Chief Executive Women (CEW) has welcomed a record 194 new members, expanding CEW’s representation across key sectors and recognising the range of senior leadership roles women hold at the forefront of Australia’s pandemic response.
Among those 194 new members are three Greek Australian women, including Violet Roumeliotis AM, Vicky Drakousis and Sharmila Tsourdalakis.
Violet Roumeliotis AM:
Violet Roumeliotis AM is a social entrepreneur who champions for the strengths of diverse communities. Through her C-suite and board roles, Violet uses innovation and collective impact to promote social justice and inclusion.
She is the CEO of Settlement Services International (SSI), a community organisation and social business that supports newcomers and other vulnerable individuals to achieve their full potential. During her eight years as CEO, Violet has taken SSI from a Sydney-based organisation with 68 staff to an 900-plus workforce that supports more than 37,500 people nationally each year.
Violet is committed to achieving equity, and advancing diversity and inclusion in all forms. In 2020, she was made a member of the Order of Australia for outstanding service to the community.
Violet is also a former Telstra Australia Business Woman of the Year, has been named one of AFR’s Top 100 Women of Influence for 2018 in the category of Diversity & Inclusion and was awarded the title of Community Fellow from Western Sydney University for outstanding service to the community.
Vicky Drakousis:
Vicky Drakousis is the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at Allianz Australia. In this role, Vicky leads all aspects of Allianz’s human resource function, including recruitment and talent management, learning and organisational development, compensation and benefits, and business partnering.
Vicky has over twenty five years in the financial services sector, gained both locally and internationally. She spent ten years at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), in several Executive General Manager Human Resources (HR) roles in the Wealth, Institutional, Business & Private Banking, and Global Asset Management divisions.
Prior to CBA, Vicky held senior HR roles at State Street where she gained extensive international experience and a wealth of expertise working across cultures.
Vicky holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Masters in Organisational Development, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Sharmila Tsourdalakis:
Sharmila Tsourdalakis is currently the Chief Innovation, Marketing & Technology Officer at Stockland.
Sharmila has over 20 years’ experience working in senior roles in technology, innovation, customer and digital transformation for ASX-listed companies, including Suncorp, GPT and Leighton Contractors.
She was previously the Executive General Manager for Suncorp’s Banking and Wealth Technology and Portfolio Management responsible for the strategic direction and operational leadership of technology.
Prior to Suncorp, Ms Tsourdalakis was Chief Information Officer at The GPT Group.
