dates’ published by Allen & Unwin in 2021. Rebekah was named a Woman of Influence in 2015 and APEC Young Woman Innovator. She was the host and curator of the City of Sydney's virtual event series 'Reboot', supporting 18,000 Sydney business owners to recover from the impact of COVID in 2020 / ‘21. If you’re interested in learning more about Rebekah visit her website: www.rebekahcampbell.com The Leading Women podcast is proudly brought to you by Commonwealth Bank.  The series is produced by Nicole Hatherly, recorded at RadioHub Studios with post production by Cooper Silk and Iain Wilson. Things you should know: Guests featured in the podcast are speaking from their personal experiences only. As this podcast has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs, you should, before acting on the content consider its appropriateness to your circumstances. CommBank does not necessarily endorse the views of a particular individual or guarantee the accuracy of the information provided.