Page 34 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine

WOMEN IN COLLISION
34
PAINT&PANEL MARCH / APRIL 2023
“We all love her quirky, fun and honest nature, the adeptness she has for the work she does and the technical knowledge she shares with all of us.” says Leah.
O O W W N N E E R R / / M M A A N N A A G G E E R R W W I IN N N N E E R R S S SARAH KARASAVILIAS,
MPSR, NSW
Sarah Karasavilias is relatively new to the industry but has already had a big impact on MPSR. Her background is in law but with two small children she decided to join the business. MPSR is an enormous shop in Sydney’s inner west with 75 staff.
Sarah Karasavilias
i i s s r r e el l a a t t i i v v e el l y y n n e e w w
t t o o t t h h e e i in n d d u u s s t t r r y y b b u u t t h h a a s s
already had a big impact on MPSR.”
Sarah was nominated by both her hus- band and Axalta. She works on the busi- ness with a keen eye on compliance in all areas. She oversees the large workforce making sure that she gets to know each one’s circumstances and motivation (ca- reer goals etc) She was instrumental in MPSR winning the safety award at last year’s Bodyshop Awards. Part of her du- ties are ensuring that safety standards are met and that every aspect of staff welfare and workplace safety are optimum.
She makes sure the business has all the information it needs to stay at the forefront of the industry. For instance, researching EVs and how they will af- fect the business in the future and com- municating with stakeholders including
the Electric Vehicle Council, NSW Transport, and AAAA.
She also prepares all of the tenders for insurance work, negotiates all legal agreements such as leases and she’s even tried her hand at vehicle painting at Axalta’s training facility. Sarah also oversees all of the social media (MPSR’s Facebook page has more that 4000 likes) making engaging video sto-
ries and sharing behind-the-scenes photos with followers.
As well as scooping Best Workplace and Digital Excellence at last year’s awards she took the time to write win- ning entries for the Inner West Business Awards and Australian Small Business Champions raising the profile of MPSR. Naturally with her law background she is the in-house counsel.
Sarah is a strong supporter of develop- ing and encouraging young students from schools to join the industry, MPSR has worked with Axalta providing a platform for work experience and ap- prenticeship opportunities.
Sarah loves the variety that working in the industry affords her and brings a fresh perspective. As a trusted partner she allows John to focus on workshop management and efficiency.
K K A AT T E E P P R R E E S S N N E E L L L L , ,
KATE PRESNELL BODYWORKS, TAS
Kate changed the name of her bodyshop when she took over from her mum and dad. We think this is the only bodyshop in Australia with a woman’s name and we love that. She is the first woman to win these awards twice, her last trophy was in 2017.
Kate followed a career in human re- sources before finally persuading her parents that she should join the family business. She was the only one of our winners not to attend the event as she was only a week away from giving birth to her second child.
We think this is the
only bodyshop in Australia with a woman’s
name on the door.
Kate is an incredible advocate for the industry. As well as being a mum and running her own bodyshop, she is also heavily involved with the TACC (Tas- manian Auto Chamber of Commerce) and has successfully campaigned for the mandatory implementation of a code of practice specifically for the Tasmanian motor vehicle insurance and body repair industry. She is al- ways on the lookout to raise awareness about industry issues including staff retention, training and attracting new talent. She has devoted countless hours trying to make the collision re- pair industry a fairer place for both customers and repairers.
Kate is a keen advocate for constant learning and improvement and has un- dertaken a Certificate II in Business and a Certificate IV in Ttraining & As- sessment. She has also undertaken business coaching to prepare herself for running the shop solo after buying out her parents.
Like many successful collision busi- ness owners she attends conferences and seizes every opportunity to net- work and learn. She has shared her in- sights at the Paint & Panel Next Gen- eration seminars and was a guest of our podcast (Episode 77).
She is very proud of her team and nominates them for awards and rec- ognition, her manager was a finalist in our inaugural Manager of the Year award. As well as the Women in Col- lision Awards, Kate won our Best Country Repairer award and Rising Star back in 2019. She is very goal driven and extremely generous with her time.