The Team

Profile

Delivery of outstanding results within complex strategic business environments in the areas of Industrial Services Sector, Asset Management and Large/Mega Project Businesses at a senior executive leadership level.  This will enable my broad and deep leadership skills to be fully utilised and satisfy a need to continue to be personally challenged in my work as well as leading and unifying large teams for a common purpose and value creation in challenging markets, industries and environments across the energy sector.  

I have a strong desire and passion to make significant impacts on Australasian based energy companies and projects to further our position as technical leaders as well as become more disciplined operators that create on-going value for shareholders, employees and stakeholders.  I want to use my wide global experience and networks to be able to grow and transfer knowledge and value delivered within an Australasian base. 

Professional Competences

STRENGTH AREAS

Project/Asset/Business Management

• Recently, I lead the Transition of a Gas Plant between two ASX listed entities, as the buyers lead.  The use of transformational change management and leadership in establishing and delivering critical areas of success on the project was crucial and one I excelled in.  Dealing with a dysfunctional organisation added complexity, but also enabled my skills and experience to be fully utilised and ultimately deliver the transition on time significantly under budget.
• I have developed key skills in smaller and nimble energy assets through my role as Project Director – Rectification Program and then Technical Lead post initial start-up of the small Gas Plant.  Initial challenges with commercial partners, technology providers and project team dysfunctionality were critical obstacles to overcome. I developed the plan to continue production whilst working on ultimate root cause analysis and symptom treatment to ensure on-going commercial viability of the operation and building a highly effective team operating under extremely challenging situation.
• In recent years I have been a key strategy advisor within Contractor (Engineering/Construction) Organisations delivering value through client relationship building, detailed win-win strategies and providing assurance oversight on contract/project delivery.
• I have been an integral member of JV Steering Committees delivering $100mln+ annual turnover and establishing governance and oversight whilst improving value to clients and JV members.
• I have directly lead all discipline lines within an Asset Production Organisation including significant change programs in Operations, Integrity, Reliability, Projects, Maintenance, Tank Overhauls and Turnarounds.  
• I have spent significant time outside of Shell at major Oil & Gas organisations and Consulting/Engineering organisations in project, risk management, process, technical and operations role. 
• As part of my responsibilities, I have lead large teams (up to 1250 – owner and contractor combined) during numerous roles and have been a key driver and member of a number of site/asset/project/global leadership teams.
• In numerous roles, I have lead HSSE Transformations and change programs as well as supported and driven safety performance improvements across Australia and the East region.
• I have very strong technical skills enhanced whilst in a Central Regional Leadership Role, covering all aspects of Production Strategies, Maintenance, Reliability and Turnaround processes and production delivery.
• Broad cross business experience has been gained across Upstream, Integrated Gas and Downstream through several different roles across Operations, Maintenance, Reliability, Turnaround and Project Disciplines.
• Contracting and Procurement experience in evaluating, establishing, maintaining and driving contract performance in Operations, Maintenance and Construction Contracts up to USD$500mln.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and development through long term work in Non-Operated Ventures and Shell Operated Ventures organisations have developed skills in attaining results for JV partners and Owner shareholder requirements.
• I have built on internal project experiences within Op Co’s and have expanded my experiences into the Non-Operated JV Mega Project and Construction Management discipline with recent roles – expanding project skills.  This has also developed my JV management and interfacing skills working across different JV’s and Partners, from Petrochina, Chevron, ExxonMobil, BHP and Woodside to mention a few. 
• I have also developed significant networks and relationships within the critical political and industry sectors from senior political figures, IChemE, APPEA, WSV and many others.

 

Leadership Attributes

STRENGTHS

• My bias is to use logical and rational approaches to build a sound case to support ideas which are communicated clearly to gain buy-in.  I have made some significant decisions and progress in tackling cultural change programs, which has shown great courage in tackling major issues – primarily on safety and work productivity/efficiency.  
• The recent roles have seen me continue to develop JV influencing strength as well as significant exposure to JV partners Chinese business contacts and working within a Chinese work culture.  This very beneficial diversity added to my experiences which was well transferred and used in the Regional Role covering Far East Russia, India, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Australia and New Zealand.  
• Influencing Non-Operated Ventures/Shell Operated Venture’s within Upstream and Integrated Gas across production improvement programs creating greater integrated value chain performance improvements. 

 

Language Skills – 

• Fluent – Reading/Writing English, Fluent Conversation Croatian, Intermediate Reading/Writing Croatian, Basic Understanding Russian Conversation.

 

Employment History

ICHH CONSULTING (Independent Consultant)

Senior Strategy, Project and Asset Management Consultant (Independent) (March 2018 to Present)

Key Duties, Responsibilities and Achievements

• OGP Transition Manager – Cooper Energy for the transition of the Orbost Gas Plant from APA Group to Cooper Energy.  Completed the project on time and well under budget without incident as of 16 May 2023.
• Project Director – OGP Improvement Program and OGP Technical Lead with APA Group on the Commissioning/Operations Start-up and first 18 Months of Operations at the Orbost Gas Plant.  Includes the leading of the initial problem solving and solution development for Phase 2A and 2B solutions.
• Senior Strategy Advisor to the UGL Resources Group – Major client execution support, asset management support, peer review support for works on major Oil and Gas Client contracts throughout Australia.
• Direct contract to support Wood Group (formerly Amec Foster Wheeler) in Brunei during project establishment and implementation for first major rejuvenation stage with Brunei Shell Petroleum’s off-shore assets.  TIC Cost of USD$750 mln for total rejuvenation project. Reviewed execution strategies and plans, client engagement strategies and plans and risk management processes centred on safety priorities and client based production requirements.
• Major leadership and asset support including Turnaround assurance reviews for OMV New Zealand on their  Pohokura and Maui assets.
• Provided support and strategic advise to Thai Oil CFP (Clean Fuels Project) Operational Team Establishment – Engineering and Projects Team Technical Support including senior leadership coaching as well as establishment of their Technical Assurance Competency .
• Continued engagements with major contractor organisation on strategic advice – McConnell Dowell and Ventia (formerly Broadspectrum) on key opportunities and engagement models.

 

SHELL INTERNATIONAL EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION

Upstream & Integrated Gas Turnaround Excellence Lead – East (July 2014 to March 2018)

Key Duties, Responsibilities and Achievements

• Ensure all Turnaround activities were managed and executed in accordance with agreed Global HSSE practices and procedures (as outlined in the Shell Operational Excellence Management System).
• As part of the Asset leadership across the Upstream and Integrated Gas Businesses within the Asia Pacific Region (Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, New Zealand, China and Australia) transforming operations to best practice standards for Turnaround performance on all operating facilities.
• Implementation of global processes within the Asia Pacific region to establish consistent standards of delivery for Turnarounds/Campaign Activities and ensure assurance processes are implemented across events in the region.
• Oversee and integrate long term 5+ Year Turnaround Business Plans across the region to roll-up at Global Business Planning Level for all assets.
• Systemise business processes for the region in line with global Turnaround principles and ensure compliance across all the assets of the Asia Pacific, including better utilisation of SAP Business Platform and associated end to end processes.
• Establish organisation archetypes for each organisation in the Asia Pacific region across all Operations and Maintenance roles for Campaign and Turnaround Events and assist with resourcing roles across the region and globe.
• Coach and mentor local asset organisations in the best practices and behaviours to deliver Turnaround excellence at local assets.
• Establish, facilitate and lead regional best practice networks across the entire Asia Pacific Region for Turnaround Excellence and a key member of the Global Network
• Actively engaged in the design and roll-out of the new Asset Management System – Standard and Manual for Turnarounds around the globe, with an emphasis on Asia Pacific implementation.
• Develop and implement business improvement plans for local assets to fundamentally shift Turnaround performance into a more competitive landscape.

 

SHELL DEVELOPMENTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD (Secondment to Arrow Energy)

LNG Upstream Construction Manager (January 2013 to June 2014)

Key Duties, Responsibilities and Achievements

• Ensure all activities were managed in accordance with agreed HSSE practices and procedures (as outlined in the Arrow Project Management System).  Including the Fabrication and Construction HSSE Strategy for execution of the project.
• As leader of the Client/Owners Site Execution Team, responsible for the planning and execution of the construction component of the Concept Select, FEED and Construction phases of the Coal Seam Gas Upstream Project (approximate USD$17 billion budget).  
• Accountable for all construction and early works on the Upstream Project.  Key aspects during the early phase included the planning and evaluation of field execution strategies, multiple site evaluations, and acquisitions for selected surface facility sites (land purchase AUD$30 million).  
• Accountable for the Accommodation Strategy for the construction and operational phases of the project.
• Led the technical evaluation and pre-qualification of International (Chinese) Fabrication Yards. The qualification of the fabrication yards involved a number of site visits leading the Integrated Evaluation Team comprising Shell, CNPC and Arrow Energy representatives.
• Established key construction interface relationships and communications between upstream, midstream and downstream management project teams, together with external third parties and contractors.
• Member of the Employee Strategy Committee for Labour Relations Management of the Upstream Project (including being a critical member of the development team creating the overall strategy for the Upstream Project Labour Relations Strategy).

 

SHELL DEVELOPMENTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD (Secondment to Chevron)

Barrow Island Interface Manager – Gorgon Project (December 2010 to January 2013)

Key Duties, Responsibilities and Achievements

• Member of the Barrow Island Integrated Owner/EPCM Site Execution Leadership Team responsible for the construction of the downstream component (approximately USD$35 billion budget).
• Establishment of Utilities and Facilities Contract (USD$400million) to perform all operations and maintenance of Construction Infrastructure Utilities (potable water, waste water and power systems) for a 5,500 personnel construction and accommodation facility.  
• Implemented the Reliability Strategy for the Construction Infrastructure Utilities (leading to significant production and availability improvements, namely water production for 5,500 people and construction activities, as well as waste water treatment and power availability).
• Improvement initiatives established within the Permit to Work (PTW) process, which improved safety controls and productivity through the structured operational approach of the PTW Management across all work completed on Barrow Island.
• Delivered a number of key infrastructure improvement projects as the Senior Project Manager for the Barrow Island Airport Runway Upgrade and the Triangle Gravel Pit Laydown Conversion (AUD$30million each).  These projects had no HSE incidents during their execution.
• Established Emergency Management Plans for the entire Barrow Island population and established best practice Cyclone Management Plans across the project site (covering up to 3,500 Shelter-In-Place personnel during an event).
• Completed an overall Traffic Management Plan and Commuting Strategy for Barrow Island (encompassing over 4,500 personnel requiring transportation to various locations on Barrow Island).
• Established site-based risk management processes for all construction execution activities on Barrow Island for the Integrated Owner/EPCM Team.
• Established key interface relationships and develop better lines of communications between upstream and downstream management teams of the project as well as external third party operating joint ventures on Barrow Island.
• Management of key service maintenance/turnaround and operations contracts to deliver best practice across the site for Barrow Island utilities and infrastructure.
• Responsibility for the operation and maintenance of the Bibby Renaissance Vessel docked at the MOF – Semi-Flotel Operation.
• Member of the Employee Strategy Committee for Labour Relations Management.

 

SHELL REFINING (Australia) PTY LTD

Engineering Manager – Geelong Refinery (October 2006 to January 2011)

Key Duties, Responsibilities and Achievements

• Member of Refinery Leadership Team responsible for annual AUD$165million (Operational) and AUD$50million (Capital) budget.
• Implemented new reliability-led strategy onto the Geelong site to deliver reliability improvements to maximise plant up-time and minimise process safety risks including the roll-out of Lean Methodology.
• Selection and establishment of new Alliance Contract (USD$250million contract over 4 years) partner to perform all maintenance, projects and turnarounds on site (involving the design and implementation of the change program necessary to implement such a strategic program across the site).
• Improvement initiatives established within the Turnaround, Maintenance and Projects group to deliver improved productivity and effectiveness against global benchmarks.
• Delivered key major turnarounds at an event level value of over USD$80million on time and within budget and HSSE expectations.
• Ensured all activities were conducted and managed in accordance with agreed HSSE practices and procedures as outlined in the Geelong Refinery Management System.
• Provided refinery with Overall Asset Management Strategy on safety, operability, maintenance repair and failure analysis on asset replacement strategies.
• Contract Performance Management of key service maintenance/turnaround and project contracts to deliver best practice across the site.
• Provided cost effective (competitive) maintenance services with the use of internal and external resources.
• Delivered all site capital projects in accordance with agreed scope, budget and schedules within HSSE guidelines.
• Managed staff development and cultural change to deliver improved performance through re-organisation and department cultural change program.

 

SHELL REFINING (Australia) PTY LTD

Projects Department Manager – Geelong Refinery (July 2005 to October 2006)

Key Duties, Responsibilities and Achievements

• Developed and led the site change program to improve the effectiveness and predictability of the site projects department to achieve 1^st quintile (Global benchmarking) performance.
• To manage the project department resources to ensure quality, timely, cost effective, and safe implementation of Capex and Revex investments to meet the needs of Geelong Refinery.  To contribute to the forward plans so that an early start is made (often by others such as Technology) to ensure the projects are not schedule driven.  To contribute to improvements in project delivery, processes and competency.
• Improvement initiatives established within the Turnaround, Maintenance and Projects group to deliver improved productivity and effectiveness to improve the competitive position of Geelong site.
• Organisational development of the projects department, including the defining of tasks, roles and updating Project department procedures, working Instructions and employee career development.
• Accountable for the review and approval of estimates, design, co-ordination, implementation and final commissioning of all projects within an allocated area and associated timing plans.  The Projects Manager has a major role in advising and selecting the best methods for project implementation, i.e. in-house, partnering or Turnkey/EPC.
• Accountable for the overall budget, timing and quality control of the investments, and provide the appropriate reporting (actual and forecast) as required by Refinery Management, and the Global Teams.
• Responsible for liaising with the various services departments within the refinery to ensure smooth project implementation.
• Responsible for communications with external contractors in the design, fabrication and erection fields, as well as with major equipment suppliers.  The interface involved negotiations on contractual matters in the resolution of disputes and claims, contractor evaluation, and contractor performance audits.

 

WORLEY PARSONS LTD (Secondment - Mobil Altona Refinery)

Business Team Leader – New Business Model (June 2004 to April 2005)

Key Duties, Responsibilities and Achievements

• Managing and stewarding organisational and asset changes from the existing business strategy to the New Business Model (reduction from 105kbbl/day to 85kbbl/day) by developing the scope and appropriate execution plan for the change.  Resulting in a smooth and flawless transition into the New Business Model without any SHE incidents, customer or market supply impacts, on budget and schedule.
• Management of the Capital and Expense Budget, $5.4M for New Business Model Projects and initiatives to facilitate the change in operations.
• Provide leadership, coordination and support for the development of the New Business Model Plan to ensure overall success of the New Business Model with assurance of operational and technical quality.
• Conduct technical, operational and business risk assessments to ensure the New Business Model vulnerabilities are identified, assessed and proactively managed based on business criticality.
• Manage and report schedule and budget progress of the New Business Model Project.
• Conduct regular information presentations across all refinery groups to update and ensure engagement is achieved with all key stakeholders within the Refinery, Supply and Distribution groups.

Additional Employment

Chair of Board – Westbourne Grammar School (MAICD) (2013 – ongoing)

Board Member – Western Health Foundation (MAICD) (2022 – ongoing)

WORLEY Ltd (Secondment - Mobil Altona Refinery) – Business Team Leader New Business Model & Offsites, Project and Process Engineer (July 2001 to July 2004)

Brown and Root Services (Asia Pacific) - Project Supervisor/Manager, Business Development Manager (October 1998 to July 2001)

Sinclair Knight Merz - Project/Environmental Engineer (February 1997 to September 1998)

ICI Engineering Group – Graduate Process Engineer (May 1996 to November 1996)

Essendon Football Club (AFL) – Senior Listed Player (1998 to 2000)

West Coast Eagles Football Club (AFL) – Senior Listed Player (1996 to 1998)

Footscray Football Club (AFL) – Senior Listed Player (1990 to 1996)