The Game-Changers: 5 Inspiring Women You Need To Know Now

_{Pictured: Mikaela Jade}

Mikaela Jade

Over the last ten years, the Veuve Clicquot New Generation Award have celebrated some of the most inspiring women in Australia. This year, founder and CEO of technology company Indigital, Mikaela Jade, took out the prestigious Veuve Clicquot New Generation Award (at an event hosted by Freida Pinto none-the-less!), which recognises the success and vision of up-and-coming entrepreneurial women – specifically those under 40 years old.

Jade was spurred to develop the first-of-its-kind app, Indigital Storytelling, after discovering she had Indigenous heritage at the age of 29. From there, she focused on bringing to life the cultural stories, places and artworks of the elders through the use of technology, effectively bridging the gap between generations.

The Veuve Clicquot New Generation Award given to Jade is a nod to the brand’s founder, Madame Clicquot, who took over the company’s reins at the tender age of 27, and went on to invent Rose Champagne blend in 1818 through the use of pioneering techniques that are still used today.

In May 2018, Jade was also awarded the Creative Visionary accolade and overall Judge’s Award at the InStyle and Audi Women Of Style awards.

Melanie Perkins

How many 30-year old female CEOs do you know? Chances are, not many. Luckily, Melanie Perkins is here to shatter that glass barrier – she helms the highly successful Canva app, a digital platform used to develop everything from greeting cards to business presentations. As a result, Perkins was a finalist for the coveted Veuve Clicquot New Generation Award in 2017, and took out the InStyle Women of Style Business category in 2016.

“Winning [the award] was a great vote of confidence in [the company] and our mission to empower the world to design,” Perkins told InStyle. With an ultimate goal to make Canva “the platform that powers the modern workforce”, she certainly has the confidence and clout to back up such an ambitious target. “The most exciting thing is we have no signs of slowing down!”

Dr Emma Fulu

In 2016, Dr Emma Fulu was awarded the InStyle & Audi Women of Style Scholarship - a $10,000 grant to help support her Equality Institute initiative, which “bring[s] together the world’s best minds to make violence against women and girls a thing of the past.”

“So much has happened in the two years since then,” Fulu told InStyle recently. “We recently registered a sister charity organisation called The Equality Hub, [which] aims to promote a vibrant and inclusive feminist movement in Australia.”

Jade Hameister

Jade Hameister is somewhat of an enigma – at the tender age of 16, she skiied to the North Pole, the South Pole and across the second largest polar ice cap, in Greenland. She completed the expedition in January this year, becoming the youngest person in history to do so.

The recipient of the 2018 InStyle And Audi Women Of Style ‘Fearless Spirit’ accolade, Hameister is passionate about sharing her story with girls her own age - like in a recent TEDx Talk, where she focused on inspiring young women to think about their achievements rather than their appearance.

Hameister’s next goal? As she put it at the official 2018 WOS event, “conquering space”. Watch out NASA!

Bianca Monley

Bianca Monley was just 22-years-old when she launched Eat Fit Food, a nutritional home-delivery service revered by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow.

As a result, she won the 2016 Veuve Clicquot New Generation Award, effectively cementing her status as one of the industry’s brightest up-and-coming stars. Her company is now a house-hold name, but it seems Monley has no plans to slow down: she wants to roll out the Eat Fit Food philosophy across the world.