168: The Politics of Family Business - Belinda and Amie Lyone
Regular listeners of this podcast know I rarely have two guests interviewed at once but for the topic at hand, The Politics of Family Business, this one had to have both co-CEOS here, to make sense.
Just over a year ago, sisters Belinda and Amie Lyone became Co-CEOs of COS, an Australian-owned private company offering products and solutions for the workplace.
COS was established by their father 45 years ago and has a strong Australian heritage. It was recently listed in ‘The Australian’s top 500 private businesses list, and they have an incredibly progressive approach to the workplace and diversity.
As female leaders, diversity is a priority, with 56% of its 60 leaders being female. Diversity at all levels is important. Aside from Australia, COS’s employees come from more than 51 different parts of the world and speak over 60 different languages.
The family has built a phenomenally successful company that now turns over $300+ million, has more than 600 employees, and boasts warehouses in every state and territory whilst remaining fully family-run.
Belinda and Amie have come to their duo roles with different career experiences. In 2006, after spending five years in a Brand Manager role outside of the family business, Belinda joined COS bringing with her a passion for procurement, marketing, and sourcing, as well as a solid plan for growth, effective account management, and customer intimacy. With Amie, after spending five years in professional services Amie stepped into the family business in 2003. Quickly, her passion for people and process grew to include the COS culture, its importance in the growth of the company, and its ability to deliver service excellence to customers. She has sage advice on how to make diversity a priority in the workplace, especially one you are responsible for, given its legacy. Plus, they both are keen to make sustainability a priority in what they do.
Hear from this duo on:
1. The moment you decided and what made you jump on board the family business.
2. Sustainability is a shared goal for you both- and solar farms program and EV trials for example were implemented – how did that shift evolve for COS?
3. Are you doing anything differently to navigate these present times of new uncertainty?
4. How can you create a diverse and inclusive culture in a family business that by nature is run by people who are from the same family and therefore may have set views that make it harder to achieve?
5. Amie then Belinda Take away: What is your final takeaway message for us on The Politics of Family Business?
CONTACT INFO:
Website: COS
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