Established on International Women’s Day in 2024, the NAWO 100 Women in Operations campaign highlights the range of careers available to women in operations by sharing real-life stories.

We are proud to share the journey of Penny Ryall and welcome her to the NAWO 100 Women Wall of Fame.

Operations is at the heart of Australia’s energy transition.

As a Connections Advisor at ElectraNet, Penny guides renewable energy projects and organisations through the transmission connection process, bringing clarity and structure to environments where the stakes are high and the complexity is real. It’s work that demands commercial savvy, stakeholder alignment, and the ability to hold multiple moving parts together without losing sight of the outcome. This is what operations looks like in practice.

Penny’s career spans energy, infrastructure, steel, and building products, industries that are the backbone of how Australia builds, powers, and moves. Across every role, a consistent thread emerges: a leader who looks for ways to improve how work gets done, who brings people along with her, and who understands that sustainable outcomes come from genuine collaboration rather than top-down direction.

What sets Penny apart is how she leads – with curiosity, balance, and what she describes as open-hearted awareness. A rare combination in complex industrial environments.

Nominated  for:

  • A career that demonstrates what is possible when women back themselves to move across functions and industries. Penny began in marketing before progressing into business development and project management and has continued to take deliberate steps into new territory, aligning her work with her values.
  • Being a strong role model for women who are taking the leap into a new function, role or industry.
  • Her contribution as a highly valued member of NAWO’s volunteer committee in South Australia, generously sharing her experience and time to support our members.

Penny’s journey reflects exactly what the 100 Women in Operations campaign exists to highlight – the many pathways’ women take and the impact they have across industries.

🎉 Congratulations Penny and thanks for sharing your story.