Penrith Business Alliance Chairman Paul Brennan has been named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his significant contribution to Australian business and commerce.
He has also been recognised for being an advocate for the design of harm minimisation programs for people affected by drugs.
Mr Brennan said he is very humbled by the award.
“I think this award is very much a reflection of the area of western Sydney and I just happened to be leading some of these programs,” he said.
As part of his long list of achievements, Mr Brennan was Western Sydney President of the NSW Business Chamber for four years and is a current member of the Nepean Blue Mountains Medical Local.
He was also chairman of the Greater Western Sydney Skilling and Engineering Taskforce of Regional Development Australia for four years.
“The skilling program started up out of the Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board. That was at a time when businesses were finding it difficult to hire trainees and apprentices and so we worked with TAFE to make some curriculum changes. The program showed parents what a career path in a trade meant – we were trying to change the image that tradespeople worked in dark, dingy warehouses, which is quite far from the truth, many of those people would now be working in robotics and the like,” he said.
“You can’t do things by yourself, you need to look at the resources around you.”
That philosophy has carried over to the Penrith Business Alliance, which just recently hosted a very successful trip for businesses to China and Korea.
Amongst his lesser known achievements, Mr Brennan was a Director at the former Phoenix Aero Club and later the Sydney Aero Club.
“All boys need adventure and when I was about 18 I received my pilot’s licence. I don’t have a plane now but I am thinking about buying one again. It is important to have interests outside work for life balance,” he said.
