Five Canberra businesswomen returned home with gongs from the 2022 Altitude Awards announced at a gala ball in Sydney earlier this month, 3 December.
This was the tenth anniversary of the Altitude Awards, which was created in 2012 to celebrate the achievements of Australian business women.
This year saw a record number of entries with the highest calibre of entrants to date, according to awards founder Andrea Turner-Boys. The five ACT winners were crowned out of 94 finalists.
Kylie James of Kylie James Coaching won the On My Way Award, which highlights businesses succeeding in their first two years of operation. She began her coaching business as a side hustle during the pandemic, before stepping into it fulltime in 2022.
“The Canberra business community has been so supportive of me, helping me stay the course in my early days,” said Ms James.
Mother and daughter powerhouse, Adèle Haussmann and Kirsten Gina Smith of Her Smile won the Two Peas Partnership Award this year, after receiving a Brave Award in 2021.
Combining over 60 years of their professional experience as actors, dancers, performers, ballet teachers, and makeup artists, they founded Her Smile – a hub that provides tools for fitness, beauty, and styling.
There are 12-16 Award categories annually in the Altitude Awards, with an additional unadvertised category, the Brave Rising Star Award.
Brave Awards are presented to women who did not win their category, but as Ms Turner-Boys explains, “who we see and want to encourage to keep achieving their goals”.
This year, Holly Diggle from Dance Northside, and Victoria Pearce of Endangered Heritage both received Brave Awards.
“This award is validation from women in business, who without exception are extraordinary, that doing business in collaboration instead of competition delivers better equity and economic returns for all,” said Ms Pearce.
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