Craig Laslett
Managing Director, Lendlease Engineering
Ceremony: 13 October 2016, 2.00pm
Speech
It is both an honour and a privilege to be here today, to celebrate and congratulate you on your achievements. You and your families should be very proud. I’d like to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora nation whose land the university now stands on, and pay my respects to elders past and present. I’d also like to recognise the UTS Indigenous unit, Jumbunna, for the great work they do in supporting Indigenous students and supporting Career Trackers.
Perhaps first a disclaimer; I’m very passionate around engineering as a career and a lifestyle, the role of engineering leadership, and the contribution the engineers make to our society. I want to talk today about those things, but particularly I want to talk about how it relates to you and your contribution and if I may, some advice.
Perhaps a little background may be useful. I’m the son of a small country builder. I learnt the value at a very early age about hard work. I studied engineering at the South Australian Institute of Technology, and my career started in 1983 as a graduate construction engineer in central Queensland. I’ve worked throughout Australia, including some of the most remote locations. I’ve had the privilege of working in construction, mining, processing and telecommunications, and over 30 years, I was able to move in one company from a graduate engineer to the managing director, and I had the privilege to lead a team of 14,000 people.
Some of the exciting and varied projects that I’ve been involved in, just to give it a bit more colour: I’ve been involved in the mining and processing of 120 million tonnes of iron ore per annum. I piloted the introduction of autonomous trucks into the Pilbara with Fortescue Metal and the associated Wi-fi networks. I looked at introducing energy efficiency around data rooms.
Currently there’s a lot of work being tendered and bid in Australia at the moment, and one of those projects is the Western Distributor project in Melbourne. This project involves utilisation of a 15 metre diameter tunnel-boring machine, boring through 200 MPA rock, and for those of you that understand how challenging that is, it’s a very big drill bit. Closer to home, we’re tunnelling deep. We’re 90 metres down as we build the North Connex tunnel underneath Pennant Hills roads. Really exciting projects that you can be involved in.
Engineering is one of the oldest and most important professions. Engineering is the mark of a developing society. The bridges and cathedrals of the middle ages, the pyramids and the 40,000-year-old nu-nu fish traps at Brie Warrener. We have engineering to thank for electrification, the automobile, plane travel, the telephone, safe roads and mass transit, and clean drinking water. The list is endless. As engineers, you will play a vital role in building the physical infrastructure that makes our world a better and safer place. Our impact on people is long lasting.
Today, more than ever, the world needs engineers. It needs the skills that you’ve developed. The world we know is changing at a faster and ever accelerating pace, driven by the forces of climate change, ageing population and technological disruption, to name just three. Treat very seriously your responsibility for creating a better and safer world, and I ask you, what is your contribution going to be? Being a good engineer doesn’t just require strong understanding of maths and science and analytics. You need to understand your role in the context of the organisation you work in, and ultimately the society you live in. Engineers make great leaders.
As an engineer, you’ll be asked to lead a project, lead a new process or technology, lead the creation of a better place, lead people, lead a company, lead a board, lead a debate to a better world. More and more, engineers as leaders are being asked to provide an analytical perspective – a sound and balanced judgement. In Australia, 35 of the top ASX 100 CEOs have studied either engineering or science at university. Becoming a good leader doesn’t happen overnight, or without effort, and I urge you to continuously seek greater responsibility and accountability in your roles. Become a good communicator, an even better listener, and understand what motivates people. The challenge I put to you is to recognise that your graduation today is the start of that lifelong journey. So your career. What’s in it for you, and what’s my advice to you? With the unprecedented infrastructure boom in Australia, there could not be a better time to be a graduating engineer.
This year, NSW will spend more on building transport infrastructure than either New York or London. There is a pipeline of $50 billion dollars worth of work coming at us in the next five years. Engineering is a dynamic profession – every day you will be energised by new challenges and opportunities. Your skills, ability and eventually your experience, will be called upon to find solutions to the improbable and impossible and to conjure up answer to questions that haven’t been asked before.
So my advice, if I may, and I understand it’s customary to impart some advice, so from one engineering to another, be very clear about what’s important to you. What do you value? Be patient, be patient. Don’t be in a rush. Seek a diversity of experience. Don’t shy away from a tough project. Lean in – that is where you learn the most. Take the opportunity to lead, and ultimately enjoy life and have some fun. Let me touch on values: my values are important to me. Be clear on what your values are. Work for an organisation that shares your values. My values, and these are mine – yours will be different, but my values: integrity, passion and courage. Integrity is about being true to others, but more importantly it’s about being true to yourself. Be very proud of who you are. The passion to discover, the passion to contribute, the passion to lead, and the courage, because life’s not always easy, and you need the courage to push through.
So in conclusion, from here you’ll follow many different paths, across many disciplines, all over the world. You have a great choice in front of you. Be proud, be proud of what you’ve achieved, be proud to be an engineer, be proud of our contribution, use your analytical and leadership skills to make our world a better and safer place. Have the integrity, passion and courage to make a real difference. Congratulations, best of luck, and I know you’ll have a great career. Thank you.
About the speaker
Craig is the Managing Director of Lendlease Engineering. He has significant experience in the engineering and construction fields having previously spent more than 30 years with Leighton Contractors, four of which he was Managing Director.
Craig has demonstrated strong leadership to the engineering industry and the community through his board associations with Engineers Australia (College of Leadership & Management), Roads Australia, and the Australian Constructors Association. Craig has led iconic Australian engineering projects such as Melbourne’s Southern Cross Station and Brisbane’s Inner City Bypass.
Craig is well known and respected across the industry. He is a passionate supporter of reducing the barriers to employment of Indigenous and disadvantaged youth and is Co-Chair of CareerTrackers, an indigenous internship program.
Craig holds a Bachelor of Engineering majoring in Civil Engineering from University of South Australia and a Graduate Diploma in Management from INSEAD in France.
