Speaking about her education, she had completed her business degree from the, Christine Holgate used to earn $208 thousand every month when she worked for.

She described the business as being “stuck in the sixes” when she joined, a reference to the organisation’s revenue. "I am a huge online shopper," she told Fairfax Media. “Our strategy through this crisis has been simple and strong – to protect our people, serve our country, and safeguard our business,” Christine shares.

“We have implemented strict safety and infection control measures to keep our people, customers and the community safe,” Christine says.

“What I would honestly say is I found it incredibly welcoming. "Ahmed will officially leave our business on the 28th of July," he said. Christine believes that recognition encourages other women to strive, especially those who have been campaigning for exactly that kind of inclusivity and diversity. However, unlike many Australians, Ms Holgate says she has "never lost a parcel". Its parcels division delivered most of the profit. As a university student, she spent six weeks doing early-morning shifts sorting mail during the Christmas rush. She arrives as its first female chief executive, and with direct experience as a postie. Our content creates conversations, our voice is the one that matters. “I think we’ve been incredibly lucky. Clearly, email is so important but there is nothing like a handwritten letter to actually show that it's personal and that you care.". Ms Holgate takes over from Ahmed Fahour and will start in October. Mr Stanhope confirmed the board no longer sets the managing director's salary. Christine Holgate has now spent a total of 5 years of happy. The board members of Australia Post have been currently investigating how they could afford $12 thousand on just watches. “That’s what I could see when I look at my mother living in a tiny little village in England, where there’s one shop and it happens to be the post office.

Even the prime minister of Australia, Scott Morrison was unpleased with her action and has asked her to stand aside.

Introducing new demands like sanitary workspaces and social distancing could well have been a serious blow to the organisation. Now Australia Post is the largest financial services partner for rural and remote Australia. I think we still don’t have enough women in leadership, full stop,” she asserts. In the face of this decline, organisational growth would seem almost a pipe dream. According to a recent Deloitte Access Economics report, the additional processing and delivery activities have supported A$2.4 billion in additional ecommerce activities across Australia, with nearly a quarter of that going to rural and remote areas. The chief executive position at Australia Post has been the subject of some controversy in recent months due to Mr Fahour's remuneration. It didn’t nullify the challenge of joining a new organisation as Group CEO and Managing Director, she says, but having that connection from the start to a mission of community service was enormously beneficial. Ahmed Fahour was handed almost $11 million after quitting as Australia Post CEO earlier this year. COVID-19 has forced institutions and individuals to adapt to a radically different world, one that isn’t short of challenges.

"With post now entering a new stage in our transformation, it's the perfect time for Christine to take the helm. While Mr Fahour's salary was set by the board, earlier this year Senator Fifield requested the CEO's remuneration be declared as one set by the government's pay panel. I grew up in a small village in Britain, and I saw firsthand how important the post office and the postie were in supporting the viability of that community. In much the same way rural communities relied on the post office’s services during the Black Summer bushfires, Australia Post has helped the population stay connected through COVID-19. At a press conference in Sydney, Mr Stanhope said he was "incredibly impressed" by Ms Holgate when they worked together at Telstra, where she was head of business sales and he was chief financial officer.

"He will be a hard act to follow but I am very confident that we have chosen exactly the right person for the job.". "Christine's skill set and international experience make her an ideal fit given Australia Post's shift to e-commerce and our ongoing commitment to serving the community," he said. Christine Holgate with Australia Post chairman John Stanhope at Tuesday's press conference in Sydney.Credit:Ben Rushton.

Credit:Ben Rushton, "I am also a believer of writing personal handwritten letters. It doesn’t mean you agree with it all, but you learn a lot. So being a woman, if anything, was a positive, because perhaps it encouraged other women to be even more supportive, because there are so few of us.” In 2015, while she was still at Blackmores, Christine won The CEO Magazine’s CEO of the Year Award (pictured) – the first woman to do so. Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate faces an independent review into the purchase of luxury watches for four executives, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison has condemned as 'disgraceful'. she asked.

While her achievements in revitalising Australia Post’s flagging prospects are impressive in themselves, it’s also notable that she’s the first woman to lead the centuriesold organisation. As Blackmores chief executive she earns a base salary of $872,325, with bonuses and super taking her 2016 salary to about $2.8 million. In December 2009, Fahour was announced as the new MD and CEO of Australia Post (a federal government-owned business), commencing in February 2010. “To that end, it’s our partnerships that are more important than ever before, whether they are with people or organisations.

It has not shrunk. The gifts came from the many people who’d heard about the award; even if they didn’t know Christine personally, they were thrilled a woman had not only been recognised but won. Normally, Australia Post has months to prepare for peak periods like Christmas, but the pandemic took everyone by surprise. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what formed part of Christine’s initial strategy, alongside an effort to listen and learn from employees. Letter delivery represented 30% of the business (but is going backwards), while the remainder now comes from highly competitive and quickly growing markets (parcels, payment and financial services, identity services and international services), and operations continue to move towards those competitive markets. This largely revolved around the organisation’s letter business, which declined 9% in 2019 and accelerated during COVID-19 to 36% in May 2020. Australia Post chairman John Stanhope said Ms Holgate was picked after a global search. But what made Christine’s strategy unique is the extent to which she did it. “In Australia, so much of this country is rural and remote. She also may be the first managing director with direct experience as a postie.

“But overall, there was massive alignment about what needed to happen in the organisation, what the challenges were, and what the focus areas should be. She believes Australia Post is one of the largest socio-economic contributors to small towns, and this has been proven during the pandemic. At its half-year results in February, Australia Post announced a pre-tax profit of $197 million from revenue of $3.5 billion. “There are a few female CEOs, maybe five in the postal world, and three of the women at the time who were running USPS, Royal Mail in the UK and Swiss Post immediately reached out to me and said, ‘Hey, we have another sister.’ As a result, I became really close friends with Susanne Ruoff, then CEO of Swiss Post, in particular. The government-owned company did not receive any applications for the top job from internal candidates. Taking a listening approach is not all that unusual for a leader. “We live in increasingly uncertain times and, with that, we are all experiencing a time that is quite unlike anything that this generation has experienced,” Christine says. It could also help build the economy through improving commerce between Australia and Asia. "It is with regret that we announce Christine's departure," Blackmores chairman Stephen Chapman said. I think it’s hugely attractive and incredibly rewarding.”. Ms Holgate was named CEO of the year in 2015, the same year Blackmores shares enjoyed a 254 per cent increase, which took them to a record high of $220.90 in January 2016 as overseas demand for its vitamins and health products skyrocketed. She will receive a base salary of $1.375 million a year, with the potential to earn 100 per cent of that as a bonus.