Her Story

As Managing Partner of the Epic Pharmacy Group, Cathie Reid leads Australia’s major pharmacy service provider. What’s more, the Epic Group has spawned APHS Packaging and Icon Cancer Care, two successful Australian businesses that are compassionate towards community needs. The former delivers medication compliance packages to over 20,000 elderly Australians, whilst the latter manages more than 75,000 patient visits yearly, which makes it Australia’s largest private provider of cancer care.

Cathie practices a creative approach to business and the health industry, and her innovation has been recognised worldwide as she was one of just a few Australians invited to participate in the Google Glass explorer program. Cathie is the consummate entrepreneur and in order to pioneer great strides in pharmaceutical healthcare, she is not afraid to experiment with technology. Having devised ground breaking ways to implement Google Glass, Cathie keeps the Epic Pharmacy Group cutting-edge.

Cathie’s entrepreneurial spirit has enabled her to be at the forefront of many significant developments in the healthcare and pharmacy sector.

Because of her thirst for innovation, Cathie doesn’t rest on her laurels. Named one of the top ‘100 Women of Influence’ by the Australian Financial Review in 2013, awarded ‘The Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award’ from Monash University in 2012, and winner of the ‘National Telstra Business Women’s Award’ in 2011, Cathie’s leadership skills have been recognised.

Cathie is a regular speaker at events which promote women in leadership, and her daughter Sascha was consequently inspired to start the first Girl Up Club in Australia (a United Nations Foundation campaign raising funds and awareness for UN programs in developing countries and facilitating the development of leadership skills).

Outside of the pharmaceutical health and business sector, Cathie champions many causes. She is never afraid to leave her comfort zone for causes she is passionate about: Cathie regularly participates in the Vinnies CEO Sleepout. She also embraced the dance floor for the inaugural Dancing with the CEO’s event to raise funds for Women’s Legal Service, which provides support and assistance to women in Queensland suffering from domestic violence.

Cathie Reid offers some wise words as a business owner:

“You can’t do everything yourself. Decide as quickly as you can what are the things that you absolutely have to do, and what tasks others can do just as well – or better – than you. You can’t achieve rapid growth without being able to delegate.”

Strategies for Success

1. Creating the right culture in business is absolutely critical. Culture doesn’t just happen, it’s the result of hard work, planning and great communication. Be open, honest and transparent about your goals for the business and let your team know and understand the vital role they play in achieving those goals. Celebrate the successes and commiserate when things don’t go as planned.
2. Owning a business is hard work, and if you are not filled with passion about what you do it makes it very hard to get out of bed on the days when times are tough. If you’re not out of your skin excited about what you’re doing more days than not, get tough with yourself, look at what you need to change to get back to that mindset, and make it happen.
3. Assess your own strengths and weaknesses in a brutally honest manner, and hire people with complementary skills rather than mirror images of yourself. Your leadership team needs to include people who are not only skilled in the areas you’re not, but who are also strong enough to challenge your thoughts and opinions.
4. Be prepared to fail quickly and move on. Not every idea works out, be quick to acknowledge the ones that are going nowhere and either try a new approach or leave them behind and go onto the next one. Being honest with your team about your failures gives them permission to do the same, and fosters a culture of innovation.
5. Knowing your numbers is absolutely crucial. Understanding financial reports and the story they tell is vital, and you need to be reviewing the financial performance of your business every month at a minimum to identify trends and act on them quickly.