CONSTRUCTION Industry Solutions (COINS) Australia’s managing director Carla Wall was awarded the 2018 Greater Brisbane Woman in Business of the Year Award at a gala ceremony on Friday.
Since Ms Wall’s appointment she has proven her worth in a business sense as well as championing a successful approach to gender equality and diversity in business. More than half of the COINS staff is now female, happily engaged in an industry that was once seen as a man’s job.
The annual Women in Business Awards aim to celebrate women who possess vision, innovation, entrepreneurial drive, leadership, individuality and tenacity with the ultimate goal being to present role models for other women to aspire to.
Ms Wall joined COINS Australia in 2012 and only four years later, the position of managing director Australia was specifically created for her. During her time with COINS, she managed to increase the turnover of the business by 100 per cent and double the headcount.
The Cleveland resident said it was an honour to receive such esteemed recognition and she was proud of driving COINS Australia’s significant achievements including a 22 per cent increase in new business in the past year.
“COINS Australia has enjoyed rapid business growth and undergone transformative cultural change in which I have strategically introduced initiatives to support and attract women to the typically male dominated software and construction industries,” Ms Wall said.
“A big part of my focus for COINS Australia has been to engage, develop and include all staff on the company’s growth journey which has included setting benchmarks in talent management, developing organisational capability and promoting flexible working arrangements.
“It is incredibly important to me to empower women, and men, to contribute to organisational success in an inclusive and equitable environment.
“The awards process provides a means of quantifying, qualifying and celebrating the successes I have achieved and the challenges I have overcome. Being nominated and then winning, has both inspired me and also reinforced how far I, and the team, have come.
“It is wonderful for myself, and COINS Australia, to be acknowledged at such a respected industry event. I am so humbled, this award is a real testament to the hard work myself and my team have put in over the years.”
Ms Wall said she was passionate about social enterprise and contributing to the community. Through the COINS Foundation, she had supported important initiatives such as the Sailability Program at Wynyard Yacht Club and Make a Difference (MaD) and recently took on a non-executive board role with Australia’s leading campaigning arts organisation, Big hART.
“The Women in Business Awards provides a powerful platform to celebrate female leaders, applaud their success and contribution to business, and inspire future generations of smart, innovative and successful individuals to achieve great things, while challenging industry norms around equality and diversity,” Ms Wall said.
“Change has to start somewhere and what we have achieved at COINS Australia is a great example of how women can be empowered and encouraged – we have an inclusive team, where women are supported by men and men are supported by women.”
