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IABCA 2017 AWARD WINNERS - (click here)

IABCA 2017 Lifetime Achievement of the Year

Neville Roach AO

Chairman Emeritus, AIBC

Neville Roach is a graduate of the University of Bombay, India, majoring in economics and political science. Mr Roach is a well-known ICT industry leader. He has served as Chairman and CEO of Fujitsu Australia Limited, Chairman of the Australian Information Industry Association and President of the Asian Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation. In 2008 he received the Pearcey Medal for lifetime achievement and contribution to the ICT industry, research and professions. He has made a significant contribution to Education and Research. He is a member of the NSW Premiers Advisory Council for International Education. 

Young Professional of the Year

Mandeep Sodhi

Co-Founder and CEO

HashChing

Mandeep Sodhi is the CEO of the start up Mortgage Support company HashChing. He spends a significant portion of his working days with all of HashChing's departments, gaining an understanding of how large scale business decisions are affecting even the smallest parts of the business. Mr. Sodhi has proven himself as a man with a near faultless work ethic, bringing HashChing to life in only 2 months. 

Young Community Achiever 

Jennifer Star

Founding Director

Tara.Ed

Jennifer Star has devoted a large part of the past decade to developing her Not-for-profit-organisation, Tara.Ed. Tara.Ed is an education NGO that improves the quality of education in rural India through teacher training and capacity building, infrastructure development and resource mobilisation. To date Tara.Ed has impacted the lives of over 10,000 children and 500 teachers in India.

Community Services Excellence Award

Eye Play Sport

Eye Play Sport is an independent community for-profit organization. Under the leadership of CEO Rajini Vasan, the company has excelled at providing opportunities for blind and vision impaired Australians to participate in Sport. Rajini Vasan was the winner of the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Community Business Partnerships in 2006 and was nominated as the South Australian Partnerships Ambassador for the Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

Business Woman of the Year

Celina Lazarus

Co-Founder and Director

First Crop Coffee and Maillard Atelier

Celina Lazarus is a pioneer in the Speciality coffee industry in Australia. Beginning her career in 2013 importing green coffee into Australia with her husband, she re-branded the company in 2015 (now called First Crop Coffee) and began her rise to prominence in the specialty coffee industry. She went on to co-found Australia's first co-working coffee roastery called Maillard Atelier in 2016 in Melbourne. The whole time she has sourced her coffee beans in an entirely transparent, traceable and ethical manner. Celina raises money for Charity outside of business on a personal capacity, donating the money she raises to Water for Life.

Business Leader of the Year

Charlton D'Silva

CEO

Publishers Internationalé

Charlton D’Silva is CEO of Publisher's Internationalé – Australia's leading independent media representation company. As Australia’s number one international media specialist company, Publisher's Internationalé has built strong partnerships within the media industry. This company has clinched exclusive contracts with the world’s leading media and offices in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore and affiliates across 24 markets. Working with multinational media agencies, boutique agencies and clients directly, Publisher's Internationalé continues to provide a unique interface between its clients and their global businesses to deliver unparalleled results.

Business Leader of the Year

Dr. Dimity Dornan AO

Executive Director and Founder

Hear and Say

Dimity is a Speech Pathologist as well as the Founder and Executive Director of Hear and Say, an organisation which strives to enable deaf children to listen and speak effectively. Hear and Say currently provides services for over 600 children and families. 

 In conjunction with hearing technology like the cochlear implant, the majority of deaf children and children with hearing loss at Hear and Say are able to attend regular schools with age appropriate listening, speech and language programs and interact seamlessly with their un-impaired peers. Dimity has been working for the past ten years to bring professional training to India to educate speech pathologists, audiologists and teachers to provide the necessary education on modern hearing devices and child and parent education.

Travel Agency or Tour Operator of the Year

TOTAL HOLIDAY OPTIONS - Australia

TOTAL HOLIDAY OPTIONS – Australia is a Wholesale Destination Management Company based in Sydney, offering bespoke solutions for individuals and corporations across the board. The company extends highly customized travel services to the B2B market segment in key areas across Australasia and provides seamless logistics on a tailor-made basis for Leisure, Groups, Family, Special Interest Tours, Sports, Events and MICE. THO is a preferred wholesale supplier for major Travel Companies such as Travel Managers, Express Travel Group, italk travel, itravel, Independent Travel group and ATAC Group to name a few.

Indian Restaurant of the Year

Roshni Indian Restaurant

Roshni Indian Restaurant is the creation of two people; Raj, a Restaurateur from Brisbane and Jessica, a marketing professional from Mackay. Raj manages the restaurant's general day to day operations and is the face of the restaurant while Jessica attends to the marketing, paperwork and their 3 year old child. Roshni moved premises to a larger restaurant in early 2016 located in the central food precinct of Mackay. Since then Roshni was able to take a larger role in the community through charity work, sponsorships and community engagements.

Spirit of Sport Award

Molina Asthana

Founder and Executive Director

Multicultural Women in Sport

Molina has been contributing significantly to sports. She is a Commissioner at the Australian Rules football South East Commission, the first person of a multicultural background to be appointed on any AFL Board. She is also an AFL Multicultural Community Ambassador and on the AFL advisory Committee for multicultural engagement. She has formed an Indian think-tank of AFL Multicultural Ambassadors for AFL's engagement with the Indian Community in Australia and with India. She was awarded the Regional Ambassador of the Year Award in 2015 and Fair Play Award in 2016 by AFL for her contribution and initiatives in promoting the game within the multicultural communities. She is also a Cricket Australia 'Sport for All' Community Ambassador.

Australian Exporter of the Year

Novotech CRO

Established in 1996, Novotech is Australia’s largest independent contract research organization (CRO).  The Australian Head Office is situated in Sydney, with regional offices in Melbourne and Brisbane - providing easy access to the most important population centers in Australia.  Supported by regional staff across the country and in New Zealand, our coverage of the Australia/New Zealand region is second to none. With Asian services launched in 2007, Novotech’s operations provide access to the most dynamic and fast growing clinical research hubs in the region. In addition, we offer worldwide reach to our clients through key external partnerships and strategic alliances, with partners in the US, Canada, Europe, and China. The combination of a relatively small, flexible contract research organization (CRO), coupled with the ability to confidently manage very large projects allows us to move a project from initial planning stage to recruitment with dramatic speed.

Indian Investment in the Australian Market

Riverina Oils and BioEnergy Pty Ltd

Riverina Oils & Bio Energy Pty Ltd is one of the largest greenfield food/agri value added greenfield investment in Australia in last 10 years. ROBE is now a market leader in refined Canola Oil ahead of long standing substantial global companies. ROBE has established one of the best plants in Asia Pacific with leading technology resulting in superior product quality for canola oil and canola meal. As a result of this, ROBE has become a preferred supplier to leading food manufacturers such as Mars Foods, McCains, Nuttelex and feed manufacturers like Ingham, Baida, Riverlea Feed Mills. ROBE is the only Non GM Certified Edible Oil Company in Australia and only 2nd approved in USA. It is also the largest exporter of Refined Canola Oil from Australia. ROBE has recently launched its consumer range of products in retail markets in India and has created a significant foot print for exports in US Market for Non GM Canola Oil.

Small Business of the Year 

KOCO

Danielle Chiel created KOCO, a partnership between her Australian based company and women who live in the rural villages of Tamil Nadu, India. KOCO stands for Knit One (garment) Change One (life). She trains and employs women, mostly those with minimal education and little opportunity for advancement. KOCO produces exquisite hand knit luxury sweaters for global fashion brands, other hand knit household items and specialty merchandise.

SME of the Year 

iOmniscient Pty Ltd

iOmniscient are the developers of a unique Artificial Intelligence System which aims to aid the response times as well as operational efficiency and effectiveness of security organisations during times of crisis. It utilises a number of technological advancements which can be used to help track down terror suspects after attacks and locate lost or abducted children. Currently, iOmniscient is being used in 45 different countries including india and is helping to make Smart Cities really smart.

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