User:Susannahgeorge/Sarina Russo

Sarina Russo (born Castiglione, Sicily) is an Australian entrepreneur and founder of education, training and recruitment business – the Sarina Russo Group.

Early Life
Sarina Russo was born in Castiglione, Sicily, the youngest daughter of Antonino and Maria Russo. Russo’s father emigrated to Australia in 1952, with the family following in 1956. They settled in the Brisbane suburb of Spring Hill.

Russo attended St Stephen's Primary School and All Hallows School for secondary school, both in Brisbane, before completing tertiary qualifications at University of Queensland as a mature age student.

Sarina Russo Group
In 1979, Russo opened 'The Office' Business Academy, teaching typing, shorthand, bookkeeping, English and word processing, and guaranteeing job placement for all graduates. The Sarina Russo Group celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2009, and now employs over 1000 staff across seven business units:
 * Sarina Russo Schools | Australia: A privately-owned training institute, educating both international and domestic students through Business, Hospitality, Tourism and English language courses.
 * Sarina Russo Job Access (Australia & Great Britain): Employment, recruitment and training services for job seeking candidates and companies across all industries.
 * James Cook University Brisbane: A higher education provider, offering foundation programs, undergraduate and postgraduate degrees to both international and domestic students. Courses include finance, information technology, e-business, tourism, hospitality, human resources, business administration, marketing, management, entrepreneurship, international business and commerce.
 * Russo Recruitment: Provides staffing and/or recruitment for executive appointments, permanent, contract and temporary office support and management staff.
 * Sarina Russo Apprenticeship Services: An Australian Apprenticeships Centre (an Australian Government funded initiative), promoting the benefits of apprenticeships and traineeships, and providing free services, advice and assistance to all employers, job seekers, trainees and apprentices.
 * VOICE – Psychologists & Allied Professionals: Conducts clinical assessments to support jobseekers in overcoming vocational and non-vocational return-to-work barriers: workplace injury, depression, anxiety, motivation, communication difficulties and low self esteem.
 * Sarina Investments: The Sarina Russo Group’s property arm, managing the Group’s real estate investments.

Meet Me At The Top
“Meet Me At The Top” (2002) is an autobiography, business and motivational book written by Sarina Russo and co-authored by Ross Gleeson. The book follows Russo’s personal and business growth from childhood through to her selection as one of 40 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World™ in 2002.

Dragons’ Den
Sarina Russo was a judge on the Australian version of venture capitalist television program Dragons' Den, broadcast on the Seven Network in 2005. The program originated in Japan, where it is owned by Sony and Microsoft, and is now broadcast internationally. The program consists of entrepreneurs pitching their ideas in order to secure investment finance from business experts – the “Dragons”.

Russo was one of five Australian “Dragons”, which included Peter Higgins, Simon Reynolds, Darryn Lyons and Suzi Dafnis.

Involvement in the Clinton Global Initiative
Russo has been a member of the Clinton Global Initiative since 2008 – a non-partisan organization that convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems – providing annual scholarships for a 5-day Global Business Executive Seminar to help Nepalese leaders improve their capacity to better serve their local communities.

Scholarship winners work towards long-term goals such as getting every woman in Nepal vaccinated for cervical cancer, providing better access to health clinics, improving education opportunities for Nepalese teenagers and reducing the incidence of unnecessary blindness.

Awards and Recognition

 * Graduate of the Harvard Business School Owner/President Management Program
 * Appointed Honorary Ambassador for the City of Brisbane in 1996
 * Elected as one of the Australian Republican Movement delegates to the Australian Constitution Convention in Canberra in 1998
 * 2001 Centenary Medal for distinguished service to education
 * Recognised as one of the 40 Leading Women Entrepreneurs of the World in 2002
 * 2006 Multicultural Achievers Award, awarded by Queensland Government
 * 2006 Women in Business Award – Personal and Other Services Industry category

Membership and Board Roles

 * Chairman and Trustee of the Jupiter’s Casino Community Benefit Fund since 1995
 * Member of the Lord Mayor’s Community Trust Board since 1995
 * Member of Queensland Premier’s Advisory Board since 2000
 * Member of the Queensland Education and Training Export Board since 2002
 * Member of the Queensland Tourism Board (2002 – 2009)
 * Member of the Women’s Leadership Board of the John F. Kennedy School of Government (Harvard Business School) since 2003
 * Judge (Dragon) on international reality television show Dragons' Den (2005)
 * Member of the Council for Multicultural Australia Board (2005 – 2006).
 * Member of the Leading Women Entrepreneurs World Advisory Board since 2006
 * Former member of Board of Directors, Challenger Financial Services (2006 – 2008)
 * Member of Clinton Global Initiative since 2008
 * Youngest and first female member of the Queensland Chapter of Young Presidents’ Organisation (YPO)
 * Member of World Presidents’ Organisation (WPO)
 * Member of the Australiana Fund to raise funds to acquire and preserve a permanent collection of art works that are Australian by origin or by association