Christine Holgate has been called many things in her career, a trailblazer, turnaround queen, even troublemaker. But if you ask her, the most important label she’s carried is survivor.

From building Blackmores into a global powerhouse, to shaking up Australia Post, to now leading the transformation of Team Global Express, Holgate has lived the rollercoaster of leadership. Her most infamous chapter, of course, was the Cartier watch scandal that triggered her exit from Australia Post, and tested her resilience like never before.

At the Women Unlimited conference, Holgate opened up with raw honesty about those dark days, the lessons she learnt, and why women in business must never let bullies define their story.

“It was a really awful, awful period of time”

Most Aussies remember the headlines: Christine Holgate, CEO of Australia Post, gifted Cartier watches to senior execs as a thank-you for nailing a $220 million deal with the banks. Then came Scott Morrison’s infamous “she can go” spray in Parliament, and suddenly Holgate was at the centre of a political storm.

“It was a really awful, awful period of time,” she recalled. “The moment that everybody knows from the television… was really only the beginning of what happened. The next day, they phoned me and said, speak to any customer, any employee, and we can put you in prison.”

With a gag order in place and unable to tell her side of the story, Holgate described being vilified in the media, even depicted in a cartoon as a prostitute leaving the Prime Minister’s office. “And that was in the AFR,” she murmurs, as gasps fill the room.

It was a tough time for the CEO, who said she could handle the licks, but when it impacted her family, that’s when it really hurt.

“You can attack me, I can hold that up. But when they attack the people you love, that’s the hardest thing to get through,” she explains.

“My nephew with autism rang my husband and said, ‘I can’t lose a second mum.’ That was the tipping point.” [Holgate’s sister had pased from cancer some years previous].

The scrutiny hit her family hard, and Holgate admitted she reached her breaking point. Fortunately, therapy, community support and the loyalty of post office licensees across the country helped pull her back from the edge.

Allies in the unlikeliest places

If you think the scandal left Holgate isolated, you’d be wrong. What surprised her most was who stepped up in her defence (and who didn’t).

“I mean, really peculiar politicians like Bob Katter, Barnaby Joyce — even Clive Palmer — came out and said, ‘This is bullshit.’”

But the fiercest support came from the grassroots of Australia Post itself.

“There are about 4300 post offices in Australia, and 3600 of them are run by mums and dads who sell their home, buy the licence, live upstairs and run the post office together. They weren’t having a bar of it,” she said.

“One lady who was normally on my back every day created her own union of licensees. The day after this happened, she was on the news saying, ‘People of Australia, send $5 notes to the Prime Minister.’ And people did! They tracked over $26,000 worth of $5 notes through Express Post.”

They even made stamps with Holgate’s face on them, rallied outside Parliament, and pushed for a Senate inquiry that finally allowed Holgate to tell her side of the story.

Finding her voice again

Behind the public fight, Holgate admitted she spiralled privately.

“It was just the most horrendous time. I decided to engage with a psychotherapist because I was suicidal. I learnt a lot about myself in that period of time,” she shared.

“I lost my own voice in my head, and I couldn’t say anything. She [her therapist] said to me, ‘Just take one of those letters of support people sent you and carry it with you. Take something that reminds you who you are’.”

For Holgate, that reminder came in the form of a bracelet left to her by her mentor Flo Stanley, a woman who had once taken her in as a struggling teenager in London.

“All of these people in the community – like Flo did when I was 18 – came forward and wrote to me and said, ‘This is bullshit, you can’t listen to this.’ And they didn’t even know me.”

The letters and comments gave Holgate the courage to continue.

Speaking of her very public demise, in hindsight, Holgate is pragmatic if a touch pessimistic. She shares some advice for the women in the room:

“If it hasn’t happened yet, something dreadful is going to happen in your life. That’s the law of probability. And when it happens, you’ll feel alone, but you’re not. Don’t let that bully define you. Remember who you are, remember your own voice.”

Was it about gender?

Holgate doesn’t shy away from pointing out the double standards she faced as a woman leader.

“Just a month earlier, I had been named the most powerful woman in business in Australia. I’d been asked to speak second at a big eCommerce conference, ahead of the Prime Minister. I suspect he wasn’t too happy about that,” she said wryly.

“He knew if he took down the most powerful woman in Australia at that moment, the headlines would change. No longer would people be talking about Robodebt or land scandals. Instead, it became about me and Cartier watches.”

What stung more than Morrison’s attack was the silence of colleagues.

“If you watch the footage, Josh Frydenberg had his head down because he was part of the arrangement with me. He sat there that day in Parliament and allowed it to happen. Sometimes, even if people know it’s wrong, they won’t stand up, they’ll say, ‘I have to stand by the party.’… And that will be a disappointment to you.”

But again, she stressed, unexpected allies do appear: “You will be amazed who will stand up and say, ‘No, that is not right.’

Women are more resilient than we think

For Holgate, resilience is about connection rather than perceived toughness.

“Women are far more resilient than we’re given credit for. We are natural talkers, engagers, communicators. That makes us resilient,” she said.

She urged women to reach out beyond their workplaces if they feel they lack allies:

“Phone somebody else up and say, ‘How would you deal with this?’ You’ll be amazed how many people will be behind you.”

According to Holgate, networks matter, and not just with other women. She stressed the importance of learning from male mentors, too.

“Your boss is likely to be a male. So, also build networks and have mentors who are male. We sometimes need to hear how we make them feel — and reflect on that. Don’t shush, though. Stand up and speak.”

Culture and purpose first

When it comes to transforming companies, Holgate has a simple philosophy: find the opportunity, believe in the people, and stick to your values.

At Blackmores, she recalls introducing a company-wide profit share instead of random cash handouts.

“The day we announced nine weeks’ extra pay across 17 countries — that was incredible. People came to me crying, saying, ‘I can go home for the first time.’ That for me was the best day of my working life.”

At Team Global Express, the challenges were even greater. “They were losing $238 million. They’d had two cyber attacks. Their Net Promoter Score was minus 57. I never knew it could go that low!” she laughed. “But the employees wanted the company to work. Logistics drives the country. So you’ve got to be resilient.”

And always, she adds, leaders must protect culture.

“When you change things at work, you might think you’re fixing something, but you risk breaking the very reason people stay. The thing to protect is culture.”

Time to change the numbers

Holgate is adamant that more women must aim for the top.

“Define who you are as a leader. Own you. Because if all these women in this room stood up and became the leaders you want to be, we would change our country,” she urged.

“The truth is, we’re 65 per cent of honours graduates but only 2 per cent of CEOs. How does that work out for us? We’re number one in academic achievement but 69th in economic parity. The numbers don’t lie.”

She also pointed out that while board roles are great, the real impact (and income) comes in executive leadership.

“Going on boards is awesome, but you don’t get paid anything. You make your money and your impact in management. If economic stability is important to you, step up. Now is your time. Don’t waste it.”

Her call to action is urgent but empowering:

“When someone tries to take it away from you, remember the girl you were when you fought to get your exam results. Remember who you are. Don’t lose her…”

The author was a guest of The Hatchery at Women Unlimited.

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