Stand tall and enter the 40 Under 40 Awards
When the 40 Under 40 alumni stand together it delivers a moment that should make the state “very, very proud”, says award judge David O’Loughlin.
KWPX CEO David O’Loughlin has been on the judging panel of all but one of InDaily’s 40 Under 40 Awards. He said there is an “amazing energy” in the room when the alumni are together.
“I’m always in awe of the collective forty people who are doing so much and have so much belief in themselves,” O’Loughlin said.
“They have abundant energy and passion for what they’re doing – and that first moment they are together is quite overwhelming.
“It should make us as a state, as a people, very, very proud.”
The awards celebrate local leaders and entrepreneurship, with entry by nomination or self-nomination.
KWPX sponsors the Creative Thinker Award and O’Loughlin said the ability to think creatively was essential in achieving scale in a business.
“Applying creativity to a business for growth and sustainability can come from different places: from understanding how businesses grow in their own right, to new platforms and product development, to understanding the potential audiences and marketing,” he said.
“You can apply creativity to any business problem with the aim of achieving growth. It’s a way of thinking as much as it’s a skill set.”
He noted that creative thinking also came into play during adversity with challenges often presenting an opportunity to apply a different way of thinking.
“Creative thinking is knowing that if a different set of logic can be applied, or thinking can be inverted, that maybe there’s opportunity in that,” he explained.
“What I really enjoy when judging the 40 Under 40 is looking at businesses and young people from all walks of life and backgrounds and seeing how they’ve applied lateral thinking or creativity to their specific skill set or industry, whether it’s as a landscape gardene or in the medical sciences.”
He said his company’s sponsorship of the Creative Thinker Award came from an “absolute and fundamental belief” that South Australian businesses need to be supported by South Australians, and especially during the business’s early years.
Previous winners of the award include Alexandra Karatassa of Plus One Co. & Five Four Entertainment, Never Never Distilling’s George Georgiadis and Team Unico cofounder Brendan Carter.
Nominations for this year’s 40 Under 40 Awards are open until March 31.
The winners will be announced at a gala night on June 8 at the Adelaide Oval and also featured in the print edition of CityMag in June.
