Barbara Cox Award

About the Barbara Cox Award

Named after the late Barbara Cox – who served as director of Cox Enterprises, Cox Automotive’s parent company in the USA – the award aims to recognise and reward women who demonstrate a commitment to innovation, leadership, or community within the automotive sector. The award is open to any woman working within the automotive industry across Australia. In addition to gaining recognition across the industry, the winner also receives $5,000 to spend on her personal development.

We are pleased to announce that the nomination process for the 2025 Barbara Cox Award – Woman of the Year is now open.

Barbara Cox, a business pioneer who was an Owner and Director of Cox Enterprises – Cox Automotive’s parent company. Barbara Cox was the daughter of the company’s founder, Governor James Cox, and the mother of its current chairman, Jim Kennedy.

The winner of the 2025 Barbara Cox Award is…

Tegan Blockey

Tegan Blockey, Dealer Principal at leading Northern Territory dealerships Bridge Toyota and Lexus of Darwin, has received the 2025 Barbara Cox Award for her outstanding leadership and advocacy for positive change in the Australian automotive retail industry.

The annual award presented this year at the Women in Automotive Luncheon in Melbourne’s CBD, recognises influential women in the traditionally male-dominated automotive sector. Broadening representation is vital, and both Cox Automotive and Manheim in Australia are proud to play their part.

The award is named for the late Barbara Cox, a business pioneer and director of Cox Enterprises, Cox Automotive’s US-based parent company. It recognises women who demonstrate business leadership and community advocacy, as well as a commitment to advancing our industry.

Tegan Blockey was one of four finalists shortlisted from a pool of nominees, put forward by colleagues and friends. Nominations for the 2025 Barbara Cox Award were open to any woman working within the automotive industry across Australia.

In addition to gaining well-deserved recognition across the sector, Tegan receives a $5000 prize, to be spent on her personal and/or professional development.

The four nominees for the 2025 Barbara Cox Award were:

  • Samantha Reid (Zanotto): Product Director – Novated, Custom Fleet
  • Carly Ruggeri: Director, Euro Panels
  • Tegan Blockey: Dealer Principal, Bridge Toyota and Lexus of Darwin
  • Leonie Knipe: Dealer Principal, Avon Valley Toyota, Isuzu Ute, Nissan and Mitsubishi

It was no easy feat to shortlist just four women from such an outstanding field, said Cox Automotive Australia HR Director and member of the judging panel, Silvia Balovcikova.

“We were blown away by the quality of this year’s award nominees, all of whom would have been deserving Barbara Cox Award winners,” Balovcikova said.

“Tegan leads two major franchise dealerships that are significant parts of the Darwin economy and has received considerable praise for her engaged and inspiring leadership, as well as her valuable contributions to the wider community.

“Not only has Tegan done a sterling job in her own right, but she has also helped lay down a path for others as a leader and developer of future talent. She is a truly deserving recipient of the 2025 award, representing everything it stands for.

“I would also like to acknowledge Samantha, Carly and Leonie on their richly deserved nominations, and thank them for attending the Women in Automotive Luncheon and sharing the day with us. A finer group of nominees you will not find.”

About Tegan

Tegan worked her way up from the showroom floor to the position of Dealer Principal at Toyota and Lexus dealerships, serving the Northern Territory market. Her legacy is assured as the first woman to hold this seniormost position at any Lexus dealership in Australia.

According to one of those who nominated her, Tegan has “transformed team culture, elevated customer satisfaction, and positioned the dealership as a pillar in the Darwin community”. Given Toyota’s dominant market share in the NT, her influence on the community cannot be overstated.

In line with the Barbara Cox ethos, Tegan’s goal is to increase female representation in her circa 160-person workplace from 25% to 50%. Far from just talk, she backs up the goals with actions including a Traineeship Program designed to give students tangible entry points into the auto sector.

She promotes this scheme by visiting schools herself, engaging with students and educators, and advocating for career pathways in the industry. “Her focus on education, inclusion, and long-term development makes her a truly worthy nominee for this award,” wrote one person who nominated her.

She also leads events such as the Women in Wheels workshop, opened to the wider Darwin community. The event taught attendees essential automotive skills like changing a tyre, helping to demystify car ownership and promoting greater independence for women.

Tegan has moreover strengthened the dealership’s role as a community pillar through partnerships with AFL NT, Netball NT, and the Darwin Salties, while under her leadership the dealership has supported charities including Cancer Council, Foodbank NT, and the Starlight Foundation.

Tegan is an outstanding leader who exemplifies what the Barbara Cox Award stands for. Her focus on staff engagement and wellbeing is second to none – she puts her team first and leads from the front.

To learn more about the 2025 finalists

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Celebrating our 2024 Barbara Cox Award Winner – Shai Copelin

The selection of a winner for the Barbara Cox Award is no easy task. With so many high-quality nominations received it was difficult to select four finalists let alone an eventual winner. When selecting finalists and ultimately the winner, the WWD Committee review the nominations and a detailed submission requested from each of the 4 finalists who are asked to outline their credentials. The Committee then asses the four candidates against the criteria for the award – their commitment to innovation, leadership and community, as well as their impact on the industry. Importantly, these criteria guide the WWD Committee’s assessment as it is both the impact to the industry and the personal qualities of each candidate which are most important. It is not just about the candidate’s role, their title or the company they work for; it is a wholistic judging process to acknowledge a diverse range of candidates from different parts of our industry across varying roles and responsibilities.

 As we now know, Shai was selected as the winner of the 2024 award. Starting her automotive journey as an apprentice mechanic and becoming a fully qualified technician, she went on to work her way up to workshop controller and ultimately service manager of a multi-franchise dealership. Her desire to keep progressing her career led her to her next and current role, as a Product Manager at TAFE NSW. In a number of ways, Shai meets the requirements as a worthy winner and other judges have also found her to be extraordinary; as evidenced by her selection as a winner of the Long Tan Leadership Award (ADF), the NRMA Star award and the title of Regional Apprentice of the Year.

 It was clear from Shai’s submission and from her nomination that she has been committed to leadership, community and innovation. Especially all 3 coming to the fore in her current role where she is responsible for managing automotive products and resources for TAFE NSW. She is playing a pivotal role in shaping the next generation of automotive professionals – both male and female. She is involved in strategic planning, curriculum development and her drive to deliver high-quality education, underscores her commitment to advancing the automotive industry through education and training. She was also acknowledged for her ethical conduct and upholding the highest standards in her profession. Her previous awards are testament to these qualities.

 One of the biggest challenges in our industry – and it has been for a decade or more – is the lack of qualified automotive technicians. It is a real problem. And now with growing sales of EVs, the issue is expanding to include a lack of trained EV technicians. On top of all her other qualities and achievements, Shai is a committed educator and is at the coal face (or should we say power point?) of actively addressing one of the industry’s biggest challenges. Hands on, doing the work, leading the way not to mention paving the way for EV tech training which is desperately needed. Her EV course is not just for new techs coming through, it will also be for current techs so they can upskill to meet the demands of our changing industry. Interestingly, Grace Huang, President of Inventory Solutions and International, just announced Manheim/Cox would be expanding their tech training capacity by opening their fifth training centre in the US. Part of this expansion is the need for EV-trained technicians, so it is very clear that education and training are highly valued at Cox Automotive and linked to our values.

 Part of her drive for this EV training is to support the educational needs for our greener future, which of course is aligned to Cox sustainability values. On top of all this, throughout her career she has been an advocate for diversity, vocational skills enhancement and the empowerment of women. She has consistently represented and championed women’s presence in this sector, actively encouraging and facilitating the entry of young women into the automotive workforce. Not just from the example she has set personally but by her wide-ranging actions.

 She also has plans to launch a “getitstarted” program. It is a community-based program she is developing to equip all women with essential skills, knowledge, and mentorship to independently work and manage challenges in the automotive industry. She is hoping to launch this program in 2025 and by doing so create further pathways for woman into automotive. Some of the career paths that are taught at NSW TAFE have a 1 or 2% female participation rate (note – not the course but the employment sector) which is reflective nationally in the labour force. One of the fastest ways to grow the desperately needed number of technicians is to recruit more females into the industry – something she is contributing to substantially.

 It was clear to the WWD Committee that in the categories of innovation, community and leadership, Shai is a great ambassador and closely aligns to the Cox values. Interestingly, the great, late Barbara Cox was also a strong advocate for education and particularly that of women. Living most of her adult life in Hawaii, she helped found the Hawaii School for Girls and was a Director on the Board of the Hawaii Preparatory Academy, which was originally a K-12 school for girls but is now co-educational and has added on a post-graduate (post high school) year. It is clear that the namesake of the award highly valued education and it is fitting that our winner in 2024 is an educator (amongst many other things) and Eleni who won last year, with many other qualities was also selected due to her role of educating females (1 million and counting) through her Galmatic workshops and school-based training courses.

Celebrating our 2023 Barbara Cox Award Winner – Eleni Mitakos

Eleni Mitakos is a passionate educator, entrepreneur, and changemaker who has dedicated her career to empowering women and teenagers with practical life skills through the world of automotive. As the founder of Galmatic, Eleni has led a movement that has reached over 1 million Australians since 2007, delivering hands-on car maintenance workshops that build confidence, independence, and a sense of agency—especially among young women and those from disadvantaged backgrounds.​

Her journey began with a love for cars and a vision to change the narrative around who belongs in the automotive industry. From purchasing her first car—a 1958 FC Holden—at age 16, to managing national apprenticeship programs for Harley-Davidson Australia, Eleni has combined her passion for vehicles with a deep commitment to education and gender equality. Through Galmatic, she has created a unique, mobile, and environmentally conscious business model that brings automotive education directly to schools, communities, and councils across the country.​

Eleni’s impact extends far beyond the classroom. She has worked closely with the NSW Department of Education on initiatives like Driven to Succeed, a regional outreach program that introduced girls to automotive apprenticeships and led to a 20% increase in female apprenticeship uptake in 2022. Her leadership has also helped shape inclusive training programs and elevate female representation in traditionally male-dominated spaces—culminating in milestone moments like the 2017 Harley-Davidson apprentice graduation, which featured an all-female leadership team.​

With a flair for storytelling and a retro-inspired brand identity, Eleni has built Galmatic into a trusted and beloved name in automotive education. Her programs are known for being fun, engaging, and empowering—delivered with a mix of humour, heart, and hands-on learning. She has partnered with major brands including Harley-Davidson, Caltex, Toyota, and Bob Jane T-Marts, and continues to use media and social platforms to amplify her message and connect with new audiences.​

At the core of Eleni’s leadership is a belief that education is power, and that every young person—regardless of gender—deserves the tools to feel confident, capable, and in control. She is a role model not only for girls but for boys as well, showing that everyone has a part to play in building a more inclusive and equitable future. Whether she’s spinning spanners in the sun or guiding students down their own yellow brick road, Eleni Mitakos is redefining what it means to thrive in automotive—#LikeAGirl.

To learn about all our finalists

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