Most employees will at some point in their career get to work with one of your HR team. At Ventia, we’re lucky to have an amazing group of People & Capability professionals who are redefining service excellence every day.  

This year, the Australian HR Institute recognised three of those individuals in their annual awards for 2023.  

Project and Transformation Lead Victoria Khoury is a winner in this year’s Australian HR Industry Awards in the category of HR Professional of the Year.  

"I can't wait to show my kids the trophy!" said Victoria on her win. 

Victoria has achieved a lot this year as the People & Capability function transition to a future ready operating model. This model is designed to drive and enable a competitive, agile and effective organisation, and Victoria’s leading role in this change program is central to ensuring successful and sustainable change at Ventia. 

P&C Advisor Megan Humphreys was also shortlisted as a finalist for the HR Professional of the Year category, for her working helping establish a central P & C Advisory team to support our people leaders.   

In alignment with the evolution of the broader P&C team and the support required for our P&C business partners to reach their goals, Megan’s hard work in establishing this team and creating standard processes has freed up time for our Business Partner community to enable them to focus more on strategic initiatives and outcomes.    

Our third finalist for the awards was Executive General Manager Charmaine Higgins who was nominated in the category of HR Leader of the Year. Charmaine has been with Ventia since it’s inception in 2014, and throughout that time has leaned in to major change programs, acquisitions, re-brands and structures, always providing expert advice and a calming influence.  

“When you lead a team of exceptional HR professionals, it’s sometimes easy to take for granted the shadow you cast as a leader,” Charmaine says. “These awards were a great opportunity for me to acknowledge the work I, and other leaders across P&C, do to help drive positive, sustainable outcomes for our organisation.” 

We are so proud of all our nominees, congratulations to all. 

The AHRI awards recognise exceptional achievements and celebrate progress in HR practice. The individual categories recognise outstanding HR and DEI professionals and the contributions they made to their organisation and the profession.