IB Woman
Issue No. 27 - February/March
Born to lead
Frances Magill
by Penelope Herbert
In 2005, Frances Magill became one of only two women CEOs in South Australia’s list of Top 100 companies (published issue #25 in-business).
She’s a woman born to lead — despite the best efforts of her father. Frances left school at the age of 15 at his insistence and did not sit her final exams.
Finding a job typing and answering the phones in a real estate office, Frances was left alone for much of the time. She started dealing with clients and taking the initiative in ensuring the office was professionally represented.
By her mid 20’s, she was thinking more about what she might achieve if she had the right qualifications; so she started studying. After qualifying as an accountant, Frances decided she wanted to teach people how to be empowered so she studied to be a teacher.
To supplement her teaching studies, Frances took a part-time job with the Clerks Union as an industrial organiser. However, her success in the Union led her to a crossroads —either qualify as a teacher or work full-time in industrial relations.
“I was learning how to impart knowledge and I knew this would hold me in good stead,” she says. “I was happy in the industrial relations environment working on industrial issues and equal opportunity.
“But then big changes to WorkCover were on the horizon and I knew my skills could help to ensure that workers wouldn’t be disadvantaged. So around 1983 I started full-time with the union.
“Then superannuation was being targeted for awards and I wasn’t confident it would be suitably dealt with by the private sector. I felt changes would look after the ‘haves’ not the ‘have nots’ so I stayed for the 80s.”
By this time, the SA Unions and Business SA through the clerks state award allowed members to contribute to a South Australian owned fund. The accounts were handled in the background by an administration company but Frances was asked to become...
