Case Studies
Issue No. 49 - October/November 2009
Sisters flourish behind closed doors
by Pamela Brombal
"It’s lonely at the top, particularly for women,” says Donny Walford the founder of Behind Closed Doors, a networking group for executive women.
Behind Closed Doors is a business networking group created for women to have support, while increasing women’s representation on boards, committees and in management roles.
Donny is the Chief Executive and founder of Adelaide-based business consultancy DW Bottomline Transition Strategists, and has a successful record working with boards and senior management.
Amongst other notable positions, Donny was the Chariman of the Australian Dance Theatre for three years, an inaugural Director of the Social Inclusion Board, and inaugural Director of the Zero Waste Management Board until June 2007.
In July 2008, she was appointed Chair of The Executive Connection, the world’s leading CEO membership organisation.
“I was approached by a number of executive women in 2006 to establish a business networking group where women could speak openly and honestly about their challenges and issues and support each other to attain and remain in executive roles,” says Donny.
The foundation group met for the first time in July 2008 and since then two more groups have been created in January and July this year. A fourth group will be launched in January 2010. In September, Donny launched Behind Closed Doors Luminaries, a networking group for young professional women.
Each group is facilitated by leading South Australian business women who also hold key board directorships locally, nationally and internationally. The maximum number of members in any one group is 15.
“The aim is to get senior women and business owners networked, supported and encouraged to get into executive roles or own, operate and grow their own businesses and once they are there, to stay there,” says Donny.
The program also encourages women to nominate other women or themselves for awards programs, such as the T...
