FLEETDRIVE
“ We landed just before COVID … in the most locked-down city in the world. We didn’ t know anybody.” Then came another curveball:“ In that year, I got breast cancer.”
Despite the upheaval, she found strength in family and focus on her mission.“ Three years ago, we moved to Queensland. I’ m very happy … my brother’ s here, my sister’ s in Newcastle … my kids and husband are happy.”
On Mentorship and Advocating for Oneself
Starting over in a new country, Drew leaned heavily on mentorship.“ Imagine: 31 years in the industry. You move to Australia and you don’ t know a single person. You’ ve got to start all over again,” she said.“ That is the only way I could establish myself in Australia.”
Her mentor, a former leader in the business, opened critical doors.“ He introduced me to the fleet industry, which was not really my background. I come from an insurance background.”
She also built visibility through networking.“ I put myself out there, doing the sponsorships, the breakfast speeches, being on the panels, just advocating and promoting Innovation Group.”
Her personal brand grew through events like Women in Insurance.“ I put myself on a panel talking about women in the industry, the challenges, how to promote yourself and get to the next level.”
Self-belief and resilience helped her push
through.“ Some days are tough … you’ re just like,‘ I’ m not winning.’ But you’ ve got to believe.” She added,“ I think I’ ve always been resilient. That’ s probably one of my biggest assets: being resilient and also not giving up.”
Her advice:“ Take yourself out of the situation and just view it like a spectator … Think of someone you admire. What would they do?”
At the heart of it all, her motivation remains clear:“ It’ s not about the position or the title or the money. It’ s about making something a success … I have to make a success of whatever I tackle.”
Driving Change through WIFM
As a member of AfMA’ s Women in Fleet Management Committee, Drew believes deeply in the power of sharing experiences and supporting women to achieve their potential.
“ We need to share our experiences,” she explained.“ We need to invite, and I think that’ s exactly what the mentor and mentee program is about: the more women we can bring into that and how we can support them... by talking about it and making them feel important.”
For her, it’ s about creating an environment where women feel empowered to grow both personally and professionally.
“ We want to make sure that we give them the right support, the right skills, the right experience so that they feel that they can achieve something,” she said.
ISSUE 54 AUGUST 2025 / WWW. AFMA. ORG. AU 33