Icons of Change International Awards 2025
Laura Benger
Chief Executive Officer, Maroomba Airlines
Non-Executive Chair, Miners’ Promise
Non-Executive Director, SensesWA
Former Senior Executive, BHP, Gelflex, Black Swan Health, Fertility North
Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt | Prosci Change Practitioner | GAICD | Executive Leadership Program, Saïd Business School (Oxford)
SDG Focus: Sustainable Development Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
Changemaker for Strategic Leadership and Responsible Corporate Transformation (Australia)
Laura Benger is an accomplished chief executive, governance leader, and transformation strategist whose cross-sector career—spanning aviation, healthcare, manufacturing, resources, and the nonprofit sector—continues to set the pace for responsible, future-fit organisational performance in Australia. Her leadership anchors capability building, workforce empowerment, and disciplined operational systems that unlock sustainable growth across complex, safety-critical environments.
As Chief Executive Officer of Maroomba Airlines, one of Australia’s most trusted charter aviation providers, Laura has activated a modernisation agenda that positions people development, safety culture, and organisational maturity as core growth levers. Under her stewardship, Maroomba has rolled out enterprise-wide training and mentoring programs that elevate technical proficiency, strengthen pilot leadership pathways, and deepen a shared culture of accountability. These initiatives propelled the airline to finalist recognition in the 2025 Australian Aviation Awards—reflecting a strategic, people-first operating model that fuels long-term productivity and operational resilience.
Her leadership directly supports the intent of SDG 8 by strengthening high-quality employment, competency development, and safe working environments across regional Australia. Maroomba’s charter operations serve remote mining communities, government agencies, community services, and corporate partners, ensuring safe, reliable, and workforce-ready aviation support in some of the country’s most challenging terrains. Laura’s operational discipline and calibrated risk management translate into business continuity, economic activity, and service access for industries that underpin Australia’s growth.
Beyond aviation, Laura influences national progress through her governance leadership. As Non-Executive Chair of Miners’ Promise, she steers an organisation delivering trauma-informed support to families experiencing mining-related fatalities and life-altering events. Her governance oversight strengthens organisational resilience, long-term program sustainability, and a model of care that aligns with safe and decent work principles.
Her board role at SensesWA, a major disability services provider, enables her to apply systems thinking and contemporary governance practices to expand quality employment pathways, strengthen workforce capability, and support organisational scalability. Her prior board work with Samaritans WA, a key crisis counselling provider, further reflects her commitment to workforce wellbeing and community resilience.
Across earlier senior roles—including leadership appointments with BHP, Black Swan Health, Gelflex, Fertility North, and Sanofi Genzyme—Laura has driven transformation in strategy, governance, compliance, and operational performance. Her portfolio includes global regulatory leadership, commercial strategy and benchmarking, quality systems modernisation, and designing governance frameworks that lift organisational capability. With credentials spanning Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, Prosci change leadership, and governance training through the Australian Institute of Company Directors, she brings a rare blend of analytical rigour, people-centric leadership, and strategic foresight.
Across every role, Laura demonstrates how sustainable economic growth is built through empowered teams, robust governance, and systems that encourage continuous improvement. She champions transformation not just for efficiency, but to build workplaces where people can thrive, innovate, and contribute meaningfully to the communities they serve.
As an Icons of Change International Awardee 2025, Laura Benger is recognised for her transformative contributions to SDG 8, advancing responsible corporate leadership, workforce capability, and organisational excellence that strengthen Australia’s economic and social fabric. Her career exemplifies how strategic leadership and values-driven transformation can elevate entire sectors—and position organisations for a future defined by sustainable, people-centred growth.
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