Karen Raffen

Chief Executive Officer

“A leader must provide a clear and compelling vision. They must always be thinking about maintaining that competitive edge by keeping the business fresh, alive and most importantly relevant to the customer.”

In her business career Karen has undertaken a number of senior management and executive positions in a diverse range of business sectors, including Manufacturing, Government and Property services. Within these positions she has worked within human resources, sales and marketing and general management disciplines which has provided her a broad spectrum of understanding in business operations.

In her more recent experience Karen has successfully engineered acquisitions and ensured their seamless integration into a pre-existing business model which has been exciting and a rewarding challenge. A focus on growth has been a prerequisite and has seen her act as a key part in the establishment of additional offices and business units across South Australia.

Karen has proven capabilities in managing organisational change and transforming ideas and strategies into realistic, achievable plans and actions.

With a significant part of her role at Perks focusing on leading the firm’s substantial internal services team, Karen will ensure that the diverse support areas of human resources, finance, IT, marketing and administration are all working in precise synergy, and will use innovation to ensure continuous improvement.

A highly professional and focused leader and talented strategic thinker who uses highly developed leadership skills to bring people together to work in agreed directions, Karen achieves a culture of dynamism and creative thinking through her inclusive and team approach

Outside of her role at Perks, Karen spends much of her time with her husband renovating their home, spending time with family & friends and keeping fit and healthy with lots of outside exercise.

 Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Business – HR/Marketing Major
• Associate Diploma of Business – HR/IR Major