Anne Modderno from Swietelsky Rail Australia took home the Excellence in Transport Award at the Women in Industry Awards held in June.
The Women in Industry Awards aim to recognise the women in Australia who are delivering excellence across industry sectors, making active contributions to break down barriers to equity and inclusion, and showing future generations what is possible.
Anne Modderno, managing director of Swietelsky Rail Australia (SRA), won the Excellence in Transport award at the 2024 event held in Sydney.
Sponsored by Kenter Logistics, the award is for an individual who has gone above and beyond to improve and positively impact the Australian transport industry.
Modderno said she was honoured to be nominated alongside other fantastic women and was shocked to win.
“With the amazing women nominated in my category, I had no expectations to win. They’re all breaking down barriers in their own businesses in so many different ways,” Modderno said.
“They are all huge inspirations, and I was so proud to be named as a finalist with them.”
Modderno was nominated alongside Alice Reis from Arup, Jenny Fellows from Fellows Bulk Haulage, Monica Dryden from Mott Macdonald, Orlane Mortimer from Wollongong Crane Trucks and Shani Davies from Metro Trains Melbourne.
In her speech, Modderno highlighted the critical role that events such as the Women in Industry Awards play in sharing the accomplishments and progress towards increasing female participation across all industries.
“We need awards like this. We need to get comfortable talking about what we achieve because if we can’t project it, if we can’t show it, then no one else will see it. No one else will want to be it,” she said.
“As parents, family members and friends raising the next generation, we can actively share stories and experiences about all the opportunities we know exist now but didn’t know were possible when we were growing up or studying at school.
“[We need to be] Intentionally not ‘gender badging’ roles, careers or industries in our stories, because there really aren’t any ‘girls’ jobs’ or ‘boys’ jobs’ – there are just jobs. The earlier our daughters, nieces and granddaughters hear about what types of jobs and careers are out there for them, the less likely they are to be intimidated by an industry or doubt themselves in any way. Instead, they will be more likely to have the confidence to achieve anything. Future generations will know no limit.”
Modderno attributed her win to her ongoing commitment to organisational change and development at SRA. She has introduced improvements to the company’s Employee Value Proposition (EVP), led the development of the company’s Sustainability Strategy, and new strategic direction.
During more than 15 years in the transport industry, across rail and civil construction sectors, Modderno has successfully led teams to manage and deliver large-scale maintenance and capital projects.
She continues to be an advocate for inclusivity and diversity within the transport sector. As the first female managing director at any Swietelsky International subsidiary, Modderno wants to pave the way for women in transport, and actively finds ways to increase their participation.
“I am so proud of the strides we’re making towards improving diversity and inclusion within the transport industry, but there’s more work to do,” she said.
“I hope this award shows the women in my team, and other women in transport and all other industries, that you can be the change you want to see.”
Women in Industry Awards were presented across a number of fields including transport, engineering and manufacturing, mining, construction and energy. Awards were also presented for safety advocacy, mentoring and business development.
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