FORMER Business Hunter board director Katie Brassil has been bestowed life membership of the region's peak business group - the first female recipient in its 136-year history - as Lauren Eyles steps into the role of its second female president.
Ms Brassil received the organisation's highest honour, held by a select group of individuals, at Business Hunter's annual general meeting in Newcastle on Friday.
Its outgoing president, Tony Rhodes, said the title was reserved for "those who have left a profound imprint, not just on our organisation but the broader business community that Business Hunter exists to serve."
"Threads of Katie's immense legacy are still evident ... and this honour picks up on that. Katie takes her place today among the greats and we're delighted to take this opportunity to thank her for her service," he said.
Ms Brassil - a non-executive director at The Bloomfield Group, The Wests Group and Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service [WRHS], with lengthy experience in the mining industry - said she was "honoured and gobsmacked".
"When I joined the board at Wests the story was, 'the first woman in the history to join', and yes, that's significant. But there's always a first for everything," she said. "When I joined the [Business Hunter] board we had the first ever female chair [Karen Howard], then employed our first ever CEO [Kristen Keegan], so it's almost fitting that I have been bestowed this as we have an incoming female president, which I think is lovely."
Ms Brassil served as a director to the Business Hunter board in from 2008 to 2014. Working with Ms Keegan, she was instrumental in establishing the Hunter Business Mining lunch series, which launched in 2012 and continues to operate as a forum for discussion, collaboration and knowledge sharing across the broader theme of energy.
She said on Friday that her passion for the region had kept her driven in her career.
"I recognise how diverse we are and I was talking to someone as to why [the Hunter] is exciting - people are talking about the change that is going to happen in the future, how we are reliant on coal, but it's one part of our economy. It's important, but it's not the only part," she said.
We've adapted as a region, we've come out stronger for it. When BHP closed everyone said we were doomed but looking back it has created a lot more mid-tier organisations to fill the void, we've transformed."
Ms Brassil said notwithstanding challenges, the region was playing an important role in the transition to renewables but had also unlocked opportunities to create even more diversity in its social fabric.
"We are a smart, innovative region and I want a part of that - I always have," she said.
Ms Eyles said Ms Brassil was a stalwart of the Hunter business community and acknowledged her role in increasing diversity and representation in male-dominated domains: "A genuine pioneer, she has achieved many firsts throughout her career, and we're grateful she's now helping women to see themselves represented at every layer of our organisation."
Ms Eyles said that while rising energy costs and interest rates were impacting small business, Business NSW figures showed consumer confidence and spending was high.
"We see so many opportunities in the Hunter, we are the largest regional economy in Australia, we have a skilled workforce, fantastic infrastructure assets like the Port of Newcastle and our airport, interesting emerging industries," she said.
Ms Eyles said her role as president would partly involve leading a talented board, leveraging on their knowledge and expertise, and supporting its members.
"When I reflect on COVID and how it's affected our society, I am ready to welcome more people back to our events, that connection and networking is so import to our success as a region and it's an opportunity to build life long connections," she said.
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