Speakers

Sue Ismiel Sue Ismiel and Daughters Group Pty Ltd

Profile:

Sue Ismiel is the founder and managing director of Sue Ismiel and Daughters Group Pty Ltd – the company behind the Nad’s and Wyld brands.

Sue Ismiel was a teenager when she migrated from Syria to Sydneywith her family in the 1970s. By her early thirties Sue was married to Sam Ismiel (also from Syria), mother to three young daughters, and working as a medical records keeper in a Western Sydney hospital.

It was at this time Sue created a product that would change her life. After a year’s trial and error, experimenting in her kitchen she invented a unique hair removal product she called “Nad’s Natural Hair Removal Gel.”

With no business skills or experience, but plenty of determination, Sue successfully marketed her new product firstly at local markets and shopping centres, and then on television with enormous success.

Her product was sought after by the domestic retail market, and in 1997 won the Woolworths Best New Product award, despite being the most expensive product in its category.

In less than a decade, Sue Ismiel created a multi-million dollar business, with Nad’s Natural Hair Removal Gel becoming the market leader both in Australia and in the lucrative United States market.

Sue Ismiel has built on the enormous success of that single product by launching brand extensions and marketing other personal care products and brands. She employs a small, but dedicated team of people who share her passion for marketing quality products.

As the owner of a family-owned company, Sue is delighted to have her husband Sam and daughters, Natalie and Nadine working alongside her.

Her business success has been recognised by numerous awards including 2002 Enrst & Young National Entrpreneur of the Year (Retail, Consumer and Industrial Products); 2002 Sydney Business Bulletin’s Business Star of the Year and 2002 Sydney Business Review, Businesswoman of the Year.

As a Christian, Sue Ismiel believes that with success comes obligation, and supports numerous charity and community organizations.

In April 2002, Federal Health Minister, Kay Paterson, launched The Sue Ismiel International Study into Women’s Health and Hormones. Sue Ismiel has donated $600,000 to the Jean Hailes Foundation, to fund this world-first study probing the links between hormones and depression, mood and well-being in women.