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Naomi Milgrom is the sole owner, executive chair and CEO of the Sussan Group. Under her leadership, the Sussan Group has grown to become Australia’s largest privately held speciality fashion retailer. It now comprises three fashion chains, Sussan, Suzanne Grae and Sportsgirl, with over 500 retail stores in Australia and New Zealand, and more than 4,000 employees.
Ms Milgrom was the first woman and the first person in the field of fashion to be invited to deliver the Batman Oration on Australia Day 2006.
After completing a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University and a Diploma of Education at The University of NSW, Ms Milgrom commenced her first job in 1975 as a special education teacher for children with autism and schizophrenia. In 1978, she helped establish Melbourne House publishers as one of its founding directors and marketing director. Ms Milgrom became managing director of the Sussan Group in 1989.
Ms Milgrom has always combined her business activity with a strong commitment to the community. She takes a leadership role in the arts, sciences and the fashion industry both locally and internationally.
She is currently chair of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, director of the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, and chair of the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.
Ms Milgrom has served on and chaired a number of boards and committees and received a range of awards in a number of fields. She is a councillor on the Australia Business Arts Foundation, a founding member of the Australian Council of Businesswomen, a member of Chief Executive Women, and an advisory council member for the Centre for Social Impact. She is also a member of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and a member of the International Council Tate Modern, London.
In 2007, she was inducted into the Stonnington Fashion Hall of Fame in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Australian fashion. In 2003, Ms Milgrom was awarded the Centenary Medal for outstanding services to the fashion industry and in 2002 she received the Lend Lease Retailer of the Year Award.
Ms Milgrom is a director of the Magellan Financial Group and also a director of the Highpoint Property Group.
Ms Milgrom is the daughter of well-known business people and philanthropists, Marcus Besen AO and Eva Besen AO. Her sister, Ms Carol Schwartz AM, also a Monash alumna, is a Director of Highpoint Property Group.
Links:
Ms Carol Schwartz (prominent alumna and sister of Naomi Milgrom) |
