Wesfarmers OneDigital GM of finance, Virginia Leaf, has won the Women Leaders in Retail CEW Scholarship, to study at Harvard Business School.

The scholarship, organised by the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) and the Chief Executive Women (CEW) organisation, aims to accelerate the professional development of female leaders in retail.

Leaf, who accepted the award virtually due to the birth of her second child, described it as “an amazing opportunity” to leverage the learnings in her OneDigital role as well as the broader contribution she can make as a female leader in the retail industry.

ARA CEO Paul Zahra said the organisation is committed to advancing the careers of women in retail.

“With more than 700,000 women working in retail, women’s career progression is a powerful focus of that work. We were delighted to partner with CEW to provide this scholarship.”