IB Woman
Issue No. 39 - February/March 2008
Driven to succeed
by Penelope Herbert
For some women, gender could stand in the way of taking over the family car dealership – but that wasn’t the case with Sally Hamilton.
A passion for cars gave Sally all the incentive she needed to immerse herself in her family’s business for 20 years, before taking the wheel from her father
last year.
You could say Sally is a woman with Holden in her blood. You could also say she represents the changing face of what is traditionally a male-dominated industry. In mid 2007 she took the place of her father, David Hamilton, to become Hamilton Holden’s first female MD.
As far as she’s aware, Sally is the only female MD of a car dealership in Adelaide, and one of just a few nationwide.
For more than 10 years Sally was GM of Hamilton Holden and one half of the powerhouse father & daughter management team behind the business (with David as MD).
David and Sally’s partnership of father-daughter management was rare – one of only a handful in Australian dealerships.
“We were always pretty unique here, with Dad and I at the helm together for so many years,” Sally says.
“It was a natural progression, since I’d been in a senior leadership role for many years and filled in as dealer principal many times.
Having said that, I didn’t take the decision lightly.
“I’d been in the business for so many years, knew the ins and outs and knew I had a passion for the industry. These were the factors that consolidated my decision.
“Ultimately I knew this was the path I wanted to take, and I haven’t looked back.”
Nobody could accuse Sally of being a ‘token female’ in her industry or not knowing her stuff. Far from being fast-tracked as the “the boss’s kid”, Sally has paid her dues, having worked at the successful Somerton Park dealership for two decades as well as serving a long stint as GM before stepping up to her current role.
