The Equaliser 2024

Rob Coco may possess a commanding stature, standing head and shoulders above most people in a room, but those who have had the pleasure of meeting or working with Rob know he exudes an aura of warmth and kindness with a reassuring presence.

In his interactions, he is mindful of other’s feelings, his words and gestures guided by empathy and compassion.

Rob is a seasoned professional with a diverse background encompassing various industries within the natural resources, agriculture and research sectors. 

His expertise extends to areas like sustainable development and growth, emphasising the importance of innovation and partnerships in addressing challenges and overcoming barriers.

Rob has been instrumental in developing and implementing the Women in Leadership Program in the Mackay Isaac Whitsunday region.

In its infancy stages of development, Rob initially had a vision of developing a generalist leadership program for the region however, as conversations transpired, he saw that there was a greater need to develop and empower the women of our region.

The vision of this program would be about raising the profile of women, helping to address the under-representation of women in leadership roles in regional areas and build their skills, capability and confidence to achieve their aspirations.

The pilot Women in Leadership Program was launched.

In his own words, Rob describes the program as not being a complex one – it seeks to target both current and future female leaders, these women who are already high achievers. The program provides an environment where likeminded women can feel safe to expose their vulnerabilities, champion their strengths and share.

It’s about building self-confidence and worth in people.

Providing the technical tools and capacity for individuals to deal with challenges in a constructive way.

Mentors – most of which were male – focused on solutions to challenges for the women in the program and provided independent way of thinking about issues and solutions. The mentors enhanced the leadership behaviours and traits of the program participants.

It has been mentioned that Rob is a passionate advocate for sustainable development and growth, and when asked why it is important for men to champion women and take a stand on gender equality. It was only fitting that his response came from a deep place of thought and innovation. 

For Rob, it is not about taking a stand or being a champion for women or gender equality, his values are that a person’s gender, race, age or physical ability should not come into question in regard to your assessment of their value, performance and capabilities.

Rob explains that he would like to focus on building everyone’s capacity and capabilities. Building confidence in people and building people and societies’ ability to rationally think about issues and solutions.

He went on to talk about Australian culture which has this tendency to knock people down – often promoted as stopping people from getting a big head or full of themselves. Rob stands firmly in believing that there is no place for arrogance in the workplace or society and in fact there’s nothing wrong with building people up and giving people the self-confidence they acquire.

It’s all of these attributes, and the many more that we couldn’t put on paper, that have earned him the inaugural title of The Equaliser.