Article courtesy of The West Australian by Cheyanne Encisco.
Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has been celebrated for her outstanding leadership journey after being crowned WA Pinnacle Awards’ Business Leader of the Year.
Judges on Thursday night acknowledged Mrs Rinehart’s transformation of Hancock Prospecting from a company with significant potential, to a top-tier firm employing thousands of people in WA.
She was also recognised for making a positive impact on the wider community, through her contribution in education, medicine and sports, and for contributing to the transformation of the iron ore industry.
Now boasting a $34 billion fortune, Mrs Rinehart was born in Perth but spent most of her time as a young woman at her parents’ sheep and cattle station in the Pilbara.
She took over chairmanship of her father Lang Hancock’s company in 1992 after his death.
Past winners of the award, run by the Australian Institute of Management WA, include Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes, Bill Beament, Richard Goyder, Andrew Forrest, Nev Power, the late Stan Perron, Adrian Fini, Sue Murphy and Chris Ellison.
“(Hancock Prospecting) has become of one of Australia’s best known companies, is widely recognised for excellence and is a partner of choice in its industry,” AIM WA chief executive Gary Martin said.
“The success has allowed Mrs Rinehart to branch out and diversify into other business areas — without losing focus on long-term goals and ambitions.”
Other 2022 Pinnacle Award winners on Thursday night included:
Bloodwood Tree Association Inc (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Business Excellence)
City of Perth (Asian Engagement Excellence)
Brida Pty Ltd (Corporate Social Responsibility)
Transdev WA Pty Ltd (Customer Service Excellence)
Marawar Pty Ltd (Emerging Business Excellence)
Brownes Dairy (Environmental Sustainability Excellence)
Brida Pty Ltd (Human Resource Management Excellence)
LiveMine Solutions Pty Ltd (Innovation Excellence)
Edge Employment Solutions (Marketing Excellence)
Horizon Power (Workplace Wellbeing Excellence)
All winners received $20,000 worth of workplace training to donate to a charity of their choice.
