TESTIMONIALS

Mary-Beth and I worked together closely for several years. In that time, she saw my potential and enabled me to grow as a leader. The mentoring and coaching she provided over her time at Specsavers gave me the opportunity to flourish and stamp my mark on what I do and the way I do it. Mary-Beth took a gamble and promoted me against the view of HR, she had the courage to push against the status quo showing me that she had my back and supported my transition to a senior managerial role becoming second in command in her team.

Mary-Beth has a deep understanding of how people operate and the way to get the best out of them, enabling cohesive and highly performing teams to deliver to their stakeholders.

Andrew Pollitt - Lead Project Manager – Specsavers

In the last 8 months, have had the pleasure of working with Mary-Beth as my mentor, who has provided me with advice and guidance around potential avenues to develop my career.  During that time, Mary-Beth was a patient listener and displayed a deep understanding and empathy for my concerns, this has recently led to my decision to change gear in my career by taking up new responsibilities in a different organisation. 

I admire Mary-Beth for her warm optimistic approach and passion and I have no reservations in recommending her as a mentor and leader, as she continues to motivate me to reach for a higher standard.

Melanie Northrop - PMO Manager – Seven Consulting

It’s not often you can directly reach out to a senior executive and need nothing from them but a moment in time and a platform to discuss all things in our tech space and that is exactly what she did for me and continues to do so.  

There are some people who are just like magnets and especially for women running quite solo races like myself, Mary-Beth is one of those magnetic humans.

Especially when it’s quite a lonely place for women in tech and cyber, I cannot thank her enough for taking time out to coach, mentor, and guide.

Maria Papas - Sales Director Australia & New Zealand - Varonis

I met Mary-Beth at the CDO conference held in Melbourne in May 2022. To me, meeting a female leader in a male dominated industry, meant excitement, admiration, and hope.

After the conference, I reached out to her, if I could learn from her career journey and experiences as I knew her advice would be invaluable on my career journey, and she kindly offered her time. During our meeting, not only did she share her experience and invaluable insights on navigating the career path as a female but also, she was keen to listen to my story, to learn about my passions and aspirations, to see how she could help me on my career journey.

She connected me with people from her professional network who could provide further insight on my career path and aspirations. At the end of our meeting, she emphasized that she would be there, anytime if I needed any further advice on my career. That statement meant and still means a lot to me! To me, she’s not only a successful female executive, but a successful female leader who is genuinely passionate to pave the way for the next generation of female leaders.

I have so much respect and admiration for her and look up to her as a role model whom I know I will always have her support on my career journey.

Mahtab Ameris, PhD - Senior Consultant - McGrathNicol

Mary-Beth is one of those rare leaders who truly believes in empowering her team.

I worked as one of MB's direct reports during the most challenging time that most employers have faced in the past few years aka covid.

During this difficult period, MB focused on supporting her team and was always available to listen to our concerns. When the team structure changed, MB organised 1:1 and team meetings to keep everyone informed of the changes and helped facilitate open and honest channels for us to communicate.

I found my mentoring sessions with Mary-Beth extremely valuable to understand my strengths, work on areas to improve and she coached me to help improve my branding.

Mary-Beth would always encourage me to think bigger in terms of my career goals and really believe – the sky is the limit. I enjoyed my mentoring sessions with Mary-Beth as she encouraged me to work on applying my strengths in areas not just limited to my current role. She also leads by example, always encouraging the team to balance work and home commitments and understands that this balance looks personalised and different for everyone.

Meghana Muralidhar - Specsavers

I have worked in Technology over 25 years, 16 of which was in the male dominated field of Transport and Logistics. I first met Mary-Beth Hosking in 2011, when I came to work for her as an IT Business Analyst at Toll Intermodal. From the interview I got the impression that she would do everything in her power to provide a working environment where the successful candidate would be challenged, supported and given every opportunity to develop both professionally and personally. I was fortunate that Mary-Beth saw something in me, and that I was the successful candidate for that role, because that is exactly how it played out.

I have had (and continue to have) the enormous benefit of her experience, wisdom and knowledge that she has always freely shared with me over the years. And I have watched her share it with others too. She has taught me not to be afraid to question things that I don’t understand, want clarity on or that I don’t agree with. The feedback that she provides is frequent, always honest and always constructive.

Anna van Tatenhove - Senior Business Analyst – Tennis Australia

I have had the pleasure of working with Mary-Beth Hosking twice in my career, over a period of 6 years. During this time, I have found Mary-Beth to be an authentic and courageous leader who places great emphasis in building cohesive, collaborative and well skilled teams that are fully engaged in the direction Mary-Beth has set.

Mary-Beth brings boundless energy, commitment to quality, enthusiasm and passion for life that are genuine and on display a daily basis. Some examples of this leadership:

Courage to seek and receive feedback. Mary-Beth regularly engages with her leadership team and promotes honest and direct feedback. This is further enhanced by Mary-Beth taking the time to regularly engage and build relationships with non-direct reports to get a pulse check on the wider team and further enhance team cohesion.

  • • Courage of convictions. Mary-Beth was always clear on her principles and values. Mary-Beth always strives to do what is right and to do things well, rather than what is expedient. Mary-Beth took the time to build detailed training needs analysis of the entire team (including non-direct reports) and provided a platform for team members to upskill and improve. Like most things, there is never a right time to do things for training, but Mary-Beth always encouraged the team to improve their skills and knowledge, as investment in people is the right thing to do.

  • • Courage to innovate and think differently. Mary-Beth is always pushing the envelope to find new and better ways to do things. Mary-Beth will engage with her team, colleagues, professional network, and research to find better and more efficient ways. In doing this Mary-Beth will recognise when things are not working as expected and will re-engineer them or try a different approach.

  • • Courage to have difficult conversations. Mary-Beth had an unenviable task of taking on the build of a new system (Business unit wide) that was reported to be mostly complete. Only to find out a short time into the role, that the system had been built on code that could not satisfy the business requirements and would not be supportable long-term. To protect the team and the business Mary-Beth had the conversation with the Managing Director to scrap the work to date (at significant cost) and start from scratch. Mary-Beth in her skill as a leader was able to re-set the direction and secure funding to complete the system.

  • • Courage to do what is right for team members. By genuinely caring for team members, Mary-Beth attracts broad team loyalty that only good leaders earn. A particular example for me was when Mary-Beth identified a role that I was better suited for in the organisation. Mary-Beth actively encouraged me to take the role even though it would leave a gap in her senior management team. Taking on a new role as not the best thing for Mary-Beth but it was the best thing for me and the business, so I am always grateful for this.

Mary-Beth is a bold and confident leader who can help drive organisations forward and create growth both for the organisation but the people she leads. Mary-Beth creates a team culture of trust and respect, which makes team members deeply engaged. Mary-Beth sticks to her principles, is willing to innovate, take risks, adapt, and does not shy away from a challenge. I have only touched on the tip of the iceberg, with Mary-Beth’s leadership qualities, I am more than happy to discuss further and can be reached on evan.charles.harris@gmail.com.

Evan Harris - PM Delivery Partner - Kmart

I had the pleasure of working in Mary-Beth’s Change Delivery team at Specsavers for 4 years and she played an instrumental role in my development as a Project Manager. Mary-Beth’s approach to leadership and team management is unique and authentic. She encourages and actively facilitates ongoing professional development for her team to ensure each individual feels supported in establishing and following their career path. Mary-Beth is incredibly supportive when it comes to networking and establishing connections within the business beyond the realms of the primary role.

While working at Specsavers, Mary-Beth organised multiple opportunities for us to attend Women in Technology events which enabled me to see and understand more about the field in which I work beyond the realms of our immediate team. She helped me to not only find my voice but to deliver difficult information with conviction. When dealing with challenging stakeholders and situations, Mary-Beth was unwavering with support for me and our broader team. She leads by example, prioritises people above processes and advocates for continuous improvement. Most importantly, Mary-Beth encouraged me to be to be proud of who I am; to acknowledge my strengths, to be transparent about the areas I am actively working on and to be open to new challenges and opportunities wherever they present knowing that nothing is insurmountable.

Bridie Kibby - PM – ANZ Technology Product Team - Specsavers

I Mary-Beth Hosking is one of the best event chairpersons I have ever worked with. Her ease on the microphone, interviewing skills, and engaging personality make her a true asset to any event. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone looking for an exceptional event host.

Mike Cullen - Conference Producer - Quest Events

Mary-Beth’s people first focus is evident in her leadership with empathy, she always has an innovative idea to help challenge your mindset. Mary-Beth has the energy and drive to bring more women into the STEM fold, which she does by mentoring women within and outside of her organisation, speaking at women in leadership events, and focusing hiring efforts on bringing in female talent. 

She is well placed for these activities, as she leads authentically with her values on a daily basis, which inspires others to make tangible change as she does.  She provides examples from her own leadership journey as a woman, so that her mentees feel that they too have the opportunities for success.

Kate Isley - Employee Experience Manager - MentorShe 2021

I had the pleasure of working with Mary-Beth who was my direct manager whilst at Toll Logistics. She has the ability to recognize each person’s skills set who is on the team and be an enabler for growth also. I was starting out in my chosen career path in IT at the time and it is vital to find a supportive environment to grow professionally. Mary-Beth took it upon herself, to also address the difficult topics at work that needed to be, to ensure success and good outcomes for the team and to deliver on project deadlines. Under her stewardship I was able to pursue professional qualifications and to get certified in Software Quality to have standards raised. Thanks to Mary-Beth’s vision I was able to pursue professional avenues that otherwise I might not have.

Manuela Diessner - PM Website Performance – World Vision