To space and beyond! ALEXIA'S GIRL POWER

Since becoming her own boss at 16, the whizz kid hasn’t looked back

- Aroha Awarau

At 24, Kiwi businesswoman Alexia Hilbertidou has an impressive CV. She was 16 when she founded and became CEO of her company, GirlBoss, an organisation empowering teenage girls in leadership, science, technology, engineering and maths.

Her work has seen her travel the world, rubbing shoulders with top female executives and world leaders, and she has been recognised with more than 30 international and national awards, including being named Westpac Woman of Infl uence in the Young Leader category.

The driving force for Alexia’s success is her mother Vicky Crawford, who raised her as a solo parent while juggling three jobs and full-time study at teacher’s college. They spent their early years sharing a room at the back of a hair salon.

“Through my mother, I really got to see the strength of women from a very young age,” says Alexia. “I had a great example.”

Alexia’s parents met while her mum was backpacking in the Greek island of Mykonos and her father was working as a bouncer at a nightclub. After giving birth in the Mediterranean, Vicky returned home to South Auckland to raise Alexia.

“My mother showed me that women can be protectors, survivors and have the ability to overcome any obstacle. My mother instilled within me a lifetime of respect and passion.

“I feel grateful to have witnessed my mother working hard to make ends meet. As a child, I would never ask for something in the supermarket or a toy in a store. She instilled in me that we are not defined by our circumstances and it encouraged me to blaze my own path.”