At The Weekly, we are passionate about showcasing trailblazing women; not only their incredible work but also their passions and what drives them. In 2024, the Editor of The Australian Woman’s Weekly magazine, Sophie Tedmanson, sat down with the CEO of Harvey Norman, Katie Page, to chat about her life, career, and one of her great passions: horses.
Katie Page once visited the Sydney Cricket Ground Museum and came across the story of the Gregory sisters, who founded Australia’s first female cricket team in 1886. The Harvey Norman CEO was taken by the story of the four sisters and the parallels to her own upbringing — raised by supportive parents who empowered their daughters.
“The Gregory sisters’ father was a curator of the Sydney Cricket Ground, their uncle was an Australian captain, and their brothers were players. Here are these four young women told by their parents that they could do anything, and so they started the first female cricket team! I just loved that. And it made me think about my upbringing.”
Katie, the youngest of four girls, was raised by a father who instilled in his daughters “you can do anything” while they enjoyed learning the values of growing up in country Queensland.
Although their mother suffered lifelong depression, Katie says “she was an extraordinary mother who was very sick most of my life, yet she brought up four really strong, independent, feisty women. I often think that having a younger life in the country was a great influence on all of us: I was born at Mareeba in the Atherton Tablelands and until grade three I was in St George, which has a very strong Indigenous community. So that has always been a strong influence on how I saw country and regional Australia, and some of the work that I do now.”
Katie Page, Harvey Noman & Magic Millions
Katie has been CEO of Harvey Norman since 1999, and oversees a staff of 20,000 in eight countries around the world, including England.
Along with her husband, Gerry Harvey, she is co-owner of Magic Millions, the annual Australian thoroughbred racehorse auction house. Katie has helped transform the event into an international drawcard for the Gold Coast, where it is held each January, by adding events including polo and showjumping.
The polo includes 50 per cent re-trained racehorses, and the showjumping has a competition class dedicated to retrained racehorses, The Queensland Off-The-Track Cup. A woman’s bonus was created in 2013 in a bid to get more women involved in racing. Over 2000 thoroughbreds have been registered as all-female owned or leased since inception.
Zara Tindall is the Patron of Magic Millions Racing Women and enjoys a close friendship with Katie, who has become somewhat of a mentor to Princess Anne’s Olympic-medallist equestrian daughter.
“We’ve been working together for 12 years now, it’s gone so quickly!” Katie says. “Zara is an amazing woman, and it’s been fabulous to watch her become a mother, too. I can’t imagine January without Zara and [her husband] Mike now — and our Magic Millions family. It’s precious.”
Horses are one of Katie’s biggest passions, and she was photographed for The Weekly at her Baramul Stud farm in Central West NSW.
“Growing up in the country, we always had horses in our lives: Brumbies in the back paddock … typical country life. Then I met Gerry and he’s into racing and has got so many horses all over the world, so now we’ve got a number of horse studs, and we do different things: We’re breeders, we race, we’ve got Magic Millions. There’s not one part of thoroughbred racing that we’re not involved with, it is an absolute passion.”
Katie Page and her partner
The trailblazing woman met her husband at the age of 19. She was an entrant in a charity event where Gerry was a judge. The pair married in 1988 and have two children together. Katie is also stepmother to Gerry’s son and daughter from his first marriage. Like her father, Gerry has always supported Katie, both at home and in business.
“When I started working with Gerry in the 1980s, I went to my first meeting, and it was all men plus me. And I was asked to make the tea! So, Gerry stood up and said, ‘She’s not here to make the tea!’ and then made every bloke a cup of tea. They never did that again. So I’m also married to a man who is respectful of men and women and what they can achieve based on ability.”
A trailblazer for women in business — in 2004, Katie was the first woman to be elected to the board of the National Rugby League — supporting community, education and championing women in sport are the three pillars that drive Katie and her work.
“They’re the three things that I can contribute to that I know about. And each one of them is about community, it’s always got to have a grassroots component. It’s got to bring people together. And it doesn’t mean that you don’t still sponsor the elite sports people because they’re aspirational for those young ones.”
Empowering future generations
In 2024, Harvey Norman made a landmark philanthropic donation of $7.9 million to Western Sydney University to establish the Harvey Norman® Young Women’s Leadership Academy led by Katie Page, aimed at increasing the social, economic and educational participation of young women in Western Sydney, starting with a pilot program at Auburn Girls High School.
Paralympian Madison de Rozario and Olympian Ariarne Titmus are among the many women in sport supported by Katie and Harvey Norman over the years. Ariarne recently described having Katie in her corner — both financially and as a mentor — as “calming”.
Katie is touched by this, and when I ask who is in her corner, she doesn’t skip a beat: “Always my family, that is the most important thing to me. And I’ve got people in my life that I can pick the phone up [and call] too, but I won’t tell you who they are,” she smiles.
“But families are everything. My sisters, my children, my grandchildren, my husband – they’re everything to me. Nothing else matters at the end of the day.”
She recalls those Gregory sisters: “I think back to 1886 and those cricketing sisters with a family who says they can do whatever. We’re now in 2024 and still having the same conversations [about empowering women] – and it all comes back to the strength of your mentors, of the women in your life, but also [the men in your life] and your family.”
Katie Page’s top three business tips:
How do you define good leadership?
“Give people the tools to be great and lead by example. There’s not a job that I haven’t done that I’m asking my people to do. Give people autonomy, and they will come to you when they need help. But give them the space to breathe and do what they’re there to do — that’s really important.”
What’s one piece of advice you would give to another female leader?
“It’s easier as you get older because you’re so much more confident in what you do, and you care less about what people think. So, for people starting out: Don’t pull the pin when it gets hard! It is always better 24 hours later. Also, you never know all the stresses and strains that people around you are going through. You might make mistakes, but you learn from them.”
How do you switch off?
“All I need is a good night’s sleep, it solves everything. I’ve got a lot on, but I know when I’m hitting a wall, when I’ve got to have just 24 hours to clear my head. And I don’t want anyone around me. It’s easy to say, ‘But I’m so busy I’ve got to get through all these emails etc’ … but when you hit a wall, the best thing you can do is say no, get off the treadmill and give yourself 24 hours to regroup.”
This article originally appeared in the December 2024 issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly. Pick up the latest magazine at your local newsagents or subscribe so you never miss an issue!
