Blooms The Chemist’s former CEO, Phil Smith, has been named the 2021 ‘Kind CEO of the Year’ at the inaugural Australian Corporate Kindness Conference and Awards.
Blooms The Chemist’s COO, Pamela Bishop was named Gamechanger of the Year, recognising a leader who exhibits authenticity and kindness in actions, intention, and influence.
Run by Bambuddha Group, a social enterprise that advocates for the importance of kindness in leadership to build better businesses and cultivate better work environments, the inaugural Australian Corporate Kindness Conference and Awards recognise the importance for leaders to champion kindness to people, community, environment and customers.
Bambuddha Group’s CEO, Anna Sheppard says the award recognises kindness in leadership – the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate, “not only when it’s easy to be kind but also when it’s hard”.
Reflecting on the recent challenges, she says that for leaders, it’s more important than ever “to infuse kindness and empathy as mandatory values” in the workplace.
Kindness at the core
Delighted with the award, Ms Bishop says kindness is at the core of Blooms The Chemist’s values and purpose.
“Blooms The Chemist supports equitable access to good health and this sits at the heart of our brand purpose,” she says.
“Our entire business, which comprises over 110 pharmacies across Australia and employs more than 2000 people, is dedicated to putting people first and having a meaningful impact in our local communities.
“The kindness traits of being friendly, generous and considerate start within our business and extend to how we engage with our customers and serve the local community.”
Mr Smith, says the award is a testament to the entire team.
“Since our inception, Blooms The Chemist has been putting people first, to have a meaningful impact and to make a real difference,” he says.
“In my tenure as CEO, it was important to lead in the same way we wanted all of our team members to lead.
“By putting people first in all our actions, only then can we create a business environment that can truly make a real and lasting difference.
On behalf of everyone at Blooms The Chemist, we couldn’t be more proud of this well-deserved acknowledgement by the Bambuddha Group,” says Mr Smith.
Dedicated to nurturing leaders who are passionate about making a positive social impact, Bambuddha Group advocates for the importance of spreading kindness to build better businesses and cultivate better work environments, as well as being kind to the planet in line with the UN’s sustainability goals.
