Third time around for award nominee

Churchview Estate co-owner Sharon Bosveld has been nominated for a third Industry and Export Award.

Ms Bosveld has been named as a finalist for the categories of best regional exporter and WA woman in international business.

If successful, Ms Bosveld will have won the awards two years running.

Ms Bosveld credited much of her success in China to studying Mandarin and demonstrating her willingness to develop an understanding of Chinese culture.

“I do most of my introductions in Mandarin now and a lot of my clients respect that commitment to success,” she said.

“A lot of what I do is wine education. It is relatively new for Chinese culture to drink wine.

“When I do my presentations I have to introduce Australian wine, WA wine, Margaret River wine and then my brand for clients to understand the value of our product.”

Ms Bosveld’s busy schedule includes three business trips to China a year, as well as several to Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, Canada, Germany and America.

“We are building relationships with the Fiji and New Zealand markets right now,” she said.

“It’s quite exciting to be nominated a third time around and it would be nice to get back-to-back,” she said.

“They want to deal with a successful company and when they can see that you are going places, they want to be a part of it.”

Ocean Grown Abalone director Brad Adams has also been nominated for an export award.

Regional Development and Agriculture and Food Minister Alannah MacTiernan said the nominations were proof of the innovation, creativity and drive behind the agri-food sector.

“Once again, our State’s regional businesses are way out in front, driving economic diversification and jobs growth through export industries,” she said.