Top 50 Small Business Leaders

Thank you to @insidesmallbusiness_ for the incredible honour of being one of this year's Top 50 Small Business Leaders Thank you to my husband @pete.tsokelenis and the team @blackwolf_group who inspire me every day to be a great leader!

Tanya Abbey founded her boutique recruitment consultancy the Black Wolf Group with her husband in 2014. The Gold Coast-based company, which also operates out of serviced offices in Brisbane and Sydney, places candidates in blue-, white-, and grey collar roles in companies of all sizes.

“We pride ourselves on our personalised, tailored and customer-centric approach to business and our ability to find the best talent for our clients,” Tanya says. As CEO, Tanya looks at her role from a unique perspective. “I am a nurturer, which I believe is essential, particularly in the recruitment and human resources arena that is the foundation of our business,” she explains. “I am the cultural leader, but I remain part of the team rather than some figure of fear – my role, in fact, the essence of our business, is to champion people and support them. I can’t imagine doing it any other way.” Black Wolf takes pride in finding innovative solutions to whatever challenges arise.

In March last year, as the number of COVID cases began to escalate, they launched Co-health, a user-friendly, preventive Workforce Management tool designed to effectively manage and improve workforce health, engagement, and well-being. These efforts were recognised through winning a bronze award at the Asia Pacific Stevie Award for having developed the most valuable HR tool during the pandemic.

Tanya is passionate about helping other entrepreneurs, volunteering as a mentor for the past 12-months as a Queensland Government ‘Mentored for Growth Program’ small-business mentor. “It has been an enriching experience,” Tanya enthuses. “Recently, I was a panellist in an online seminar for the program facilitated by the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training, providing support to over 1000 registered attendees.”