Three women redefining what’s possible for regional business

According to Regional Capitals Australia, regional business comprises around 40% of Australia’s national economic output and employs a third of the nation’s workforce.

And the regions are thriving: the latest Regional Movers Index (RMI), supported by CommBank, reveals that moves from city to country outnumber moves from country to city by 36%. Net migration to regional areas is up by 11.8%.

This unlocks business opportunities across myriad industries, from agriculture and hospitality to healthcare and resources.

Brighter Perspectives spoke to three regional business leaders – Amy van de Ven (Quest Orange), Vanya Cullen (Cullen Wines) and Christie McLennan (Taroom Pharmacy owner and beef producer) to get the inside line on running a successful regional business, and the lessons and insights they would share with future regional leaders.

Hotelier and community leader Amy van de Ven believes regional success requires collaboration and “showing up consistently for your community”

What do you see as the regional sector outlook?

For me, regional Australia isn’t an abstract “sector” – it’s where I’ve built my life, my business and my community. People aren’t coming to regional areas as a fallback anymore, they’re choosing them intentionally. That’s exciting, but it also means we need to keep investing in the things that make regional communities thrive ​​– housing, connectivity, skilled workers and strong local business ecosystems.

“People aren’t coming to regional areas as a fallback anymore, they’re choosing them intentionally. That’s exciting, but it also means we need to keep investing in the things that make regional communities thrive.”
– Amy van de Ven, owner of Quest Orange

Through Quest Orange and my board roles with Business Orange and Orange360, I’m reminded that regional success is collaborative. When tourism, agriculture, small business and community groups all pull in the same direction, the impact can be huge.

What are your business goals?

This year is about refining and making sure what we’ve created at Quest Orange continues to evolve in a way that feels relevant and sustainable.

Guest expectations have changed a lot. People want connection to place now, not just accommodation, so my focus is continuing to lean into that regional identity – local partnerships, thoughtful guest touches and making sure staying with us feels distinctly “Orange”.

Another big priority is leadership succession and team growth. I’m passionate about developing people locally, rather than always looking to cities for talent.

And, personally, I’m trying to build businesses that feel enjoyable to run, not just successful on paper.

What single factor will impact your business the most in the next couple of years?

The energy of business owners, teams and communities. The past few years have asked a lot of business owners and when energy dips, innovation and growth tend to follow. If we can keep that energy strong, regional businesses will continue punching well above their weight.

What’s been your biggest career move to date?

Opening Quest Orange at 27 was my biggest career move, but the bigger decision was committing fully to regional Australia. I grew up regionally near Albury-Wodonga, but relocating to Orange felt like putting a real stake in the ground, both professionally and personally.

Regional success is built through collaboration, trust and showing up consistently for your community. Looking back, it reinforced something I still believe – sometimes the biggest career move isn’t about going bigger, it’s about going all-in where you are.

What is one piece of advice you’d share with future leaders, especially women?

Back yourself earlier than feels comfortable. Also, especially in regional Australia, relationships matter enormously. Regional leadership is a privilege, you get to build businesses and communities at the same time. That’s pretty special.

“Regional leadership is a privilege. You get to build businesses and communities at the same time. That’s pretty special.”
– Amy van de Ven, owner of Quest Orange

A respected winemaker and trailblazer in sustainable viticulture, Vanya Cullen OAM has transformed her family’s boutique winery into a globally recognised business grounded in quality, environmental stewardship and innovation.

What do you see as the agri sector outlook? 

Climate change is probably the biggest challenge facing a sector that is so dependent on the environment. In respect to our industry, wine has become less fashionable – the younger generation isn’t drinking as much – and that is a reality check for some vineyards, but I feel there's always a place for quality. A rationalisation of the wine industry is taking place and hopefully we can do well in that environment. We’ve always produced quality wines and continue to show respect for the earth, and that’s very important to me.

What are your business goals? 

We have a strategy we’re putting in place, but for me personally, it's all about regeneration and succession planning – moving out of generation two and making space for the next generation. Within that, we are replanting some of our old vineyards as well.

What single factor will impact your business most in the next couple of years? 

There are actually two and they’re both from outside our business, not within – climate change and the world economy.

What’s your biggest career move to date?

Making the decision in 2004 to go organic and biodynamic. It took a lot of courage to change, but I strongly believed we had some of the country's best-quality fruit to work with, a 30-year understanding of wine and the benefit of all the staff working with us. At the time, there was a lot of hostility toward biodynamic vineyards, mainly from within the industry. I was no longer invited to speak at industry events and I went from being at the top of the mainstream to being in the environmental section of the Australian wine industry, which was very small at the time. Of course, that’s changed a lot and it’s been lovely to win mainstream awards.

What is the one piece of advice you’d share with future leaders, especially women?

My advice can be summed up pretty simply – success requires empathy, compassion, self-belief and hard work.

“My advice can be summed up pretty simply – success requires empathy, compassion, self-belief and hard work.”
– Vanya Cullen OAM, Managing Director and Winemaker of Cullen Wines

Christie McLennan has a deep respect for the resilience of rural communities, but says balancing business and family commitments is always a challenge

What do you see as the agri sector outlook? 

It’s very weather-dependent, but the outlook is strong. International markets will play a key role but there’s strong demand for Australian beef, and the quality, consistency and supply is always there. Weather events pending, there’s enough resilience in the market that even if there’s a serious flood, there’s a large herd population and we bounce back pretty consistently.

What are your business goals? 

We run a small breeder herd at the moment, but we’re hoping to expand that this year. We have 2500 head of cattle, and the property we have lends itself well to backgrounding and fattening more than the breeder operation, so we're looking to find a place that’s more suitable to expand.

What single factor do you think will impact your business most in the next couple of years? 

Time! We have two daughters aged seven and 10, so being able to manage our family commitments plus our business enterprises can be challenging. Giving each of our businesses their due attention while maintaining the work-life balance can seem like a mirage.

“Giving each of our businesses their due attention while maintaining the work-life balance can seem like a mirage.”
– Christie McLennan, owner of Taroom Pharmacy and a beef cattle enterprise

What is your biggest career move to date?

Pharmacists in Queensland are moving into a diagnostic and prescribing role, and I’m in the process of working through assessments to expand our scope of practice. This has been the biggest pivot we’ve seen as a profession.

What is the one piece of advice you’d share with future leaders, especially women?

It's a balancing act to do everything you want to do. I heard someone say women can have a career and a family and do all the things they want, but it might not all be at the same time. We need to be prepared to lean into certain elements at different stages of life. Some days you can be 100% parenting and other days you can be a 100% business, but more than likely, every day will be a sliding scale of what you can lean in and lean out of. And that’s OK.

“I heard someone say women can have a career and a family and do all the things they want, but it might not all be at the same time. We need to be prepared to lean into certain elements at different stages of life.”
– Christie McLennan, owner of Taroom Pharmacy and a beef cattle enterprise