Sandy was so excited to chat with award-winning CEO and Founder of Mentor Me Women, Colleen Callander, in the Confessional. Colleen, with 30 years of retail experience, was at the helm of Sportsgirl and the Sussan Group. She has wealth of knowledge and a proven track record in building brands, establishing winning cultures and creating environments that allow people to shine.
Colleen wants to inspire women to lead in their own lives whether that be in boardrooms, organisations, communities or even the home and wants them to believe it is possible to become the leader they always wanted to be in business and in life. Colleen inspires and empowers organisations and leaders to strive for a new era of leadership, one that leads with kindness, trust, self- awareness, and authenticity and one that puts people at the heart of everything they do. She is the author of an amazing book – Leading by Design.
Beyond her amazing career, the most important thing to Colleen is family. Colleen’s sees her most important and influential role in life as wife to Nick, mother of three beautiful humans: Jake, Trent, and Macey. Geelong born and raised, Colleen was brought up in a hard-working business focused family, where there was always a job to do. After working in family businesses from as young as she could remember, Colleen had her first taste of retail at the age of 16. Unbeknownst to her at the time this summer job would be the start of a retail career, ultimately propelling her to become part of the 20% club –as fewer than 20% of Australian CEOs are women.
However, the path wasn’t always smooth sailing. Juggling three small children and a high-profile career, Colleen suffered from burnout in 2007. She decided to throw it away – the job, the career, the leadership – before chance stepped in, and she continued her road towards retail leadership.
After implementing self-care into her life and putting herself first, she discovered the power of these simple yet effective ways to stay on top of your health and your life – and she wants to encourage all women to take care of themselves.
An inspiration to women of all generations, Colleen encourages women globally to have the confidence to believe in themselves, their ability, share their voice and find the superpower within. Colleen has shared her journey as a guest speaker at multiple conferences and events, In 2014, Colleen was awarded the Highly Commended CEO of the Year Award – CEO magazine, which she was also a judge for in 2012.
In April 2021, Colleen launched her book Leader By Design which has been met with rave reviews and immense success.
You can follow Colleen (and buy her book Leader by Design) here:
https://www.colleencallander.com.au/book
Instagram: @colleen_calllander
Instagram: @mentorme_women
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