When people think about career development, they often focus on formal training, qualifications and experience. While these are all important, one of the most valuable investments you can make in your professional growth is networking. Networking is about much more than swapping contact details or adding connections on LinkedIn. It's an opportunity to build meaningful relationships with people in your line of work, learn from those with different experiences, and expand your perspective beyond your immediate role or company. As recruiters, we've seen first-hand the impact a strong professional network can have throughout someone's career. We've also seen the opposite. Many senior professionals leave networking until far too late, particularly those who remain with the same organisation for many years. Often, it's only after a redundancy, organisational restructure or unexpected job loss that they begin building connections outside their immediate workplace. By that point, they tend to realise that meaningful networks take time to build and wish they had started much earlier.
Quinn Allan recently hosted the inaugural Women in Finance breakfast: Bold Women, Bold Futures, bringing together a small group of senior finance professionals for a fantastic morning of discussion and networking. Offering an opportunity for meaningful conversations, the event featured a panel discussion led by guest speakers Thushy Moorthy, Regional CFO at Northwest Healthcare Properties Australia, and Nerida Lloyd, Business Controller, Oceania at Kalmar. Both speakers shared their personal career journeys, reflecting on the opportunities, challenges and lessons that have shaped their leadership careers. The discussion covered a range of topics relevant to women working in finance, including navigating leadership challenges, building confidence, leading high-performing teams, learning from setbacks, advocating for inclusion, and balancing professional and personal commitments. What made this an absolute stand-out event was the openness of the conversation. Attendees shared their own experiences, creating a supportive environment where participants could connect over common challenges, celebrate successes and learn from one another.
More than 100 guests joined us at Rydges Melbourne for Quinn Allan's annual Post-Budget Breakfast, our largest event of the year and an opportunity to bring together clients, partners and industry professionals to discuss the economic issues shaping Australia's future. For the second consecutive year, we were pleased to welcome IFM Investors' Chief Economist, Dr Alex Joiner, who provided a thought-provoking analysis of the Federal Budget and the broader economic outlook. While the Budget itself generated significant discussion, Alex's presentation extended well beyond Canberra, exploring the global and structural forces likely to influence Australia's economy over the years ahead. One of the strongest messages from the presentation was that geopolitical uncertainty is no longer an occasional disruption. It has become a permanent feature of the global economic landscape. Alex highlighted the impact of ongoing international conflicts, trade tensions and energy market instability, noting that businesses, governments and investors are increasingly being required to make decisions in an environment where uncertainty is elevated and persistent. These developments have implications for investment, inflation and economic growth across both developed and emerging economies.
