Andrea Mason, CEO of the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Women’s Council in the Northern Territory, is the 2016 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year.

Joe Pollard, Telstra Business Women’s Awards Ambassador, Group Executive Media, and Chief Marketing Officer, said that she is thrilled to provide Mason with a platform to tell her powerful and exemplary story.

“Mason speaks with dignity and leads with humanity and cultural sensitivity. She has demonstrated tangible success in breaking the cycle of domestic violence, which has the potential to be ground-breaking for women tackling one of Australia’s biggest issues,” said Pollard.

“She has involved the entire community in her business model and built a blueprint for making a difference. Significantly, she has developed a replicable commercial process and relationships to make it sustainable.”

Mason is also the 2016 Telstra Australian Business Women’s For Purpose and Social Enterprise Award winner.

“It’s all about relationships. It’s about me getting to know you, it’s about you getting to know me and making our world smaller. And I believe that if we all do this together, that Australia has the potential to do much good across all sectors in our community,” said Mason in her acceptance speech.