Inside the 40 Under 40 awards judging
A look inside the InDaily 40 Under 40 judging offers compelling evidence that our state continues to punch above its weight in business, research and entrepreneurial talent.
As the judges wander in and take a seat at the table, the conversations flow easily. Some compare contenders from their ranked shortlists for this year’s InDaily 40 Under 40.
Adelaide Business School associate professor in marketing Sally Rao Hill is seated next to KWP+Partners executive director Sam Davies. He says what everyone is feeling – the abundance of talent made it hard to narrow down.
The judges have each submitted their candidates’ scores, which are now collated into a complete ranking that looms on the nearby screen.
Sally tells Sam she was cognisant of keeping her own views out of her deliberations: “I just went back to the criteria and how everyone else would be judging.”
Also on the judging panel are Community Corporate founder and CEO Carmen Garcia AM, InDaily business editor David Simmons, South Australian Business Chamber general manager programs & consulting Elisa Luck, Piper Alderman partner Jon Dodd, William Buck business advisory director Matt Illman, RAA chief people officer Laura Schonfeldt and CMAX chief business development officer Shu Lam.
Dialling in on a video call are Betty’s Burgers marketing manager Ellen Russell and Adelaide Oval general manager of partnerships and sales Jo Thomson.
Half of this year’s judges are new to the program. Going around the group, everyone does a quick introduction and an icebreaker.
Getting started…
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InDaily editorial director Jim Plouffe launched the 40 Under 40 in Adelaide in 2018. He reads the hundreds of applications that flow in annually, culling them on merit to a more manageable 100 or so. These are then randomly divided between the judges in group A and B.
Jim officially welcomes the group to the session. “This is the fun part,” he says of the process to choose this year’s 40. “And then it gets to the end and there’s a little horse trading.”
Chair of judges Joel Abraham, who is a growth specialist at Thinclab, The University of Adelaide, says he hopes the reading was “interesting, rewarding and challenging”.
Blue marks and robust discussions
The top order of the list is solid with clear leaders, not just in point score but also in the number of judges who rated the candidates highly. One by one, the lower end is up for robust discussion, with candidates to be considered given a blue mark and those out of the running a red mark.
One hour in, the group stops to do a count. The reds are removed, leaving 37 all but confirmed plus a handful of blue hopefuls.
The discussion turns to getting traction as a business. Carmen reminds everyone that she made it into 40 Under 40 when starting her business, “It just catapulted me,” she says. “If this person has some potential for the state, this award could be what they need to get to the next level.”
Deciding the individual awards
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Twenty minutes later, there’s a firm 40 (and one backup). It’s onto the individual awards.
First up, the Food Innovation award from Betty’s Burgers is discussed and quickly decided on as is the Inspiring Female Leaders Award is presented by CityMag.
Creative Thinker presented by KWP+Partners is next for consideration, and Sam is torn between two people. Undecided, he’s taking both names with him for further deliberation.
Jon has a firm favourite for the Piper Alderman Emerging Industries Award, who he says “presents as having a real fire in the belly” for their industry and work. The consensus around the person is that they are “really interesting” and getting traction.
With the next award, there’s the potential for the horse trading that Jim foreshadowed. Elisa has two strong candidates for the Inspiring Future Leaders Award presented by the South Australian Business Chamber, but she’s settled on one: “Good growth, good turnover, employee numbers are good.”
Elisa asks if there’s anyone else the judges think she should consider. But it’s a solid pick. “The global impact they’re having is great too,” says Carmen.
Carmen’s candidate for Community Corporate’s Social Impact Award illustrates that social impact doesn’t have to be about charity, while Matt’s pick for the Entrepreneurial Award presented by William Buck is immediately supported by the group. Elisa calls the winner “really impressive”.
There’s a new sponsor for the Sustainable Business Leaders Award, Terrace Floors + Furnishings and Laura jumps in with a recommendation, saying the person’s work is highly relevant to Australians today and in the future.
For the CMAX Discovery Award, Shu has found “a strong researcher, but also… a startup” and there’s unanimous agreement.
The Adelaide Business School Game Changer Award proves trickier and Sally leaves with two names to review, as does David when faced with great choices for the Rural and Regional Award.
This year, there’s also a new award sponsored by innovation educator HEX, recognising a young up-and-comer who, in terms of their achievements, isn’t quite ready to be included in the InDaily 40 Under 40. The award comes with online training and mentoring.
There’s a quick count on the gender split in the final 40: it’s 23 men and 17 women.
“I think we’re done,” says Joel. “We’ve got our 40.”
This year’s InDaily 40 Under 40 alumni and winners will be announced at the gala awards and networking event on Thursday, 19 June 2025.
