“Early in my career I found myself analysing the various synergies and disconnects between engineering and business imperatives to arrive at the concept of ‘commercial engineering’. I might have coined the term. From this foundational premise, when I first started my own structural engineering consultancy back in 1989, the principle of creating value in engineering and project management became the firm’s approach and raison d’etre. The firm’s growth over the years has been astonishing. Much of this growth would be attributable to the culture and practice of adding value for our clients in every single thing we do as consulting engineers. It’s appreciated, it shows in the success of the project, and ultimately it’s delivered on the bottom-line.”

“My relationship with Grant Roe probably started out as if we were tutor-and-student, in that he was fresh out of university and I was the seasoned professional at the helm, showing him the ropes of putting theory into practice as we went along. Grant stayed with the firm throughout and rapidly developed into one of the finest engineers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Grant’s leadership and management skills grew too, and with first a Masters in Engineering, then an MBA to his credit, elevation to company directorship was a logical progression. Grant’s drive and abilities helped propel the firm’s success with offices in four States, blue-chip clients, major projects, and a team of consulting engineers that is second-to-none. There is a rare dynamic between me and Grant, given that we are very different as individuals. When there is a decision to be made, we tend to come to the same conclusion at the same time without even consulting each other. It made for very harmonious working relationships in the management team, and also for unity and integrity in the direction and application of engineering discipline throughout the firm.”

“I’ve been a keen skier for decades. One of my favourite places to ski is Japan. It’s not as crowded as the European alps, and it has some of the best deep-powder and off-piste terrain in the world. Flying down virgin slopes at rocket-like speed can be terrifying as much as thrilling, but I’ve never had a severe crash or injury. If I’ve had to slow down, it’s only in concession to my insurers.”

“Someone said that the game of golf is played in the space between a person’s ears. That’s true enough. Physical coordination and technique are important, but it’s on the cerebral side where real exertion comes in. I’m always dissatisfied with my game because I always know I can do better. It keeps me going back for more. Whenever I’m away on business, I try to fit in a few games at a local club, wherever that might be. The most interesting place I’ve played golf in the last year or so is China. Golf is not new to China, in fact they invented a similar game over there long before golf or kolf was discovered anywhere else in the world.”

“One of the modern-classic books that I’ve long been recommending to our junior engineers is The Art of Structural Engineering by Alan Holgate, Professor of Civil Engineering at Monash University in Melbourne (1997). Alan Holgate studied and explored the relationship between structural engineering and architecture through the works of Jörg Schlaich’s engineering partnership and his Institute for Conceptual and Structural Design at the University of Stuttgart. This must-have resource for all engineers demonstrates how engineering innovation liberates the architectural aesthetic in cable-net, glass grid and textile membrane roofs, suspended buildings, and bridges of great technical complexity. Future engineering innovation will be even more exciting, with new materials and techniques facilitating not just further freedom in architectural design, but the pursuit of ever more energy-efficient and environmentally-sustainable structures and structural services.”

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