When it comes to the number of acronyms attached to her name, Elena Gosse has many of us beaten hands down and while the CEO of AIS Water is proud of every title she has, there is one which holds a special place in her heart – being a member of the QUT Alumni.
Ms Gosse, who is also an AICD Graduate, a JP and an outstandingly successful Dancing CEO fundraiser, has been named on QUT’s 2021 Outstanding Alumni Awards list. Ms Gosse received her award at a ceremony held last night (Wednesday 17 November) at QUT’s Garden Point Campus, Brisbane.
“This honour is bestowed on individuals for outstanding professional achievement and contribution at local, national and/or global levels and whose actions and values reflects QUT’s real world vision,” the prestigious tertiary institution said in a statement.
Ms Gosse graduated from QUT in 2004 with a Bachelor in Business Accounting, a decade after migrating from Russia to Australia with her husband and two young daughters.
“When I first came to Australia, I did not speak English and had no social network or support,” Ms Gosse explained. “I went to TAFE to learn English and continued studying at TAFE earning a Cert III in Office Administration followed by a Diploma in Business Accounting.
“It made sense to extend and formalise my qualifications with a tertiary degree and QUT appealed to me from the start because of the supportive environment it provided while challenging us to challenge ourselves.”
Ms Gosse has been running AIS Water, her family-owned business, for the last 27 years and has led the company to develop a range of world-leading water disinfection systems which have received national and international awards.
“Success has always been important to us, but not success at any cost,” Ms Gosse said. “We have chased success which is sustainable and in this environment, that means developing sustainable solutions for international problems.”
AIS Water technology is now found in 55 countries globally in commercial and residential swimming pools, water theme parks, resorts and international aquatic centres. Independent research has proven AIS Water’s accredited EcoLine and AutoChlor technology in 2019, saved a minimum of 1.6 million litres of water and $400,000 AUD in water rates in just one 50-metre swimming pool annually.
For Ms Gosse, sustainable success also means ensuring she is giving back to her community. To this end she participated in Dancing CEOs in 2016 and 2019, winning the 2019 Fundraising Champion Award for raising more than $83,000 for Women’s Legal Services Queensland (WLSQ), an organisation she passionately supports. Ms Gosse was also named a Westfield Local Hero in 2020 securing a $10,000 donation for WLSQ and was listed on the inaugural Queensland Government’s Individual Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Honour Roll, also in 2020. She has since raised a total of over $130,000 for WLSQ.
“For me being a success means working to help others and that is something I strive to do personally and professionally,” Ms Gosse continued. “This means being at the leading edge of water disinfection technology which helps save the environment and our water resources, donating my time and money to causes which make a substantial difference to people’s lives and being a profitable business.
“We have managed to achieve each of these and will continue to do so. The accolades are wonderful to receive, but knowing you have made a real difference really is its own reward.”
See Elena’s video here: https://www.qut.edu.au/news?id=179139
