Chief Executive, Warrikal
Amanda is a Wonnarua woman – traditional owners of the Hunter Valley in NSW, and part of the Koorie nation. She has spent most of her life living in WA.
Amanda has more than 35 years’ experience in the mining industry, in Australia, Africa and Canada – working for Blue Chip miners such as BHP, Rio Tinto and WMC. In 2003 she founded her own engineering business in the Pilbara - Maxx Engineering which was sold to a large international company in 2015.
In 2014 she was awarded the prestigious ‘Indigenous in Business’ Award at the Ethnic Business Awards at the G20 in Brisbane (for Maxx Engineering), since then Amanda has won a number of small business awards both nationally and regionally. She has an MBA and was honoured with a Doctor of Commerce at Curtin University in 2020.
Amanda developed Kirrikin in late 2014 (a social enterprise sharing profits with the artists) to address shortage of authentic Indigenous products. Kirrikin digitally prints gorgeous Aboriginal artwork onto luxurious cashmeres and silks, turning them into clothing and accessories. Kirrikin’s products have been shown in fashion stages throughout the world.
In 2017 Amanda joined forces with two other Industry specialists to form Warrikal, an Indigenous majority owned mechanical services business, combining some 50 years of experience in shutdowns and turnarounds in the Pilbara. Amanda is the chief executive of Warrikal and continues her work in social responsibility through Kirrikin.
She is on the board of the Waalitj Foundation, WA Social Enterprise Council founding board, Enterprise Learning Projects/Impact North and St John Ambulance WA all with a strong focus on improving Indigenous participation.
