Carolyn Creswell was last night named the 2012 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year for the success of her $50 million enterprise Carmen’s Fine Foods.
‘One of my greatest thrills was leaving a supermarket shelf in the heart of New York City groaning under the weight of our products and coming back the next morning to find the shelves empty.’ Carolyn Creswell
Carmen’s Fine Food’s success stems from its dedicated and professional staff as well as its innovative brand positioning and new product developments. To ensure their resources are used as efficiently as possible, Carolyn discusses new concepts with supermarket buyers before committing.
Kate McKenzie, Telstra Group Managing Director for Innovation, Products and Marketing and Telstra Business Women’s Awards Ambassador, said the judging this year was more difficult than ever given the calibre of exceptional, courageous and innovative women many of whom were shaping Australia’s business landscape and the nation’s future.
“Carolyn Creswell has a great business model and work ethic. The Awards judges described her as a hands-on leader with strong business skills in a competitive sector. She’s an articulate communicator, an inspiration to women of all ages and she’s also passionate about being a great mum,” Ms McKenzie said.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) CEO, Mr Gary Dawson, congratulated Ms Creswell and described her award as an outstanding and deserved achievement.
“Ms Creswell’s success has shown that innovation is the key to maximising the food processing industry’s growth and its future sustainability and viability.”
“Innovation is at the heart of the industry’s vision for a competitive future in Australia and the huge potential for growth into expanding markets such as Asia.”
"Last night’s award is a great personal achievement for Ms Carman, it also encourages others in the food and grocery manufacturing sector to look at ways of continuing to innovate in both product and production in order to raise productivity, improve competitiveness in both domestic and export markets and respond to effectively to consumer trends,” concluded Mr Dawson.
