A prominent community leader and business advocate has been awarded the THIS IS FREMANTLE Aspire Award for 2026, sponsored by the City of Fremantle.
Chrissie Maus, the CEO of the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce, will use the proceeds of the award to attend the Global Summit of Women, which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand in June next year.
The Summit is one of the world’s leading international forums dedicated to advancing women’s leadership, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.
Ms Maus is also the first female Chair of Destination Perth, the peak destination marketing and management organisation for the Perth region, and a member of CEOs for Gender Equity, a Western Australian CEO led organisation working to accelerate gender equity by engaging leaders who have the influence and responsibility to drive meaningful workplace and societal change.
The THIS IS FREMANTLE Aspire Award, in partnership with Business Events Perth, enables recipients to attend an international business event for professional development purposes.
Ms Maus says attending the conference will be an opportunity learn alongside women leading businesses, organisations, cities and economies around the world.
The purpose of the Aspire Award is to showcase local expertise, build international networks, and help bring future business events or conferences to Western Australia.
Ms Maus plans to seek opportunities to meet the Summit’s leadership and organisers, better understand its destination requirements and selection timelines and explore what combination of local leadership, government support, venue capability and destination partnership would be required for Fremantle to become a credible future host.
Comments attributed to Chrissie Maus FAIM
“This Aspire Award may have my name on it, but my ambition is to make sure its impact is felt by people whose names may never appear on an award. That, to me, is the real power of leadership.
“Some awards celebrate how far you have come. Others challenge you to imagine how much further you can go and, more importantly, how many people you can take with you. Receiving a 2026 Aspire Award is an extraordinary honour, however, I see it as something far greater than personal recognition. It’s an opportunity to turn ambition into action, connections into opportunities and recognition into a legacy that lasts long after the applause.
“To represent Fremantle and Western Australia at the 2027 Global Summit of Women in Bangkok, under the theme ‘Women: Changing Possibilities to Power in a Shifting World’, is an incredible privilege. I will be surrounded by remarkable women who are not waiting for the world to change. They are changing it. Women who are challenging convention, transforming industries, influencing economies and redefining what leadership looks like on the global stage. And I intend to be more than a spectator.
“Fremantle has always been a city of pioneers, possibility and people courageous enough to challenge the ordinary. It’s a city that’s never been afraid to think differently and neither have I.
“I’m enormously proud to call Fremantle home and even prouder to have the opportunity to champion our remarkable Port City on the world stage. This award is an extraordinary personal honour. But if I do this right, its greatest achievement won’t be what it does for me. It will be what it makes possible for others.”
Comment attributed to City of Fremantle CEO Glen Dougall
“Chrissie is a committed leader and a great advocate for the Fremantle business community. Her contributions and support are greatly valued.”
Comment attributed to Business Events Perth CEO Gareth Martin
“Aspire Award recipients help raise the international profile of Western Australia’s research and industry capability, while creating opportunities for collaboration, knowledge exchange and future conferences to be held here in our state.”
