Tracey Vieira named 2016 Telstra Queensland Business Woman of the Year

Tracey Vieira, CEO of Screen Queensland, is the 2016 Telstra Queensland Business Woman of the Year, announced at the 2016 Telstra Queensland Business Women’s Awards in Brisbane. Tracey is also the winner of the 2016 Telstra Queensland Business Women’s Corporate & Private Award.

Tracey Vieira is passionate about the arts and has used her business acumen to turn this interest into a successful career. She spent a decade in Los Angeles as Executive Vice President of International Production for Ausfilm. While abroad, and in partnership with Screen Queensland, she has attracted more than $1.5 billion of production spend to Australia.

In 2014, Tracey relocated her family to Australia to pursue the role as CEO at Screen Queensland. In this role, Tracey is responsible for growing the screen industry’s contribution to the economic and cultural wellbeing of Queensland. Tracey is passionate about helping the industry transition into a contemporary screen environment as technology rapidly changes how audiences view content.

Under Tracey’s guidance, Screen Queensland is now leading the way in Australia, developing stories and content in the digital environment. Tracey is also a non-executive director of RSPCA Queensland, QMusic and the Sunshine Coast Arts Advisory Board. She also sits on the Board of Advisors for the US based organisation Australians in Film.

Tracey Vieira will join other State and Territory category winners in Melbourne for the National Awards judging, culminating in a glittering Gala Dinner on the night of Wednesday 16 November 2016. For information about the Awards and to purchase tickets to the Awards Dinners, please call 1800 817 536 between 9am and 7pm AEST Monday to Friday.

Other business women recognised at the 2016 Telstra Queensland Business Women’s Awards are:

Patrice Brown

2016 Telstra Queensland Business Women’s Entrepreneur Award winner

Patrice Brown is a woman of many passions: a business and commercial property owner, cattle producer, mother of three and advocate for the protection of environmental and cultural values and land rights. With qualifications in engineering, science and business she is passionate about the future of regional Australia and the need to trust science in the race to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

Patrice established CQG Consulting which provides practical environmental planning, precision drone services and engineering professional advice to clients throughout Australia and Southeast Asia in the tourism, mining, agriculture, development and industrial sectors.

Patrice is also a director on the CQUniversity Council, the Gladstone Area Water Board, and a founding director of two start-ups. Northern Ventures is a company that supports Aboriginal groups to achieve economic independence and Fortitude Infrastructure Development a company formed to deliver green technologies.

Penelope Twemlow

2016 Telstra Queensland Business Women’s For Purpose and Social Enterprise Award winner

Penelope Twemlow’s career started in the Australian Defence Force, where she was involved in projects and deployments around Australia and Southeast Asia.

After she left the Defence Force, she held senior positions in the mining, oil and gas sectors before being appointed CEO of Energy Skills Queensland, in 2015. Energy Skills Queensland is an independent, not-for-profit organisation providing innovative solutions to enable a skilled and safe energy industry. Penelope is ultimately responsible for the day-to-day management, decisions and for implementing the company’s short and long-term plans. She is also accountable to the Board of Directors and communicates on behalf of the company to members, employees, government authorities, other stakeholders and the public.

In addition, she has also recently graduated from the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is currently the founder and Chair of Women in Power, a not-for-profit organisation that promotes and improves the electrical and electro-technology industry by the advancement of women within it.

She is also the Chair of the Electrical Safety Education Committee and the Gladstone Energy and Maintenance Training Centre.

Inspector Virginia Nelson

2016 Telstra Queensland Business Women’s Public Sector and Academia Award winner

Inspector Virginia Nelson has been a police officer for more than 26 years, having joined the Queensland Police Service (QPS) at 18.

She has served in regional and metropolitan locations and has worked in front-line policing, prosecutions, the bureau of criminal intelligence and the office of the state coroner. Now, as an inspector, she is in charge of a patrol group of more than 150 officers in the Capricornia Police District.

As a commissioned officer and senior leader, Virginia shapes strategic thinking in the organisation by inspiring a shared sense of purpose and direction for her patrol group. She builds organisational capability and ensures crime trends are identified and operational responses are delivered to the community. She is the single point of contact for operational, tactical and strategic activities within her patrol group.

Virginia is the only female commissioned officer in her area and she contributes significantly to developing the capability of women in policing and growing women in leadership within the organisation.

Pixie Weyand

2016 Telstra Queensland Young Business Woman of the Year

Two years ago, Pixie Weyand had nothing but a notebook, a whole head of ideas and the drive to do something with her life. Since then, she has worked tirelessly to create The Lost Collective, an umbrella for several businesses she is in the process of growing. These include: Lost Boys, a small, organic vegetarian, carbon-neutral café in Fortitude Valley; The Tree House, a bar offering local, natural, and organic drinks; The Zoo, an iconic live music venue; Feed Music, an app connecting touring musicians and local cafes and restaurants across the globe to provide healthy meals; and Zoo Tours, which aims to bring quality acts from overseas to Australia.

Pixie is responsible for guiding the businesses using innovation and direction. She oversees all elements of the business and is directly accountable for all the challenges, successes and downfalls that may happen. Through her journey, Pixie has learnt that having a genuine belief in herself meant that she could achieve anything.

Now in their 22nd year, the Telstra Business Women’s Awards are Australia’s longest running and most esteemed women’s awards program in Australia. They recognise and reward the courage, leadership and creativity of brilliant business women. Nominations for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards are open year-round. If you, or a brilliant business woman you know, deserve recognition, nominate today: https://www.telstrabusinesswomensawards.com/nominate/