The collaboration amongst our firm partnership is strong, and it was pleasing to welcome our 19 new partners as owners of our business, giving us a bench strength of more than 237 partners across our international network.
Our Adelaide and Darwin colleagues were also welcomed to our national MinterEllison firm. While we have been affiliated firms for many years, together we can now provide a seamless service to our clients across all mainland capitals. With our offshore offices, we’re able to service our clients on a global scale.
Ensuring MinterEllison is a truly inclusive work environment continues to be one of our key strategic priorities. We've been involved in many significant gender initiatives which has led to us achieving the WGEA Employer of Choice for Gender Equality Award for the fourth year in a row. Our PriME Committee also continues to promote the inclusion of our LGBTI community and we were recognised with a prestigious Silver Award at the AWEI Australian LGBTI Inclusion Awards.
MinterEllison’s contribution to the Community is core to the values we share across the Firm. This year’s Annual Report includes many examples of the positive impact our Firm has made through our Pro Bono program and the various charitable activities to improve the lives of fellow Australians.
Before concluding, I wanted to pay tribute to Tony Harrington who has led the Firm for the last four years. Under his leadership, our revenues and Partner numbers have grown significantly, due in no small part to his determined focus on the strengthening of client relationships in pursuit of our goal of being our clients' best partner. I would also like to thank Virginia Briggs, who, through her insightful and authentic style, has ensured that we have lost none of our momentum during her six months as our Acting CEO.
I am delighted to welcome Annette Kimmitt as MinterEllison’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner. Annette is a strong and consultative leader, and the partners feel very fortunate to have attracted someone of Annette’s calibre to be our new CEO.
2018 has been an extraordinary and exciting year for us. It is a privilege to act as the Chairman of this great Firm, and I take this opportunity to thank our Firm’s clients, people and my fellow Partners for their continued energy and support.
