Carolyn Creswell
Founder of Carman's & Keynote Speaker
Carolyn Creswell is one of Australia’s most iconic entrepreneurs. Her journey is a masterclass in grit, vision and long-haul determination. What many assume was an overnight success is, in reality, a story of relentless consistency — a small business nurtured day by day into a national favourite.
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Carolyn Creswell is the founder of Carman’s, which she built from a $1,000 start-up into one of Australia’s leading gourmet food brands.
Carolyn founded Carman’s in 1992 after purchasing the small muesli business where she worked part-time as an 18-year-old university student. What began as a modest operation supplying a handful of Melbourne cafés and delis has, over more than three decades, grown into one of Australia’s most recognised gourmet food brands. Today, Carman’s products are available in every major supermarket nationwide and are exported to numerous international markets.
Carolyn’s leadership has earned widespread respect. She is an Ambassador for the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre, Patron of St Kilda Gatehouse, and an active contributor to community causes. Her business achievements have been recognised with several major honours, including the 2012 Telstra Australian Business Woman of the Year and Ernst & Young’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2007. She is also a graduate member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
A proud mother of four, Carolyn is a vocal advocate for meaningful work-life balance and has embedded that philosophy into the culture of Carman’s. Although many see Carman’s as an overnight success, she describes it as a long-term labour of love. The company’s growth over 30 years is, in her words, built on persistence, gratitude and the loyalty of Carman’s customers.
