Deb Barwick is the CEO of the NSW Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Inc. Deb is also a national and international award-winning Aboriginal entrepreneur and business owner who believes that Aboriginal people themselves are the solution to social and economic parity and that enabling Aboriginal leadership regionally, nationally and globally is a strategic and wise investment toward a stronger Australian economy and nation.
Deb’s many professional achievements include:
Establishing Australia’s first Indigenous chamber of commerce in 2006 and leading the establishment of a new national peak body in 2015 to represent the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business owners and enterprising communities. Today, the national body collectively represents over 5,500 members.
Deb received a NSW Premiers Award for Excellence in 2008 recognising the impact of her work over many years to support the establishment and growth of Aboriginal owned businesses in NSW and to advocate for their inclusion in the supply chains of government and industry. Today she is a Specialist Procurement Advisor for the NSW Government’s Business Connect program providing advice and guidance to small businesses seeking to improve their understanding of procurement and capacity to submit quality tenders.
Deb Barwick’s accomplishments as one of Australia’s leading grass roots advocates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander business owners are complemented by her accomplishments as a private businessowner. Her company Winya Indigenous Furniture, established in 2016, has won multiple awards including the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Management Awards. Winya went on from this success to become the first and only Australian company to ever win a United Nations Sustainability Goals Award in 2018.
