Putting People First – How Culture Can Shape Family Business Success

Women in Family Business

After answering her father’s call to help with the family business, Cecily McGuckin saw the need for modernisation and change in the company, ultimately taking on the task while also navigating the operation’s overwhelmingly male culture. While evolving to meet current and future challenges is an important strategy for every business hoping to safeguard their future, Cecily feels that balance and candid communication are key when restructuring an organisation or introducing new technologies in the name of efficiency. People will always be an essential part of Queensland Sheet & Steel, and Cecily has developed her leadership style to take advantage of the value they bring.

In this episode, Cecily McGuckin, CEO of Queensland Steel and Sheet, one of Australia’s longest-running, family-owned steel distributors, talks to us about her extraordinary journey to becoming the first female CEO in Australia’s steel industry, how to build on the first generation’s legacy while managing necessary change, and why a people-centric culture is a winning formula.