MASTER OF HER DOMAIN A Leadership Journey and Lessons Learned LAINI BENNETT
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hen Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn was in her mid-20s, she was National Industrial Relations Director for the Australian Hotel Association (AHA). Her role required her to represent the AHA at the Industrial Relations Commission, so it was disconcerting when peer advocates weren’t keen to work with her — both because she was a woman, and due to a perceived lack of experience. Wanting to be accepted, Wawn toned down her bubbly personality and brightly coloured clothes, investing in conservative black and navy 90s power suits. But increasingly, she felt out of sorts. “I didn’t feel comfortable because it just wasn’t me,” she says.
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So, one weekend she went out and bought “every pastel suit known to mankind” and the next time she was at the Commission, rocked up wearing her selfdescribed “girly girly” clothes. Finally feeling like her true self, her confidence bloomed, and it showed in the way she walked, talked, and in her passionate advocacy. From then on, she embraced her femininity. The face of an industry Wawn is the face of the Master Builders Australia (MBA) and the organisation’s first female CEO in its 130-year history. She ensures its 32,000 members are spoken for at the highest level.
