With a distinguished career spanning the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and the private sector, Pelagia Markogiannakis has broken barriers in engineering, infrastructure, and project management.
Holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), she has contributed to critical military operations, including Australia’s efforts during the Gulf War and the 75th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign.
Beyond her military service, Pelagia has held bold, transformational leadership roles in infrastructure and project management. She has been a trusted advisor to CEOs, boards, and government on project delivery, asset management, and defence initiatives, and currently serves as Deputy Director of Navy Infrastructure in the RAN Reserves.
On International Women’s Day (IWD), Pelagia will be on the panel at The Greek Festival of Sydney’s ‘Hellenic Horizons’ event, supported by The Greek Herald.
In this interview, she discusses her Greek heritage, career in defence, and advice for young women striving to accelerate their paths in engineering, technology, and beyond.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your Greek heritage / upbringing.
My late Father was from Rethymno, Crete, apprenticed as a Baker in Chania and migrated to Australia in the mid-late 50s in his late 20s. By the mid-60s he ran his own Bakery business with many employees in Brunswick, West Brunswick, Dandenong, Balaclava, and he developed the in-house Bakery for Woolworths at Malvern Central. My Mother was from Sparti, Peloponnese. She left her home for Athens at 11 years old and chose to migrate to Australia in the early-mid 50 (as an 18-year-old). When she arrived, she lived with her brother and sister-in-law and worked as a seamstress.
After my Mum met and married my Father, she worked with him. They have four children, me, Emmanouel (Manny), Dimitra (D) and Nicolaos (Nick). My brother Manny and I are both Mechanical Engineers, my sister D is the Chief Purpose Office (CPO) at S & P Global in NYC, my brother Nick is a Builder in Victoria.
My first language was Greek, and I always went to Greek School and completed Year 12 level. We visited Greece on a couple of occasions as a family and I fell in love with Crete and my relatives. I now go back as often as I can. I’ve taught Greek School at Protypo Greek Centre over the last 20 years but in the last couple of years as a relief teacher.
How did your upbringing and heritage influence your decision to join the ADF?
I inherited my sense of adventure from my parents and from my culture. This is what prompted me to join the Royal Australian Navy, but I had to wait as I was 16 years old when I finished HSC in Melbourne. So, I did a deal with my Father. I would do my degree first and then I could join. So, that is what I did.
Serving as a Lieutenant Commander in the ADF, what were some of the most challenging moments you faced during deployments? How did you overcome them?
RESILIENCE is the key to everything. The ability to pick yourself up, and bounce back, find another direction etc. That is the only way to overcome difficult situations.
After an extensive military career, you transitioned to roles such as working for former Governor of NSW, Peter Sinclair, and as Director of Infrastructure Operations for Amazon Web Services in Australia and New Zealand. What motivated you to make these transitions?
The ADF equips you to be able to do a lot of different things well. We are well trained in core skills, but also how to adapt, be flexible and overcome adversity. Employers benefit from my Navy training and experience and the Navy benefits from my civilian work and experience. It’s a win-win!
What has been the most personally fulfilling moment in your career—either in the ADF or in your current role?
This is an extremely hard question. Each role has provided fulfilling, exciting and inspiring moments.
Reflecting on your diverse career, what advice would you offer to young women aspiring to enter traditionally male-dominated fields, such as the military or technology?
Never be afraid to do something different, or something you don’t think you’re qualified to do. Take courage that there were people before you and there will be others after you. You will not know the impact of doing something on generations to come. We can do anything we want to, whatever we set our minds to and we will prevail in anything we attempt. Have courage, be brave and just try. As my Father said to me as a teenager, “be the best you can be at whatever you choose to do.”
Looking ahead, what initiatives or changes do you hope to see implemented that would support and empower the next generation of women leaders in your fields of expertise?
I’m an egalitarian. The only time I knew I was being paid equal to my male counterpart, was in the Navy. I want to see no gender pay gap legislation like in Iceland (in 2018). I also want to see non-traditional roles (male or female) become normalised ie. more male nurses, teachers etc and more female engineers, tradies etc. I want to see STEM and second language acquisition promoted from primary school. I would like to see biased questions abolished like “Why did you put your career first over having Kids?” or ‘Have you asked your Husband/Boyfriend?”. We have to remove biases by gender, age, religion, colour of our skin, etc. We need to be accepting that there is good and bad in the world and our role is to find the good and make it better. That’s the only way we’ll get to where we need to be especially as we’re already in the 21st century.
Pelagia will be speaking on a panel at an International Women’s Day event at The Grand Roxy in Brighton-Le-Sands, Sydney on Sunday, March 16, 2025 from 3.30pm. The event is presented by The Greek Festival of Sydney, supported by The Greek Herald.
Event Details:
- Event: Hellenic Horizons: Greek Women Leading the Path to Progress
- Date: Sunday, March 16, 2025
- Time: 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM
- Venue: The Grand Roxy | Reef Room (Bayside Plaza, 128 The Grand Parade, Brighton-Le-Sands NSW 2216)
- Register to attend the event here.
