Better together: Nicola Mills & Colin Calder

Nicola Mills has always believed that success is better when shared. A lifelong entrepreneur, investor and board chair, Mills has played a part in building and scaling companies all over the world across a range of industries, but the sweetest wins have always come in tandem.

And at The CEO Magazine’s 2026 Executive of the Year Awards, joint success has come to Mills once again, as she has landed a finalist nomination while partner Colin Calder has received a highly commended honor.

Although Mills and Calder have built their careers in very different industries, the two joined forces to co-found CABER Group, an advisory group supporting complex infrastructure projects around the world.

Calder’s work as Group Managing Director has seen him named highly commended in the Construction, Transport and Logistics category at the 2026 Executive of the Year Awards. Meanwhile, Mills’ role as Founder and CEO of portfolio firm Sunny Balcony Group has resulted in a nomination in the Professional Services category.

Although as she puts it, the business has become much more than its leader.

"I was sitting at my desk the other week, looking out across the floor and seeing people busy working, and I got a real sense that the business is now working without me," she says. "The people in this business are making the business happen now.

"We have very competitive people, but they’re not necessarily competing against each other. They’re seeing the benefit in working with each other and how they can do better working together. That’s what I’m most proud of."

Supporting others

Since 2012, Mills has worked hard to create a culture of support, collaboration and success built around her belief that people build great businesses. Today, those great businesses built by Mills and her team included FundFindrs, Tier One Recruitment, Go Brands Group, Wollip Digital & Design, Impactiv, Jacaranda Hub, AIQ Innovation and My Property Circles.

And then there’s CABER Group, which itself is made up of CJC Management, a global civil and structural engineering advisory firm, and CaSE Civil & Structural Engineering, which also provides end-to-end solutions across design, contractors, traffic and transport, commercial and digital construction. Calder says CABER Group’s growth over the past year-and-a-half has left him impressed, if not surprised.

"We’ve been putting the bases out internationally, especially in the Middle East, where we’re really starting to see traction," he says.

"A lot of companies don’t get the global side right, but they all get along. The integration and collaboration Nic talks about is great to see across all the different cultures and countries we’re a part of. I think that’s what I’m most proud of."

Mills agrees.

"We have really good relationships with our clients and a reputation for doing really great engineering work. Those two words, reputation and relationships, we use a lot at CABER Group," she says.

Although Mills seems to have a Midas touch when it comes to business, she insists being an entrepreneur or founder isn’t easy.

"It’s actually very difficult," she admits. "You see a lot of people struggle when starting a business. So what I look for when backing a new business is people who’re not obviously good at their job, but can handle the tougher times and work through them.

"We make it easier because we put a support model around it, and I wish I’d had me around when I was first coming up as a founder."

Learning the hard way

Mills says that first experience was a lesson in humility and the power of collaboration.

"I was in radio and I’d won lots of awards for being a great marketing director. I believed the hype and left to start my own business," she reveals.

"I fell flat on my face and basically lost everything. And I couldn’t figure it out because I’d been told how great I was, but what it came down to was that I had a great team."

The learning was something she eventually turned into Sunny Balcony.

"People tend to be great when they have great people around them," she notes. "When you have a great support system around you, that’s when the magic happens. We always ask, ‘What support do you need? What resources do you need? How can we help you succeed?’ And then we deliver on that."

For Calder, who’s faced with many difficult decisions regarding the viability of infrastructure projects, there’s no clear cut secret formula for success.

"It depends on where you’re working or what the development is for," he says. "If you look at Sydney, we didn’t build enough infrastructure early on and only now are we catching up. We have the Metro, which is safe, regular and reliable. You turn up and it’ll be there in four minutes. That’s what people want, and I think the best projects are the ones that leave behind a legacy like that."

And behind each project are untold stories about collaboration and friendships, he adds.

"It’s not just a project that can leave a mark, but the people behind it. Each project creates its own alumni, and you know a team has worked well because there’s respect and a strong relationship between client and contractor," he says.

"When everyone realizes it’s been a great job, regardless of how much money was made, that’s what people remember and are proud to be a part of."

Mills says that to her, the biggest driver of success comes down to making a difference.

"FundFindrs came down to that. I see so many businesses and founders who don’t have enough capital and will go to banks, but there’s a lot of government grants out there that don’t require you giving away equity and won’t put you in debt," she says.

"On the Sunny Balcony side, I want to see people with an entrepreneurial spirit succeed, build something they’re really proud of. That’s what makes me feel good, and we get to succeed together."

A strong connection

Calder says working with Mills is a win in itself.

"We’ve always tried to work together. Every year on our wedding anniversary, we go out for a long lunch and talk about what we want to do for the next year. It aligns us," he says.

"But now we’ve actually started to get a company that can carry the whole group forward. We’ve got the right people to carry the responsibility and accountability to drive the company, and we don’t have to be involved in every conversation any more."

Instead, the couple is freed up to bring Sunny Balcony and CABER Group closer together.

"I’d like to see some of our businesses enter the doors we opened with CABER Group," she says. "We could be helping more businesses in markets we’re already in. Having said that, I get so much out of just seeing our people succeed."

Go Brands Group Operations Manager Faizal Nabi, for instance, was tasked with running the group’s portfolio of Go Sushi stores.

"He told me he really wanted to open a cafe," Mills recalls.

"So we did, in Port Melbourne, and he worked his guts out. We’ve just sold it to a franchisee and Faizal’s got another cafe. He wants an empire of cafes, but he needs that support around the commercials and the financials. At the cafe level, the customers love his energy and enthusiasm.

"Seeing them succeed and be proud of that is something really exciting to me."

With so much to show for it, Mills and Calder believe that together is better, and she says she was particularly touched when she saw their names side by side in the list of 2026 Executive of the Year Award nominees.

"He does his thing, I do mine, and it works. I’m so proud of what we’ve done together," she concludes.