Our judging panel

The five category winners were chosen by a select panel of judges, including:

• James Strong AO
James Strong is currently Chairman of Woolworths Limited, the Australia Council for the Arts and Kathmandu.  He is a Director of Qantas Airways Limited and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.  James is also a member of the Nomura Australia Advisory Board and Chairman of Painaustralia Limited.

James was formerly the Chief Executive and Managing Director of Qantas Airways Limited from 1993 to 2001, Chairman of Insurance Australia Group (IAG) Limited, Chairman of Rip Curl Group Pty Limited, Group Chief Executive of DB Group Limited in New Zealand, National Managing Partner and later Chairman of law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth, Chief Executive of Trans Australian Airlines (later Australian Airlines) and Executive Director of the Australian Mining Industry Council.

He has been admitted as a barrister and/or solicitor in various state jurisdictions in Australia.In 2006 James was made an Officer of the Order of Australia.
• Carolyn Hewson AO
Carolyn Hewson AO graduated in Economics (Hons.) from the University of Adelaide and subsequently completed a Masters of Arts in Economics at Cambridge University.

Carolyn has had over 30 years experience in the financial sector. She joined Schroders Australia investment bank in 1981 and worked as an investment banker in the areas of financial markets, risk management and investment management. She became an Executive Director of Schroders and remained on the board there until she moved from executive work to non executive roles in 1995.

Carolyn is now a non-executive Director of four listed Australian companies- BHP Billiton, Westpac Banking Corporation, Stockland Corporation and BT Investment Management. She has also served as a director on the boards of AGL, AMP, CSR, South Australia Water and the Economic Development Board of South Australia.

Carolyn has always been very involved in the not- for –profit sector. Her current community involvement includes board roles with the Australian Charities Fund, the Neurosurgical Research Foundation and Chair of The Westpac Foundation.

In the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2009 she was made an Officer in the Order of Australia for her services to the community, especially the YWCA, and to business.
• Cassandra Kelly F Fin
Cassandra Kelly is co-founder and Joint CEO of Pottinger, an independent corporate advisory business that advises corporates and governments on strategy, capital funding and mergers and acquisitions. Cassandra has domestic and international experience directing, managing, and advising major corporations and governments across most industry sectors.

Previously she was the Vice President of GMAC Commercial Holding Asia and a Board member of GMAC Commercial Mortgage Japan. She has also held executive roles at Deutsche Bank (New York and London); HSBC Investment Bank (London), McKinsey & Company (Sydney, Johannesburg and London) and BT Funds Management (Sydney).

Cassandra is also a Director of the UNSW Foundation Board and was previously Vice President of Women in Banking and Finance, an Association contributing to the professional development of women in the financial services industry.

Cassandra is an Ambassador for One Million Women and for Dry July and is a member of the Advisory Board for the CEO Sleepout. She has held a number of other directorships in the not for profit sector including Starlight Children's Foundation Australia and the Children's Cancer Institute Australia for Medical Research.

On May 29th, Cassandra was awarded the Women's College Young Alumna Award for 2009. The award recognised Cassandra's achievements in her various roles in financial services and the leadership, innovation and initiative which she has provided to her field of endeavour.Cassandra graduated with Honours in Economics from The University of Sydney.
• Tony Howarth AO SF Fin
A J (Tony) Howarth AO CitWA, SF Fin, FAICD.

Tony Howarth's (59) executive career was in the banking and finance industry. Uniquely, he held executive positions in Government, Regional and Major Banks as well as in Building Societies and Stockbroking. During his career he was involved in the full spectrum of the finance industry. He has had international experience in London, Hamburg and New York.

Currently he is Chairman of Mermaid Marine Australia Limited and a non- executive director Wesfarmers Limited. He is involved with a number of business and community organisations as Chairman of St John of God Health Care Group, Immediate Past President of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) and a Director and Past President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia (CCIWA). He is also Chair of the Committee for Perth and a member of the Rio-Tinto WA Future Fund. He is on the University of Western Australia's Senate and is Chair of the University Club's Advisory Board and Deputy Chair of the UWA Business School Board.Tony is on the Board of the Western Australian Rugby Union and a Past President of Cottesloe Rugby Union Club.
• Annabel Spring
Annabel is currently Group Head of Strategy and Communications for the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) with responsibility for corporate strategy development, mergers and acquisitions, major cross-business strategic initiatives, government relations and internal and external communications.

Prior to CBA, Annabel was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley. In her capacity as Head of Global Firm Strategy and Execution Annabel was responsible for global strategy of the Firm and the execution of all Firm transactions. She completed over 20 transactions worth over $25 billion in that role. Previous to that she held various positions in the leveraged finance, mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance departments. Annabel began her career at Morgan Stanley as an analyst, and has worked in New York, Asia and Australia.

She has a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Economics, both with honours, from the University of Sydney and a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where she graduated as a George F. Baker Scholar. She was a class of 2008 David Rockefeller Fellow as part of the Partnership for New York City and a member of the New York Economic Development Corporation Board.She is currently a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board in Australia.
• John M. Green SF Fin
John is a leading company director - currently he sits on the boards of QBE Insurance and WorleyParsons - and he is a member of the Takeovers Panel.

He is also a crime novelist, as well as a business writer.

John's latest novel is the political thriller, Born to Run (released in August). His first novel is the financial thriller, Nowhere Man.

His business writing appears in Company Director, Business Spectator, The Australian and elsewhere.

He is also co-founder of  Pantera Press, a publisher with a philanthropic bent.

Previously, he was a senior investment banker, as an executive director at Macquarie Bank.

Before that, he was a law partner in Freehills and Dawson Waldron (now Blake Dawson).

For many years, John held senior roles with Finsia's predecessor (the Securities Institute of Australia), including NSW President, National Vice-President, and inaugural chairman of the Markets Policy Group, where he led many successful campaigns for companies and securities market law reform.John is a Senior Fellow and an Honorary Life Member of Finsia.
• Sir John Anthony Anderson SF Fin
Sir John is currently Chairman of Television New Zealand, the New Zealand Venture Investment Fund, the Wellington Regional Strategy Committee, PGG Wrightson Limited and NPT Limited.  He serves as a director on the board of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and is also a trustee on the Wellington Regional Stadium Trust and the Canterbury Business Recovery Trust Fund.

Sir John was formerly Chief Executive of the ANZ National Bank until his retirement in 2005, former Chairman of New Zealand Cricket and New Zealand's representative director on the ICC, positions he held from 1995 until 2008 and former Chairman of the New Zealand Sports Foundation.

He had held advisory and governance roles for successive governments through the 1980s and 1990s and received the 1990 Commemoration Medal for Services to New Zealand and was knighted in 1994.  In 1995 Sir John was awarded NBR "New Zealander of the Year, in 2003 he received the Deloittes Top 200 Company Award "New Zealand's Most Visionary Leader", in 2005 he was the inaugural winner of "The Blake Medal" for leadership contributions to New Zealand and in 2010 he was the recipient of a Halberg Award for Leadership in Excellence in Sport.
• Brian Schwartz AM
FCA, FAICD

Chairman, Insurance Australia Group Limited

Brian was appointed a Director of IAG in January 2005 and became Chairman in August 2010. He is also Chairman of Insurance Manufacturers of Australia Pty Limited (a general insurance underwriting joint venture with RACV Ltd) and IAG Finance New Zealand Ltd.

Brian is Deputy Chairman of Westfield Group Limited, a non-executive Director of Brambles Limited and the Deputy Chairman of the Board of Football Federation Australia Limited.

Brian was the Chief Executive of Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd from 2005 to 2009. Previously he was with Ernst & Young Australia from 1979 to 2004 becoming its Chief Executive in 1998. He was a member of Ernst & Young's Global Board and Managing Partner of the Oceania region.

Brian was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2004 for his services to business and the community. He was previously a member of the Federal Government's Australian Multicultural Advisory Council and in 2001 he was named Leading CEO for the Advancement of Women by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency.
• Jillian Segal AM
Currently, Jillian is a Director of the ASX Limited, the National Australia Bank, The Garvan Institute of Medical Research and a Member of the Federal Government's Remuneration Tribunal. She is Deputy Chancellor of the University of New South Wales and a Member of the Sydney Advisory Council of the Centre for Social Impact. She is also Chairman of the General Sir John Monash Foundation.

Previously she has been President of the Administrative Review Council and was Chairman of the Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman Board. She also has been a member of the Major Performing Arts Board of the Australia Council and the Council for Multicultural Australia.

From October 1997 to June 2002, Jillian was a Commissioner of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), being Deputy Chair from November 2000 to June 2002. Prior to joining ASIC, Jillian was a corporate lawyer specialising in corporate and environmental law, having been a partner at Allen Allen & Hemsley (now Allens Arthur Robinson).

She is also a member of Chief Executive Women and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.Jillian has a BA LL.B from UNSW and an LL.M from Harvard Law School.