Top 20 Quotes & Sayings by Gail Kelly

Explore popular quotes and sayings by a South African businesswoman Gail Kelly.
Last updated on November 8, 2024.
Gail Kelly

Gail Kelly is a South African-born Australian businesswoman. In 2002, she became the first female CEO of a major Australian bank or top 15 company and in 2005 was the highest paid woman in an Australian corporation. She is the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Westpac, a role she held from 2008 to 2015. In 2010 Kelly was named 8th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes and as of 2014, she is listed in 56th place.

Nelson Mandela was an outstanding leader and a mentor for me. I was in South Africa at the time he was released. I was in South Africa when he was inaugurated as the first president.
One of the joys of being at St. George is you were operating under the radar screen a lot of the time, and you could actually get on with things a lot more quickly and easily.
I'm a very consistent leader, and people won't find me different day to day. You won't have to have the sort of conversation that says, 'How is she today? Is this a good day to have this conversation?' You won't find that situation with me. I treat people with respect.
I have certainly been very front footed about increasing our gender representation at Westpac.
Whatever you are doing, give it all of your attention. Prioritise what you're going to do carefully, and then be in the moment.
I have a very genuine care for individuals; I have a very genuine sense of the power of individuals to make a difference, a very genuine belief that people matter, a very genuine belief of wanting the very best for individuals.
In this digital age, there is no place to hide behind public relations people. This digital age requires leaders to be visible and authentic and to be able to communicate the decisions they've made and why they've made them, to be able to acknowledge when they've made a mistake and to move forward, to engage in the debate.
I grew up in a very strong, nuclear family. My father was a sportsman. He represented South Africa in a couple of sports, so he was a very positive person and someone who encouraged you to be your best and give your best with everything that you do.
You can choose not to sit on the fence. You can choose not to criticise. You must stand as guard at the door of your own mind and choose to be positive. — © Gail Kelly
You can choose not to sit on the fence. You can choose not to criticise. You must stand as guard at the door of your own mind and choose to be positive.
I'm a big believer you should design work around a vast majority of people who want to do the right thing rather than around the tiny minority who might take advantage.
42% of our management team are women. So we've reset the goal to 50% by 2017. Because that's when Westpac becomes 200 years old as an institution - the oldest bank, and indeed the oldest company in Australia. So that's a lovely point to reflect on.
When I got to be a CEO, I said: 'Right. I'm now going to tackle gender inequality head-on. I'm going to make a difference and lead by example and actively put in place policies and practices to support women.'
Living in South Africa has had a very profound impact on my career. — © Gail Kelly
Living in South Africa has had a very profound impact on my career.
Often really what you need is someone who will believe in you, who will encourage you to believe in yourself.
I don’t waste time. I move. I finish things. I don’t try and do things to the nth degree. I know what’s important and what’s not. I’ve really learned that. That’s a judgement I’ve learned, what really matters.
You must stand as guard at the door of your own mind and choose to be positive.
We’ve all seen the same situation happen to two people. One looks for the lesson, sets their shoulders back and presses on while the other asks ‘why does it always happen to me?’ You can choose not to sit on the fence. You can choose not to criticise. You must stand as guard at the door of your own mind and choose to be positive.
If I'm watching my son play soccer, that's what I'm doing. If I'm going to a school concert, that's what I'm doing. I turn the phone off. I actively tune into whatever I'm doing. I walk every evening with one of my sons and for that half an hour, 45 minutes, that's what I'm doing.
If you believe in practising generosity of spirit, at heart you believe in the power of an individual to make a difference and at heart you treat individuals with deep respect and want to see others flourish.
You should choose organisations that are going to be flexible and supportive and recognise people are going through different stages in their careers and actually need different sorts of support.
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