Three Minute Squiz With… Holly Kramer
Holly Kramer is one busy Squiz’er. She’s on the board of Woolworths Group, AMP, sportswear brand 2xu and is deputy chair of Australia Post. And she’s a director at the Go Foundation which funds scholarships for Indigenous children at Sydney schools. Somehow she found time to answer some questions for the Three Minute Squiz…
Where and how do you Squiz?
Lying in bed in the morning just after my alarm goes off and just before I’ve had my .
What was your first concert?
My first concert was also my first date. We went to see Kiss, chaperoned by my date’s older brother.
And the first album you ever owned?
Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John.
Where did you grow up?
Billings, Montana.
Name four people – living or dead – you’d kill to sit down to dinner with.
Sacajawea, Margaret Thatcher, Jeff Bezos, John Oliver.
Your favourite writers?
J.D. Salinger, Isabel Allende, Tom McGuane, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
What skill or talent do you not have but wish you did?
Where to start… singing, dancing, painting, writing fiction. I’m a frustrated creative type.
The best piece of advice your mother or father gave you?
Ask yourself, “what’s the worst that could happen” and if you can deal with that, then you won’t be afraid to take risks.
You are on the board of Australia Post and Woolworths. Do you have an Amazon account, and is it purely for research purposes?
Let’s just say that my account hasn’t been used in a while. I’ve had a great time finding even better Aussie sites for shopping online. Have you heard of Shipster, by the way?
What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
Patience (when it really means indecisiveness, avoidance, etc).
Most underrated virtue?
Humility.
What’s your worst and best habit?
Worst: interrupting.
Best: sending thank you notes.
What qualities do you most value in a friend?
Someone who is non-judgmental, loyal and fun (yikes, sounds a bit like a dog, but my dogs are two of my best friends so I guess it makes sense).
What’s your go-to dinner party recipe when you’re trying to impress, but also trying to look super casual?
Moroccan lamb and chickpea pies in my Breville pie-maker. My husband and daughter love them.
What would you say is the most currently overlooked news story Australians should know about but don’t?
We are living today in our social media echo chambers and not listening to opposing views… the media needs to help bring back balanced and informed debate.
You have been the CEO of Best & Less and had senior roles at Pacific Brands and Ford. You have sat on boards too numerous to list here. You have degrees from both Yale and Georgetown Universities. Which one had the best student bar?
Yale has Mory’s – steeped in tradition, full of singing and no one goes home completely sober.
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