Donna Meredith is Managing Director, Keystone and Principal, Interaction Associates Australasia. Since co-founding Keystone in 1997 Donna and her team have designed and managed strategic brand, marketing, leadership, HR and cultural change projects for hundreds of organisations both within Australia and overseas. In 2011, she became the Australasian Principal of Interaction Associates (a global leadership and development company headquartered in Boston).

Prior to Keystone and Interaction Associates she was with Qantas where her last role was as Group Brands Manager/Manager International Product. Her responsibilities included complete re-imaging of the merged airline (new aircraft interiors, lounges, airports and print material) and ongoing responsibility for all aspects of the Qantas brand and the design and delivery of the international product (on the ground and in the air). Donna is the President of the International Alliance for Women (TIAW), and a Director of the Endota Group. She was previously a Director of Women Chiefs of Enterprises International (Australia) and Deputy Chair of the Communications Research Institute of Australia.

In August 2015 she was named Australia’s Awardee for the International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) and now serves as an IWEC Global Ambassador.

Kathy has been involved with TIAW since 2018 where while visiting Diane Tompson (past TIAW president), she volunteered to join TIAW’s board as its secretary. Since then she has continued in this role and in 2023 also became the VP Finance/Treasurer.

Kathy also participates as a judging committee member for the Awards program. She has been a dedicated, valuable, and enthusiastic member of the board.

Margaret (Peg) Weir, a lifetime member of The International Alliance for Women (TIAW), is a past President (2014-2016), held several board positions and currently is the World of Difference (WOD) Awards, Chair.  Peg received the TIAW WOD Mandy Goetze Award in 2019 and a WOD 100 Award in 2010.

Peg is passionate about advancing economic empowerment for women, especially through education, mentoring and microcredit activities. She is a past President of Executive Women in Government (EWG) and lifetime member, where she established a Mentor-Protégé Program and Corporate Sponsorship Advisory Board. She chairs the Triad Women’s Club (TWC) scholarship program.

She has over 30 years of leadership experience with the US Postal Service with her last position being Global Business Development, Executive Director.   For 10 years, Peg was an adjunct professor for Syracuse University teaching IT Capital Planning in the IT management graduate program. Peg holds an MBA for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Diane is co-owner of three companies based in Tasmania. Powercom Consultants Pty Ltd, Novaris Pty Ltd and Powercom Systems Pty Ltd and is a founding director and co-owner of Novaris Technologies Malaysia. She is also a director of Novaris Asia based in Singapore.

Diane is a past National President of Women Chiefs of Enterprises (International) Pty Ltd {WCEI} and a current member of its board.

Diane’s passion is in the development and empowerment of businesswomen. She has been appointed as a Vice President for the Pacific and Asian regions for FCEM, (Les Femmes Chiefs d’Entreprise Mondial) and the first Australian to become one of its board members since 2001.

She was the first Australian to become the President of TIAW, (The International Alliance for Women) taking up that role from 2019 until 2020 and is still a member of TIAW’s board of directors and a Vice President. All these organizations place her in a unique position for encouraging and helping other entrepreneurs to reach their full potential and to benefit emerging economies in the empowerment of their women.

Diane participated in the IORA Women Leaders Network from 2015-2018 as Australia’s representative, where she became involved in formulating a mentoring program for the businesswomen of the Indian Ocean Islands. Diane, together with her colleague and Regional Commissioner of FCEM for the Indian Ocean Islands Aline Wong, has been constantly refining and improving the program for the past 9 years. This work is being undertaken in collaboration with FCEM, AMFCE and DFAT (Australian Department of Foreign Trade).

In 2005, she received the honour of being acknowledged as Tasmania’s, Telstra Businesswoman of the Year and in 2009, Diane became the first woman to receive the Gold Medal Award from the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In 2011, she was a recipient of an IWEC award (the International Woman Entrepreneurial Challenge Award) and in 2014, Diane received a TIAW “Woman of Difference Award”. In 2015, Diane received an “Outstanding leadership Award” from the Women’s Leadership Congress held in Mumbai.

Finally, in 2023 Diane received the Mandy Goetze award in Paris for services to TIAW.

Diane is a fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (Aus) and the Royal Society for the Arts (UK).

Founder of a Businessita Women Empowerment, Soha specialises in strategic alliance/ strategic management and business restructuring. She has a proven track record in developing operational systems and protocols to achieve targets and profit maximization, while strengthening brand image. She has an outstanding track record in supporting business expansions through implementing and executing new management trends, strategic risk and change management across the MENA Region.

Michèle Piercey is a conflict prevention, stabilization, and peacebuilding practitioner with two decades of experience on assistance projects in conflict-affected states and supporting them from Washington DC. As principal advisor of the Peace and Stability and Democracy and Governance practices at Chemonics International, she guided the efforts of technical experts advancing excellence and innovation in foreign assistance. Previously, as senior vice president of Chemonics’ Strategic Solutions and Communications division, she worked to progress Chemonics’ knowledge enterprise, helping build the evidence base for ‘what works’ in development programs and champion better practice and achievement of results.

Throughout her career, Michèle has committed herself to the advancement and empowerment of women, especially in her work in the global south. She jumped at the chance to join Alliance for Peacebuilding as the Deputy Executive Director in April 2024 to help promote inclusive, sustainable peace.

At the forefront of international trade and women’s empowerment, Ching-Mei has been instrumental in driving significant revenue growth and establishing robust community partnerships between the Australian and Taiwanese business communities. Recently appointed as President of the Global Federation of Chinese Business Women (Sydney Chapter) she is focussed on promoting and nurturing business connections across the Oceania region, fostering a network of Taiwanese businesses that leverages her fluency in Chinese and deep understanding of international markets. The initiatives she has spearheaded have not only supported women entrepreneurs but also catalysed trade and investment strategies that benefit both communities and stakeholders.