Housing in Southern Africa March 2016

Industry Buzz

New Aurecon CFO Engineering and consulting firm Aurecon’s Global CEO, Giam SwiegersannouncedthatAndrew Muller had joined Aurecon as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and as a member of its Executive Commi t tee e f fec t i ve f rom 1 February 2016.

A ccording to Swiegers, “The engineering and infrastructure industry faces huge change and challenges over the next few years. A high performing finance function is essential to drive our business forward. Andrew Muller’s extensive industry experience, combined with his strategic thinking and operational expertise, will help us achieve sig- nificant financial outcomes and drive business growth.” Muller joins Aurecon following an 18 year career with Lendlease, where he held a range of senior financial management positions and most recently as CFO of its Australian Construction & Infrastructure busi- ness. Muller says that he is excited to be joining an organisation with a CEO that embraces change and values the

Andrew Muller

contribution that Finance can make to the future of a business. “Aurecon is a dynamic global business on a pathway to growth and transforma- tion. In a commoditised market, subject to disruptive technology, it has recognised the need to respond to the constantly shifting business landscape, to be organisationally agile while differentiating itself from its competitors.” Muller’s focus on driving change is to ensure that Aurecon has the abil- ity to produce enhanced profit and growth for the company and their clients. This appointment follows the decision of Aurecon CFO, Tony McCusker to step down from the CFO role and to continue working for on a part time basis. ■ “As with all races, the winners will be those with the foresight to anticipate the full spectrum of changes disrup- tive technology may bring about; and see this disruption as a chance to innovate. For Aurecon, that means finding new ways to transform our clients’ businesses and help them become more competitive through innovation,” says Swiegers. He adds that “Innovation is grounded on deep technical exper- tise, but it’s not enough to invest in being ‘smart’ – we need to foster creativity, challenge the ‘status quo’, explore and experiment to envision what’s possible. We will achieve this by creating a culture of ‘design think- ers’ at Aurecon.” Chair of Design Australia and an Adjunct Professor at UTS, Thurston is an industrial designer, educator, entrepreneur and author, with over 30 years of design experience. ■

Michael Shirley

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S hirley is one of the industry’s most respected business lead- ers, says Swiegers, “We are delighted towelcome him to Aurecon where hewill drive our global account management. This includes leading a programme which will harness in- novative thinking to drive excellence in how we engage with our clients.” He joins Aurecon from Jacobs, where he was most recently Group Vice President ANZ Infrastructure and Environment. Throughout his career, Michael has worked with clients on large infrastructure projects and in global delivery across Asia Pacific, the Americas, and the Middle East. Shirley says that there is an oppor- tunity to rewrite the rulebook on how professional services firms engage with their clients. “Rather than just responding to a design brief this may mean a deeper collaboration with clients to better identify their chal- lenges and together create a more innovative solution. With population growth and rapid urbanisation driv- ing an infrastructure deficit in our cities, there is an opportunity for collaborative design thinking that can deliver a wider range of community benefits,” says Shirley. ■ Aurecon’s Global CEO, Giam Swiegers has welcomed Michael Shirley to Aurecon as Managing Director:Clients, andamemberof Aurecon’s Executive Committee. Shirley joins Aurecon

Aurecon’s bold innovator

Maureen Thurston

G lobal CEO of Aurecon, Giam Swiegers has announced the appointment of the Chair of Good Design Australia Maureen Thurston as its new Global Design to Innovate Director. Swiegers says that the increas- ing challenges in business make it essential that companies prepare themselves to thrive in a future that is as yet unwritten.

March 2016