She left school at 16 and became the CEO of two of Australia’s most iconic fashion brands!
In this episode James H Stewart sits down with former Sportsgirl and Sussan CEO Colleen Callander to unpack an extraordinary career spanning more than three decades in Australian retail.
Colleen started on the shop floor at Just Jeans in Geelong and rose rapidly through the ranks before joining Sportsgirl in 1999. She became part of the team tasked with rebuilding the brand following its sale to Naomi Milgrom, before taking on another turnaround challenge as CEO of Sussan in 2006.
In 2013, she returned to Sportsgirl—this time as CEO—to once again refresh and reposition the brand.
Colleen and James discuss what actually goes wrong inside struggling retail brands, the lessons she learned from three major brand reinventions, and what it takes to reconnect a fashion business with its customer.
But Colleen’s story isn't simply about retail success.
At a critical point in her career, she experienced complete burnout. Colleen talks candidly about recognising the warning signs, the changes she made to her life and leadership style, and how she subsequently approached the enormous responsibility of becoming a CEO.
They also explore Colleen’s decision to leave corporate retail after more than 30 years and reinvent herself as an author, mentor, executive coach and keynote speaker—along with her views on confidence, kindness in leadership, career progression for women and what success means to her today.
In this episode:
It’s a conversation about retail, leadership and reinvention—but ultimately about having the confidence to back yourself, particularly when your career doesn't follow the conventional path.
Disclaimer: What I Learned in Business (That Didn’t Kill Me!) is an independent podcast produced for general information, education and entertainment purposes. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of James H Stewart or the podcast. Nothing discussed in this episode should be regarded as financial, investment, legal, business or other professional advice. References to companies, individuals and events reflect the participants’ recollections and perspectives and should not be relied upon as independently verified statements of fact.
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