36: Go Getter: Marina Go's rise from humble journalist to Boardroom Chair and why more women need to say YES to their seat at the table

Marina Go stands for everything I want to be when I grow up.

Intelligent, ambitious, a critical thinker, a clear communicator and 'oh so' calm.  

She's the quintessential GO getter, unafraid of being out of her comfort zone, quietly confident, well-prepared and unflappable ...creating a career out of consistently putting her hand up for opportunities she wasn't sure she was cut out for, but she took them anyway (and nailed them).  

Originally a magazine journalist, Go started out as a cadet at the Daily Mirror before putting herself forward for the role of the Editor of Dolly.  

I know, I know, copy girl to editor, it's a stretch right?  But GO backed herself and while she didn't get the job initially, the successful candidate didn't last long and Marina was waiting in the wings.   She was appointed the Editor at Dolly magazine at 23.  

The rest of her career kind of trajects the same way. Editor to executive to boardroom boss. One, after the other.  

Fast forward 25 years and Marina has turned being on boards into a full-time job. She's battled the boardrooms of insanely intimidating male dominated industries like the NRL, where her first ever board seat at the Wests Tigers ended up with her being nominated as Chair on her first day.  

The club was in turmoil at the time and male journalists annihilated her relentlessly in the press for attempting to challenge the status quo.  Marina didn't flinch.   

These days it would take too long to list all the boards she's been on because we'd be here all day, but here's snapshot of the companies she's covered:

🙌  PwC Diversity Advisory Board

🙌  Super Netball Limited

🙌  The Walkley Foundation for Journalism

🙌  Ovarian Cancer Australia

🙌  Booktopia

🙌  7 Eleven  

More recently, Marina's current portfolio includes:  

👩‍🎓 Independent Non Executive Chair of Adore Beauty

👩‍🎓 Independent Non Executive Director at Transurban
👩‍🎓 Non executive Director Energy Australia

👩‍🎓 Non executive Director at Autosports Group

👩‍🎓 Non executive Director at the Australian Institute of Company Directors  

Are you exhausted yet? I am.   So I'm going to stop talking and let Marina do the rest...  

This is an inspiring episode that left me thinking about our conversation for days and finally convinced me to apply for my first board role, after sitting on the idea for years.      

Enjoy x