2018 International Forest Industries IFI June July 2018 Digital | Page 68

women in logging
Fennell
Forestry’s
Frontrunner
- Samantha Paul
“With all the new
advanced technology
and innovation,
the careers in this
industry are quite
good and the jobs are
well paid, dynamic
and interesting. We
need to be promoting
the industry better,
especially to young
people and to women”.
– Wendy Fennell,
CEO, Fennell Forestry
Mount Gambier,
South Australia
W
ith 25 pieces of
equipment and 80
employees, Fennell
Forestry is one of the largest
logging contractors in South
Australia. Siblings, Wendy and
Barry Fennell purchased Fennell
Forestry from their parents five
years ago. As CEO, Wendy Fennell
manages the day-to-day operations
and brother Barry works on new
business development.
Like many young people, Wendy
didn’t know what she wanted to do
for a career when she was deciding
on a university program. “I like
money so I went into accounting
and thought I would see where
64 International Forest Industries | JUNE / JULY 2018
that went,” she says. At the age
of seventeen, just before going to
university, she worked alongside
her father, travelling to job sites
and helping him in the workshop.
The following year Wendy went to
the University of South Australia to
study accounting but arranged her
days so she only had lectures on
Monday and Wednesday, allowing
her to drive back home to work in
the family business.
While attending university,
Wendy got her B-Double truck
licence. “We only had two trucks
then and Dad and I would do night
shift. We had drivers on during the
day, and for some extra capacity,
we’d jump in at night,” explains
Wendy.
Wendy wanted to be more
involved in the family forestry
business so she changed some
of her courses to focus on
occupational health and safety.
“The company was relatively new
at this time so I helped formulate
all the safety material. It was really
good to have a real live business
to work with. I was able to put my
knowledge to good use.”
Wendy had one more year of
university left when the family
business won its biggest contract.
“I was two years into my three-year
degree and I decided to do the last
year by correspondence and come
back to work. And I’ve been here
ever since,” she states.
As CEO, Wendy has a lot of
daily responsibilities and is pulled
in many different directions
throughout the day. However,
she highly values her visits to the
operations to engage with her
employees. “I see the staff as they
come through the depot but I like
getting on site as much as possible
to catch up and have an overall
look at what’s happening.”