For my next profile of a strong inspirational woman, it turns out I didn’t have to look very far.

I went to high school with Najwa Khoury and she was always that person who just never had a bad word to say about anyone and I guarantee you that nobody ever had a bad word to say about her.

Najwa is the definition of “ray of sunshine”. She comes in to your day with boundless enthusiasm and no matter how you are feeling or what has been happening to you, she manages to lift your mood and help you see the positives again.

I was lucky to be surrounded by yet another strong positive female role model when I was growing up and as I got older, I found that Najwa just inspired me to just treat the world and the people around me with a kinder attitude and see the bright side. It’s a powerful thing to find in a friend.

When I asked Najwa to participate in this interview, she was still working for an Australian corporation but is now leaving us to take up a position in American with the worlds largest building and construction materials company for their North American operations to continue to spread her positivity on a global scale.

Believe me when I say that her story is one that you will take inspiration from as I have. She is a beacon of hope and reminds me frequently that what some people call “the odds against you”, Najwa takes as mere suggestions and does her own thing anyway. If you’re feeling at a crossroads, then her story is one that you will walk away from very much changed for the better.

There is a great deal for anyone and everyone to take from her inspiring story, and I won’t be doing any sub-editing of our interview together as her story in her own beautiful words needs to be read as it was told to me. 

Without further ado, I am very pleased to present to you, Ms Najwa Khoury.

Since first writing this, I have taken the bold move to America as I was approached to take on a role as Vice President of Marketing based in Pennsylvania for one of the worlds largest building and construction materials companies.

While moving to another country is daunting at this stage, I know it is the right time of life for me to do this … I’m excited about making a difference in what is the worlds largest plasterboard market and for the life experiences it will bring. As someone said during the farewells from my precious role – fortune favours the brave .. so I enter my new work and personal stage with this in mind.

My parents got married in Lebanon in the 70’s and came to Australia (where my dad was living before he married my mum). They wanted to come to Australia, earn money and ultimately finalise things and with a hope to return to Lebanon for good. The war started in Lebanon and their dreams of returning for good diminished as the war progressed, and we got older and moved through different stages of our lives. 5 children later, my parents now proud Australians hold onto their Lebanese heritage and travel to the country they call home, yearly to visit family and friends.

We grew up in an area called Kemps Creek in Sydney’s West and back then, it was all farm land with dirt roads and limited interactions with people. I grew up on a 50-acre farm, my parents were garden farmers – cucumbers and tomatoes. They worked very hard on the farm and did the best they could t0 support us, I think that is where we all developed strong work ethics as we had to help my parents on the farm before and after school. At school coming from a non-English speaking background, I had to attend ‘ESL” – English as a second language’ class on a weekly basis, which I think made me even more determined to succeed as I felt singled out by going to those classes.

After high school (Emmaus Catholic College) I graduated from University of Western Sydney in an undergraduate course Bachelor of Commerce (marketing) with credit and later completed my Masters from Sydney University in Masters of Commerce – sub majors in Strategic Planning and Business and Society. Graduated with distinction. Very proud day when my parents were at the Great Hall in Sydney University watching me get my Masters.

Started with Boral on their Graduate program in 1999 as a marketing analyst with their Blue Circle Southern Cement division. After 8 years, I left after gaining experience in their bricks and roof tiles business and the construction materials side of the business which encompassed Asphalt, quarries, concrete and transport. I had both a great professional and personal experience at Boral. I got to do so many things that I would not ever had the opportunity to do such as ride an asphalt laying machine in regional NSW, go on development courses where you abseiled and got to witness first hand a quarry explosion and major projects being built. From there recognising the need to continue to develop my career and be seen outside of being a graduate, I went to a similar business in a managerial role where I had people report to me. Now part of the Dulux Group, Alesco offered me the opportunity to get involved in business acquisitions and rolling out of trade retail concepts. Building on my experience in 2009 I took on a role with CSR in their Gyprock business looking after a market segment. Within 6 months of being at the job, there was a restructure and I was made marketing manager for Gyprock – the first female in the role. As I gained more experience, my role expanded, my team grew and knowledge of the business transferred into gaining greater responsibilities.

My current role is general manager of Marketing which encompasses, technical / R&D / product development and the communications and brand management of Gyprock – the leading brand of plasterboard in Australia. I also represent CSR on the executive of the AWCI (our industry association). While on the industry body I started the BASE (business and social exchange) network for women in our industry. We have not embedded this into our annual conference with the sessions well attended. It was important that there was not only recognition of women in small to medium sized family businesses as most of the time, they run the back-end office; we also wanted to create a sense of networking amongst the women in the industry. This has led to great sharing of information / experiences and development of informal networks where the women have gotten together on a social basis which is very pleasing to see. I also provide mentoring to other women in the industry, I find this is crucial as females need to navigate their way through their industry as it can be quite male dominated so their confidence can be challenged regularly.

Last year I was nominated and was a finalist in the Women in Industry awards – Industry advocacy which I was exceptionally proud of.

 1)  How long have you been in your profession?

Started out of university on the graduate program with Boral in 1999 – so coming onto 20 years now.

2) What made you choose a career in your profession?

Out of university I made a conscious decision to start with the building and construction industry. I saw a variety of ads for graduate roles, but when I saw Boral’s they were promoting a ‘hands on’ experience and an ability to learn through a variety of experiences which interested me more than an office role. I was also interested in the ‘realness’ of the industry as to me it represented a sense of reality and you could learn / develop and make a change in. when I reflect…. I think there was about 1000 applicants for the graduate program, they then selected 300 to go to the next level and then so on…I believe I was the first marketing degree person they had employed through their graduate program.

3)  Who has been your biggest inspiration and why?

No one person specifically, I always held in high regard teachers and mentors that tried to support and assist my learning and push me forward. I have a lot of respect for people who have been trail blazers in their field as they are the ones who create change. People that defy the odds and push through boundaries that once prevented progress-  they are the real heroes.

4)  Has there been any incidents in your professional life where you couldn’t believe what had been said or done to either yourself or a colleague?

I remember one trip to northern NSW –the local manager picked me up from the regional airport…we exchange greetings and then says to me….you know what Naj….we don’t get many people like you up here….I paused for a moment and thought…surely there are women here… there was another time when I was introduced as the token ethnic….and I recall also a time when a mayor of a city said to my manager at the time…oh is this your secretary. My manager was very embarrassed and answered quite calmly and poised …no…she is the head of marketing and makes all those decisions not me.

5)  In your experience has the discrimination against women been overt and/or commonplace?

The building and construction industry has one of the lowest rates of females as a percentage of total employees in any industry – I think it averages around 14-17%. The challenge is that people often comment that they can understand why given the nature of products / industry but it’s very unfortunate as it is such a great industry for women to be in. they can contribute so much to it and add a lot of value. I have probably seen a lot of unconscious bias occur around perceived capabilities and knowledge of the industry. For me being a female. If you’re going to get upset at every comment, then I don’t think you can ever learn from it and you can never instigate change. 

6)  Have you ever felt that there was a pressure to behave more “like a man” in your professional life? For example, turning off your emotions or any other qualities that might be perceived as “too feminine” to lead or perform your role.

No I have not felt pressured, I have had managers who have really stressed the importance of being yourself. I think the female qualities add to the decision-making process which ultimately means better business outcomes. 

7)  What drives you every day?

Change drives me … this can be in business / society / cultural but without change nothing moves forward. We are living in a period where both individuals and companies need to progress at a pace that they would not be used to. On a personal side, new experiences, learning and people drive me every day. 

8)  How important do you feel proper work/life balance is and do you feel women who want to reach leadership positions are asked to sacrifice too much?

Critical. Making time for yourself is often hard given busy work schedules. I am a firm believer that for women who have a family, then an organisation has a responsibility to manage their career in that period to ensure their pace of progression is not hampered as they build their family.

9)  To date, what has been the point or event in your career that you are most proud of?

I’m most proud that I have persisted and have become much more resilient through my experiences to make a change not only in a business sense but for me personally, I am a stronger person and am in a position where I can help others. I initiated

10)  What advice would you give to women who aspire to be in leadership positions?

Persistence, don’t let barriers get in your way…find likeminded people to connect with and push on.

Aspire away…and do it…. nothing is stopping you. This makes me feel so old saying this but times have changed, however barriers still exist. It’s not a question of aspiration – it’s a question of process. Look at your career as one, step by step you will get there….no doubt about it. Collect your learnings and experiences and continue to move up…. nothing is stopping you…but on the journey, don’t forget who you are…and have a laugh every now and then…at yourself and the situations you will get yourself into.