THE October Hour of Power featured talks about the power of perseverance through family tragedy and the lessons in modern leadership from a young business leader.

Engineer and Aishwarya Foundation founder Aswath Chavittupara and Swan contracting business owner James Cullen were October’s Hour of Power speakers.

Mr Chavittupara spoke first, reflecting on the death of his seven-year-old daughter Aishwarya at Perth Children’s Hospital in 2021 and the years-long campaign for justice that followed.

He said his family’s world changed in a matter of hours and that the decision by hospital authorities to defend, rather than acknowledge, their failures drove him to act.

“I come from a good, hard-working family and I believe we are nice people,” he said.

“If they had come up and apologised for what happened, we would have forgiven them.

“But instead, they decided to cover up.

“They decided to fight back and I (thought), ‘I am a fighter’.

“I will fight until the day I die.”

In the years since Aishwarya’s passing, Mr Chavittupara and his wife Prasitha Chavittupara have become advocates for health system reform.

Their campaigning has led to the introduction of Aishwarya’s CARE Call, now implemented in public hospitals across the state, which gives parents the right to escalate concerns about their child’s treatment.

He told the Wednesday morning attendants that his family’s mission had grown from seeking accountability to creating lasting change through the Aishwarya Foundation which was established in 2023.

The Foundation’s primary project remains to set up a 24-hour bulk-billing medical centre in Perth’s north-east to reduce emergency department pressure and improve healthcare access.

“It is proven that more than half the people who walk into the emergency department don’t need to go to ED,” Mr Chavittupara said.

“They just have to go see a GP but at 10pm or 2am, where do you find a GP?”

Mr Chavittupara said in his experience, the government’s focus on urgent care clinics was not the answer.

Mr Chavittupara’s foundation set a fundraising goal of $1.5 million to build and operate the first 24-hour bulk billed medical clinic as a proof of concept before looking at further rollout.

Mr Cullen spoke second and shared his experience building his business from scratch and the lessons he learned about leadership and workplace culture along the way.

Mr Cullen is the owner of Cullen Contracting Services (CCS) and was named Young Professional of the Year at the Swan Chamber of Commerce business awards earlier this year.

He said his entrepreneurial journey began as a school student selling soft drinks and snacks to classmates, before eventually starting his own landscaping business.

“I’ve always been told growing up that I had an entrepreneurial spirit and I didn’t really see it,” he said.

“I wondered why as my whole life I heard that and when I got told, ‘You’re a little entrepreneur,’ I’d think, ‘Why do you say that?’

“But looking back now I could see and I think it had something to do with how I was in middle school and high-school.

“I was that kid that would bring in lollies and drinks and convince the canteen ladies to let me have my ‘lunch’ in the fridge so they were cold.”

Mr Cullen said the experience taught him about supply and demand, and equipped him with the foundations for business though he had to learn several things the hard way.

What began as a desire for flexibility with his time turned into a lesson on reliability, and that his business would die if he didn’t show up to it consistently.

Mr Cullen said his business grew steadily over the years, from working alone to employing more than 10 staff which put him in a leadership role.

“Business isn’t just about money,” he said.

“Some businesses are just about money but I think that’s an old culture.

“We strive to make a profitable workplace that’s also enjoyable for everyone in it and everyone around.

“I think that change is happening.

“I’m not saying help them through everything, but you can go there and help each other out.

“Obviously as you get bigger, that becomes a bit harder to do but there’s still ways to do it.

“And I see a lot of you that are running large businesses do that, and that’s really encouraging.

“Making something that’s going to last and that people enjoy and a workplace that you can be proud of and that your staff can be proud of, that’s a thrill.”