OTR petrol and convenience stores owner Peregrine Corporation has marked itself as one of the most diverse companies in South Australia, winning the Governor’s Multicultural Award for a private sector company.
A spokesperson for the company said the award recognised the continuing work of company director Charlie Shahin, who recently was award an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to business, commerce, and philanthropy as an advocate for corporate social responsibility, and to the multicultural community.
OTR chief operating officer Peter Piliouras said the company was humbled and thrilled to win the award, which recognises companies that support multiculturalism and diversity in the workplace.
“Our commitment to the South Australian community is to continue to lead the way when it comes being a diverse, multicultural and non-discriminatory employer we are excited about 2017 and our plans to invest $60M into projects creating 400 jobs for South Australians,” he said.
“Our team members boast a society of people from richly diverse cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds.
“We believe in giving everyone a fair go, irrespective of age, cultural background, gender or religious belief.”
Mr Piliouras held up training and recruitment manager Rosemary Pesch, a person “proudly of indigenous descent”, as an exemplary example of the benefits of diversity within the company.
“She is responsible for training and recruiting the OTR team members who serve South Australians every day,” he said.
“We have over 25 different nationalities working for us, with one in 10 of our employees over the age of 50, [so] it is a fair place to work where everyone has the opportunity develop a compelling, long term career.
“This award is also dedicated to the hard work of the directors Charlie, Dr Sam and Yasser Shahin, who share a strong vision to embrace diversity and foster a culture of acceptance.”
The Peregrine Corporation was founded in 1984 by the late Fathi (Fred) Shahin, a Palestinian migrant who moved to Adelaide.
The company is now South Australia’s largest private employer with 3300 staff.