USA DOWN UNDER April Palmerlee

USA Down Under

April Palmerlee

Current parent April Palmerlee is the CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia, a role she has held since 2017 following an international career in government, education and the corporate sector. Previously recognised as one of Fortune Magazine’s “Most Powerful Women in Business” and having been the Senior Co-ordinator of International Women’s Issues at the US Department of State, April’s rich career highlights the importance of international relations in our world today.

As CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce, what does your role entail?

The United States is Australia’s most important economic partner. For more than a decade, America has been the biggest investor into Australia: nearly $1 Trillion. And it is a two-way street: Australia invests more in the United States than anywhere else (about $600 Billion). As CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce, my role is to lead a team that continues to increase trade and investment between Australia and the United States. We have 500 member companies representing over one million Australian workers. Every day, across the country, the AmCham team helps find new projects, attract new investment and make connections that will create jobs and grow the economy.

Your career has predominately had an international element. Is this something you were always interested in pursuing?

I have always been interested in international relations. When I was in high school near Washington DC (at a school very much like SCEGGS), my favourite subjects were English, History and Spanish. I loved travelling and meeting new people. Washington is a very cosmopolitan city, with diplomats from around the world working in embassies, at the World Bank and with other organisations, so I always thought I would pursue something in the international sphere; I just didn’t know what that would look like. I never put pressure on myself to figure out the perfect job – I always just took things as they came. It has worked out pretty well!

In addition to your role, you also sit on a number of Boards and Committees. How important are these pursuits to your day-to-day practice for your career?

My “day job” is to run the Chamber of Commerce, but I also have a number of other roles. Obviously, I’m a mum and wife – my husband and I have four children across four schools. That keeps

me busy, but I also make time to give back to the community through several voluntary board roles, including a think tank called the Centre for Independent Studies, the Fulbright Commission which awards scholarships, the Georgetown University Centre for Australia and New Zealand Studies and the United Way – a charity that focuses on early literacy in under-served Australian communities. Next month I will be giving a talk at St. James King Street entitled “Christian Women in Leadership”. I will explain that I feel a life well lived is a life in the service of others. We can all find ways to do that, no matter what kind of life we lead.

Women in leadership roles are often in the minority. How can women in leadership support other women to achieve their career goals?

When I worked for the President of the United States before moving to Australia, my job was to lead International Women’s Issues at the State Department. Because I started my job just after the September 11 terrorist attacks, I wound up spending time in countries like Afghanistan, Yemen and Jordan. I saw societies where girls were not allowed to go to school and women had limited opportunities outside the home. I worked with my team to educate girls as well as to support women to find work that could contribute to their families’ wellbeing. In the United States and Australia, women have many more leadership opportunities than in some other societies, but the top jobs still skew male. Only 6% of the top 300 Australian public companies are led by women, for example, and it’s similar in the United States (6% of S&P 500). Organisations like Chief Executive Women, which I am a member of, are trying to change this, but it’s a long process.

What tips can you share about pursuing an international career?

There are two pieces of advice I would give young women who are interested in an international career, or indeed in any meaningful job: 1. Choose your boss, not your title. When considering potential roles, don’t focus too much on what the title of your position will be. Titles are less and less meaningful in today’s world. Think about the person you will be working for. Would she or he be a good mentor? Will she/he help you succeed? That’s where you are going to find reward and improvement, not from having a title that sounds impressive to a few people. 2. Volunteer for everything. I am very proud that at AmCham I have never heard anyone say, “That’s not my job”. I respect people who are willing to help across the board and that’s one of the benefits of working for a smaller organisation – resources are always scarce, so people are always looking for new and better ways to do things. If you have the capacity, my advice would be to raise your hand when someone needs help with something. Jump in when another team is short-staffed. Put in the extra effort (and sometimes extra hours) to make yourself indispensable. You will learn a lot along the way and will build a great deal of goodwill. It will all come back to you over the course of a lifetime. Always be the person who says, “I can do that”.

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