Leighton Holdings’ Wal King named 2008 Business Leader Awards winner

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia together with Perpetual, named Wal King, Chief Executive Officer of Leighton Holdings Limited, the winner of the 2008 Chartered Accountants Business Leader Award.

Mr King received Australia’s highest accolade in business at the ninth Business Leader Awards held at Luna Park in Sydney on Friday, 14 March 2008 hosted by Ali Moore and attended by many of Australia’s senior business executives.

This year’s Business Leader Awards was the most hotly contested yet, with more than 170 nominees vying for the title. The nominees represented the wealth of business talent in Australia and were judged on their ability to demonstrate visionary leadership, exhibit best practice, show innovation and take risks, foster positive employee relations and contribution to the community.

Mr King has headed Leighton, Australia’s largest project development and contracting group, for more than 21 years. In that time he has overseen a transformation in Leighton, from a mid-tier contractor, with a market capitalisation of $100 million, to one of the leading contractors in the Asia/Pacific region.

Receiving the award, Mr King said he was honoured to be chosen as the 2008 business leader, particularly from such an impressive field of nominees.

"It is a great pleasure to receive this award which reflects the successes we have achieved as a team at the Leighton over many years. But we aren’t going to rest on our laurels", said Mr King. "Ultimately in business, you grow or you die. So we are continuing to pursue a number of strategic initiatives that will allow the Leighton to keep growing and for shareholders to be rewarded."

The Outstanding Chartered Accountant in Business Award winner was awarded to Michael Ullmer, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, National Australia Bank.

Other winners on the night included Andrew Mohl, former Chief Executive Officer, AMP who won in the Banking and Finance sector and Owen Hegarty, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Oxiana, won the Mining and Resources sector.

If you would like to nominate your leader for the 2009 Business Leader Awards, please enter your contact details and we will notify you once nominations are open.

The judging panel

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia would like to thank the members of the judging panel for their expertise, time and commitment in guiding the process to a successful outcome: