ANNE Ward says that she owes a lot of what she has achieved to her parents who would always tell her that being a girl meant that there were no limitations or restraints on what she could achieve.
She grew up on a fruit block at Cardross, attended Cardross Primary School, and then Mildura High.
For those that remember her at school, she will always to a person be remembered as an exceptional student.
Proof of this is that she graduated in 1977 as the dux of the school. Her academic success continued as went on to study at Melbourne University to attain a Batchelor of Law and a Bachelor of Art.
“I remember my days growing up in Cardross, as a very special part of my life,” Ms Ward said.
“A strong loving family, a great community, where, as children we always felt safe and happy.
“Coming back to Cardross during breaks at uni and picking grapes. Grape picking seriously, was horrible work. The middle of summer, unbelievable hot days, sticky grapes, red dust and flies.
“It was backbreaking work, under the vines. Back in Melbourne to support myself while studying, I worked on the Kraft assembly line, another hard and laborious job. What this did was teach me the value of hard work.
“It was also while I was working at Kraft that I met my husband, John Anagnostou, no prize for guessing where he might have been born.”
When Ms Ward graduated from Melbourne Uni she then began work with the Herbert Geer and Rundle Legal firm, where she was made a partner after six years and stayed for 18 years.
“It was an incredibly exciting time for me, as well an amazing learning period,” she said.
“As a commercial lawyer I acted for companies in acquisitions, commercial raisings and joint ventures.
“All the experience I gained made it easy for me to expect my initial board role. I knew I had the skills they needed to help make commercial decisions.”
Ms Ward then moved to international partnership Minter Ellison, where she led a 200 strong legal team working with the National Australia Bank for six years.
A career from there has led to her to chairing 26 boards and in excess of 40 board committees.
They have included Crown Resorts, Colonial First State Investments, Qantas Superannuation, Zoos Victoria, and many more.
Having built on a successful career as a corporate lawyer to become a highly respected company director she ahs demonstrated strategic leadership skills and excellent stakeholder management.
Ms Ward is recognised as an expert in complex governance and risk management and she has succeeded at board level where so many other capable women fail.
“I believe, because I was prepared to be patient, to work hard, to set long-term goals helped me develop self-confidence and resilience,” she said.
“I also benefited from great advice and support from people such as BlueScope Steel and Brambles chair Graham Kraehe and former Qantas chair Margaret Jackson.”
Ms Ward is renowned for being prepared to step outside her comfort zone, which she did when she became a director of the Brain Research Institute in 1999.
She is known as someone who performs best under pressure.
“My secret weapon is the unstinting support of my husband,” Ms Ward said.
Than man is John Anagnostou.
He cooks all the family’s meals, grows fresh produce on their half-acre garden in Melbourne’s Eaglemont.
He taxis the children and even coached Ms Ward across the finishing line of the 1989 Frankston to Melbourne marathon.
“These days I plan my schedule two years in advance, and every minute counts,” she said. “The one bonus of having chaired so many companies is that as chair I got to make the final call on board meeting dates.
Almost always in the minority as a woman in the boardroom, Ms is critical of the very slow rate of change to appoint more women to Australian boards.
She has called for mandatory quotas to address the imbalance.
“I used to firmly believe that meritocracy would allow female talent to rise to the top, but I now see enforceable targets as necessary,” she said.
“Women must still be appointed to boards on their merits rather than because of their gender.
“Quotas will force chairmen to search wider and deeper for talent and as a result improve much needed diversity on boards.
“I often wonder if the lack of progress on gender and other diversity is actually failure of leadership.
“It is easier to lead a group that thinks like you, looks like you, and has the same experience as you, which is why strong leadership is needed.
“In companies, what gets measured gets done. Many companies are doing fabulous things to try and encourage more women into senior roles, but the pace of change is still too slow.
“This is not to say we should appoint incompetent women, but more work must be done to find appropriately qualified women, because they do exist.”
Ms Ward had advice to women shut out of the boardroom.
“It is critical to garner support and sponsorship, advocates and champions and also to work hard, plan ahead and be patient. Women must believe they belong in the boardroom,” she said.
“I have learnt that as a chair of a board you can never be more effective by speaking last on an issue, not first.
“It’s always best to reserve judgement and listen carefully to what others have to say, as starting with your own view tends to shut down debate.
“The goal of a chair or a director is to bring out the best from each board member.”
Ms Ward while enjoying a little more time at home is still actively involved as chair of Articore Group, an ASX listed online marketplace for independent artists, and also The Star Entertainment which is a company in crisis and keeping her quite busy.
