Carolyn’s 15-year-old son, Jack – who she affectionately refers to as her “limited edition” – is the joy of her life. He and her partner, John, have chosen to remain at home in Melbourne while she’s embracing an exciting new chapter in Aotearoa, leading Honda New Zealand as managing director.
“Every minute I get to catch up with Jack and John is very precious to me. But I also love being by myself. I think it’s really important for women, at some point in their life, to be by themselves. You can do a lot of growing and reflection. It can help you become a stronger individual.”
As the eldest of four children growing up in a small town on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, it was a humble beginning for Carolyn. Her mum was a stay-at-home parent before later training as a teacher, and her dad worked in the family milk delivery business, but she had greater aspirations.
“I often think about what was driving me to be a CEO from such a young age. Why did I want to do it?” she wonders. “My family, on both my mum and my dad’s side, always worked really hard. They helped people, they contributed to society. There's just something in me that always wanted to do something more.”
“There weren't a lot of female role models when I was growing up. I didn't have overt female leaders to look to. I didn't have any family members who were CEOs or women who were CEOs, but inside me was this feeling that there should be.”
By watching her parents, Carolyn understood the value of hard work early on. A trip to Japan as a rotary exchange student aged 16 made her see the world with fresh eyes. “I stayed there for a year and lived with four different host families. That trip really changed my life. Living overseas, learning the language — it was an amazing experience.”
After completing her high school studies at home and embarking on a double degree in business and arts at university, she returned to Japan to teach English in junior high schools for a couple of years. Upon her return to Australia, the path ahead was clear. “I decided that I'd like to do something with my Japanese so I got a job at Honda Motorcycles and Power Equipment in Melbourne. My very first job was the personal assistant to the Japanese Managing Director.”
Carolyn’s trajectory from then has been purposeful and swift — she spent several years in human resources before moving across to Honda Cars. With almost three decades of experience under her belt, she is a trailblazer within the organisation, having become the first female director of Honda Australia in 2017, and of Managing Director of Honda New Zealand this April.
Photography by Emily Chalk
For Carolyn, leadership isn’t about authority but advocacy, and being a champion for women in a male-dominated industry is one of the aspects of her career she is most proud of. “Up until I became a director, I was very quiet about diversity. In fact, I thought that if I spoke out about it, it might harm my career prospects,” she says, realising now that wasn’t necessarily the case. “But once I became a director, I felt that it was now my obligation to. I had a platform and I had to do something with that platform that would benefit others. So that’s when I became quite vocal about diversity.”
Being a pioneer for women in automotive hasn’t been without its challenges, however. “I've always wanted to be the first woman to do something in my little world, so that it would be easier for those who come next. Sometimes growing up in this industry, you aren’t always taken seriously; you get mistaken for the waitress or the secretary. But I – and a number of other women – have proven that in an industry where, generally half of the consumers are women, we understand it. It doesn’t need to be male dominated.”
Even while working at a top level, navigating motherhood and her career has been a constant juggle. “There's always this guilt that you're either not serving your child or you're not serving the company, because at different points, you have to prioritise one or the other. So that's been a constant mental juggle,” admits Carolyn. “As a working mum, you have to surrender and let go of things that have to be done your way all the time. Close your eyes in the morning when the dishes aren't done how you’d like.”
Dishes aside, she doesn’t believe parenting needs to come at the cost of ambition. “When you're living through these stages, it feels like it’s going to be the rest of your life, but actually they're just blips. I’ve always supported women who go on maternity leave or come back part-time to do parenting plus work because the payback in later years is remarkable. Now we've got this pipeline of wonderful Honda people who, 20 years on, are ready to lead.”
Carolyn’s new role in Aotearoa means the distance from her family has its challenges, but she sees it as a valuable opportunity for Jack. “If I can show my son what it’s like for a female to work at this level — and he sees his dad supporting me — I think that’s a great life experience for him.”
“People are surprised that I'm here without my family, because it is unusual. But men do it all the time,” she emphasises. “I want to show that women can do it too. It may not be everyone's choice to do it, but women can do it, at the right time of their life and with the right support.”
As for how she thinks about success, now that she’s in the role little Carolyn once dreamed of, she says, “Career and business have always been key drivers of mine, but as I watch my little limited edition grow up, success for me is now that John and I bring up a well-adjusted, respectful and kind person. Someone who uses his capabilities for good. To me, that would mean my life has been successful.”
“Don't tell me I can't do something, because I will show you that I can.”
