.
Sharyn Cederman, who became one of the top female executives in the Australian and New Zealand banking industry, has died, aged 51, from a rare bone marrow disease.
She was once told by a boss that "no woman can handle money," but went on to become the first female executive in
a New Zealand merchant bank in the 1970s.
Ms Cederman was later named "a corporate woman to watch" by Time magazine and always stood up for women's rights in her work.
While she was chief marketing manager for Westpac New Zealand from 1992 to 1995, she launched a fundraising programme to save the pohutukawa, her favourite tree.
She hit the headlines in Australia last year when she claimed to have been demoted from her senior executive position at Westpac Australia because of her illness.
Her claim was settled out of court in a confidential payout.
Ms Cederman died last week in a Melbourne hospital after a long fight with myelofibrosis.
Her sons, Tim and Miles, said she "fought valiantly to the end and was surrounded by family and friends as she passed on."
Miles Cederman said his mother taught them that everyone was created equal and to respect life.
"She never stopped being positive, and that is what I truly loved about her."
