ine Harris's involvement in the family business has
husband David in his first suburban fruit shop. He is still
the managing director, but the staff now number over 900
(including three of their sons) and stores number 21.
wryly. She established her own tourism and marketing
business, then embarked on a distinguished career in
the public sector (CEO of the federal government's Af-
firmative Action Agency in 1994, she was awarded a
Public Service Medal in 2000 for this work).
porate expertise in marketing and change management
skills," she says. In tough times, the two find support in
each other, personally and professionally. "It was nice
to be asked to come back in. I think it was very clear
that it was going to be an equal partnership."
flict is minimised by each clearly stating whether they
are talking to one another as family or as colleagues.
"I have had lots of highs from my career outside of our
business," Harris says. "An AO; an Honorary Doctor-
ate in Business from my old Uni, UNSW, but the big-
gest buzz ever for me is seeing our three boys working
together so creatively, so passionately with that right
amount of tension to give the competitive edge but still
laughing and joking and having a ball."
CEO and owner of Feathers Boutique, be-
designer Norman Hartnell in London in the late
1950s. It was a decade or so later, after a di-
vorce, that her retail career bloomed, however.
She bought two boutiques in her first year and
Feathers was born. By the 1990s, Porritt began
to manufacture her own range, aimed at the busi-
ness woman, to great acclaim. In 1998 she won
Victorian Telsra Businesswoman of the Year,
2003 was a finalist in the Telstra Small Business
Awards, and in 2007 won Ragtrader's Retailer of
the Year.
recruited her son David and his wife, Lanette (a
New York-based fashion designer with her own la-
bel) to refresh and create a new direction for the
label. David is now in charge of store design and
marketing, and Lanette heads the design team.
"With family you know that everyone's heart is
in the right place and all are there to go that ex-
tra mile to ensure the success of the business.
They bring passion, enthusiasm and honesty that
I don't think you get elsewhere," Porritt says.
Family Business Australia website www.fambiz.org.au
Family Business Series by Craif E Arnoff Ph.D. and John L Ward PhD