At 16 years old Colleen Callander stood outside a Sportsgirl store in Geelong, convinced she didn’t belong. “I didn’t even have the confidence to walk in as a shopper,” she recalls. “I had convinced myself I wasn’t pretty enough, tall enough, confident enough.” Fast forward to today, and that same woman has become one of Australia’s most influential CEOs, a bestselling author, and the founder of ‘Mentor Me Women’.
It began with a summer job at Just Jeans. “From the minute I walked through the door, I loved it. Everything about it,” she says. When the area manager offered her a full-time sales assistant role at summer’s end, there was one catch; she’d have to leave school before finishing Year 12.
Breaking that news to her parents wasn’t easy, but her father’s response became her lifelong compass: “Work hard. Be passionate. Love what you do. Never give up.”
She did exactly that, climbing from sales assistant to store manager at 18 years old, area manager at 20, and state manager overseeing 54 stores by 24 years old. In 1999, she joined Sportsgirl and spent the next 20 years there, including thirteen years as CEO across Sportsgirl and Sussan.
But success came with a cost. In 2007, at just thirty-six, she was commuting daily from Geelong to Melbourne while raising three young children. “I often describe myself during that time as a Formula 1 race car that had never been serviced,” she says. “I was performing at a high level, but I hadn’t refuelled, rested, or stopped in a very long time.”
The breaking point came one evening when she told her husband, “I can’t do it anymore. I’m exhausted. I’m burnt out. I’m done.” His response was simple and life-changing: “Nothing is worth your health.”
The next day, she told her boss she was resigning. Instead of letting her walk away, her organisation worked with her to create boundaries and support. She took three and a half months off, spending that time at what was then their holiday house in Sorrento. “Being there gave me space to breathe again, to slow down, to reconnect with myself and my young family,” she says.
That place of recovery eventually became home. Today, Colleen lives permanently in Sorrento, where she’s found the balance between ambition and wellbeing that eluded her for so long.
“Walking along the beach will always be my happy place,” Colleen says. “Early mornings by the water, the sound of the ocean, and that sense of calm before the day begins, always followed by my coffee, with my dog Inca never too far from my side.”
She and her husband, Nick, have made Sundays their special day. When staying closer to home, they’re regulars at Hotel Sorrento. “Not just because of the great food and wine, but because of the people, the staff, the atmosphere, the Friday night raffle, and the strong sense of community.”
From her Sorrento home office last year, Colleen wrote The Power of Confidence, her third book following Leader by Design and Elevate. The book launched globally in January 2026 as Wiley Global’s lead title for International Women’s Day. “This book carries everything I’ve learned across my life and career,” she says. “From the shop floor to the boardroom, from burnout to rebuilding, from self-doubt to self-belief.”
At its heart is a 30-Day Confidence Transformation, a practical journey designed to help readers build confidence through daily reflection and action. “Confidence isn’t built in comfort; it’s built when you lean in, stay curious and keep showing up for yourself.”
The message is deeply personal. Colleen knows what it’s like to stand outside that Sportsgirl store, paralysed by self-doubt. She also knows what her area manager’s words did when she was offered that first store manager role at age eighteen: “I believe in you. Now you need to believe in yourself.”
“Those words changed everything,” she says. “They didn’t remove my fear, but they gave me permission to try. You don’t wait for confidence to arrive before you take the step. Confidence is built by taking the step, even while fear is present.”
These days, alongside her speaking engagements, writing, business consulting and board director roles, Colleen is focused on expanding ‘Mentor Me Women’ and helping others rewrite their stories. But she’s equally committed to protecting what matters most: her health, her family, and the life she’s built on the peninsula.
Your best chapters aren’t behind you. They’re still waiting to be written.
“It’s never too late to begin again,” she says. “You don’t need permission, a milestone, or a perfect plan to write your next chapter. At any age or stage of life, you get to choose what comes next. Your best chapters aren’t behind you. They’re still waiting to be written.”
To learn more about Colleen and her latest book The Power of Confidence visit her website.