Charlotte Vidor was born in Poland in 1934 and arrived in Australia in 1948 as a teenager with her parents, having survived World War Two and the atrocities of the Holocaust. Charlotte finished her schooling at Sydney Girls High School topping the state in two subjects and secured a scholarship to the University of Sydney to study pharmacy.

While studying, Charlotte as much time as she could working in her parents’ jewellery shop in Sydney’s CBD.

In 1958 Charlotte married Ervin, a Hungarian immigrant who arrived in Australia, 17 years old, to start a new life. Charlotte worked as a pharmacist as Ervin undertook his commerce degree at the University of New South Wales and established a costume jewellery business.

In 1963 Charlotte, Ervin and local builder Antonino (or Tony) Stillone founded TOGA (initially know as Progress Developments), kicking off with the development of two blocks of nine units in the inner western Sydney suburb of Glebe.

Charlotte secured her auctioneer’s and real estate agents’ licences, and established a real estate business Robert Edwards Real Estate, as part of the TOGA Group in the mid 1970s. And in 1988 she graduated as a Master in Urban Studies from Macquarie University.

While holidaying in America in the 1980s, Charlotte and Ervin came across the concept of serviced apartments and felt it could work in Australia. Charlotte forged ahead creating the Medina Randwick service apartment complex in 1982.

TOGA expanded its serviced apartment portfolio nationally, establishing itself in the 1980s as a leader in this new sector. TOGA later moved into limited-service hotels with the operation of Travelodge properties and full-service hotels under the Vibe brand. In 2013 Toga joined with Far East Hospitality to create TFE Hotels which operates close to 80 hotels and more than 10,000 rooms in Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

Charlotte’s accomplishments go far beyond TOGA. She served as a Member of the Australian Multicultural Council from 2014-2017, advising the Federal Government on Multicultural Affairs and was a Director of the JewishCare Foundation Trust for a decade from 1995. Charlotte was also a Director of Events New South Wales and Tourism New South Wales.

In 2021 Charlotte was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of her significant service to the multicultural community, tourism, and urban planning.
Her leadership was celebrated when she was named on the New South Wales Honour Roll, International Women’s Day in 2006.