From social worker to being a cruise line boss, Ann Sherry’s journey has been remarkable. Carnival Australia CEO has been honoured by Westpac and Australian Financial Review as the 2015 overall winner of the 100 Women of Influence Awards. Ms Sherry who has made an immense contribution towards Australia’s cruise industry was recognised for her leadership across corporate Australia and significant contribution towards to the social and economic advancement of women.
Pegged as the fastest growing segment of Australian tourism, the cruise industry carries one million travellers every year. Carnival Australia’s success as a cruise operator in Australia and South Pacific is often credited to Ms Sherry’s leadership who restored the reputation of cruising and led the resurgence of the industry in the region. Australian Financial Review reported: In 2007 she took over at Carnival Australia – beleaguered by falling profits and damage to its reputation – to revitalise the company and the broader cruise industry.
“It is an unbelievable honour to be named as the overall winner for the 2015 Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards. These awards uncover amazing talent across a range of fields and allow women, particularly young women, to visualise a pathway for success, which is so important to drive change,” said Ms Sherry.
Ms Sherry reminisced that of the lessons learned over her career, she would tell her younger self to take more risks, ”Try new things, grab opportunities. Be tenacious. The world will change, things will go wrong. Life is messy.”
