Naomi Milgrom Owner, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer Sussan Group
Naomi Milgrom has been recognized as one of Australia’s top 25 business leaders, a peerless businesswoman and an outstanding entrepreneur. She is the sole owner, Executive Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the Sussan Group comprising three fashion brands - Sussan, Suzanne Grae and Sportsgirl. Under Naomi’s leadership, the Sussan Group has grown to become Australia’s largest privately held specialty fashion retailer with over 500 stores and more than 4,000 employees throughout Australia and New Zealand.
Naomi has also played a pivotal public role in the promotion of the Australian retail and fashion industries, nationally and internationally. Under her leadership, the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival became the largest consumer and retail fashion event globally. Over 100 designers who made their debut at the Festival have since become established Australian brands.
She has enthusiastically mobilised her businesses and her own entrepreneurial skills to make outstanding contributions to Australian society. She is a benefactor to the arts, health, welfare, and the Jewish community, and an inspiring contributor to the world of science and education. As Chair of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art since 2005, she has propelled ACCA to its present position as the premier contemporary arts centre in Australia and the pre-eminent launching pad for young Australian artists. She served for 14 years as a board member of the Howard Florey Institute, Australia’s foremost brain research institute. In 2009, Naomi made a gift for the creation of the Professor Frederick Mendelsohn Chair in Neuroscience.
Naomi Milgrom is an iconic leader, advocate and mentor of Australian women and has achieved landmark distinctions for women in business. She was both the first woman and the first person in the field of fashion to be invited to deliver the Batman Oration on Australia Day 2006. She is also the first female recipient of the Ernst & Young Champion of Entrepreneurship for the Southern Region.
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Entrepreneur Of The Year – the 2010 magazine for growth leaders
Along with profiles of the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year national winners, this edition features articles on how the world’s foremost entrepreneurs are navigating the challenging economic climate, the pros and cons of an IPO, and the impact education can have on attaining an entrepreneurial mindset.