Karen Lebsanft, CEO and co-founding director of the Kurrajong Kitchen Group, manufacturers of Australia’s premier flatbread, the Kurrajong Kitchen Lavosh, has been honoured with the Gold Lifetime Achievement Award at the Stevie Awards for Women in Business in New York this week.
The Stevie Awards for Women in Business honour women executives, entrepreneurs, employees and the companies they run – worldwide. Karen was the only Australian finalist, and ultimate winner, in the Lifetime Achievement Award category.
Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for “crowned”, the awards were presented to winners on November 15th during a dinner event attended by more than 550 people at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
“To win this award is such a thrill. It has been years of hard work, determination and commitment that has seen Kurrajong Kitchen reach the success it has back home in Australia. To be recognised for that success means so much to my husband, our family and the wider Kurrajong Kitchen team,” said Lebsanft.
“I’ve been very upfront about the challenges 2019 has thrown our way, with rising flour prices as a result of the drought and changes in the political landscape but we remain 100% committed to keeping our business manufacturing and employing onshore for as long as possible,” she concluded.
Established in 1993, Kurrajong Kitchen began as a small restaurant in the Hawkesbury town of Kurrajong, NSW. The flatbread they served to customers quickly grew in popularity to become an award winning Lavosh stocked across major supermarkets nationally. Expansion was needed to meet the demand from customers, suppliers and the catering industry and the company relocated to a larger site in Windsor, NSW in 2001.