BUILDING INDIGENOUS BUSINESS
Aboriginal Participation Contents
Indigenous Business Advisory Group 2018
INDIGENOUS BUSINESS DIRECT
SUPPLIER DIVERSITY AND PROCUREMENT Omesh Jethwani, Government Projects & Programs Manager in-conversation with Laura Berry, CEO Supply Nation on the rapid growth and demand for Indigenous owned businesses. OJ Please share with our readers the details of your ancestral family background. I proudly identify with my Aboriginal (Wiradjuri) and Italian heritage. My father was a proud Wiradjuri man, born in Central-West NSW. My mother, Italian Australian. I was born and raised in Canberra. OJ You have quite an impressive resume with over two decades of experience in stakeholder management, risk mitigation and reputation management. Your career has spanned the private and public sectors, including Federal and State Politics, Public Affairs and positions with top ASX Listed companies. How did you come to take on the role of CEO at Supply Nation? I have been working with Supply Nation since its inception back in 2009 — firstly as a member through my role within Leighton Holdings and Qantas and later as a board director. The concept of supplier diversity as a driving force in developing economic power for Indigenous people intuitively made sense to me – my father owned his own landscaping
business, and like any small business, our family was highly attuned to the vagaries of cash flow. This was long before any government policies like the Indigenous Procurement Policy. But all that changed when he won a government contract. Suddenly he had guaranteed cash flow. He could plan, he could grow. It made an enormous difference to our whole family. So I’ve seen first-hand how supporting Indigenous businesses makes a real difference. When the Chairperson of the Supply Nation board approached me about applying for the CEO role, I was excited to give it a go — to roll up my sleeves and help achieve Supply Nation’s vision of a vibrant, prosperous and sustainable Indigenous business sector. OJ In September 2018, you were listed as one of ‘The Australian Financial Review 100 Women of Influence’ and joined a host of women to rise to positions of influence. How has your journey been since you were recognised by the Financial Review? September doesn’t seem like that long ago! I guess the most significant difference is that as a women leader, I’m being recognised and that’s
flowing on to the organisation and what we’re achieving. It’s such an honour to be recognised amongst so many incredible, successful women. It’s an excellent opportunity to build my connections and network further to help drive even further success. The AFR 100 Women of Influence Alumni is strong and supportive. OJ What were the influential factors that gave birth to the inception of Supply Nation? Supplier diversity isn’t a new concept — it was born from the civil rights movement in the US in the 1940s. They founded the National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) that still runs today. There are over 45 years of data illustrating the business benefits (to the procuring organisation) of a diverse supply chain. Supply Nation was patterned after the NMSDC, but the impetus to bring it into being didn’t happen in isolation: our founding in 2009 was a response to a specific set of circumstances which drove a renewed focus on Indigenous economic affairs. Following the Mabo decision in 1992, the Council of Australian Governments published their “National Commitment to Issue One | January-March 2019 | MBA NSW
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