2025 M&IS Leadership Conference

Business brief
Alastair Reid
M&IS Executive General Manager

One of my favourite events on the calendar, the 2025 M&IS Leadership Conference, brought together more than 130 of our leaders last week. Centred on the theme Navigating the Future (by our failures), and with the beautiful Kings Park as our backdrop, the program mixed strategy, reflective learning and networking. 

This year's focus was on evolving for the future, reflecting on various challenges and mistakes and applying lessons to move forward. 

I would like to thank all the guests and attendees for coming with an honest and open attitude to learn, which made the conference a memorable one. 

Click here to hear from some of the attendees.

We kicked off the conference with a warm welcome sundowner at The Storehouse on Monday night. It was the perfect setting to swap stories, reconnect and get to know people from across our diverse locations. 

Kicking off Tuesday morning, we unpacked the current state of play across Monadelphous and looked ahead to what's next with our Managing Director, Zoran Bebic, and EC Executive General Manager, Adam Cook, before hearing from each of the M&IS business units. Aligned with this year's theme, they talked us through a project or strategic initiative their team had tackled, the challenges they faced or errors made, the hurdles they overcame, and the lessons they were carrying forward. 

A primary focus of this year's conference was learning from mistakes and applying that knowledge to guide future success. Our reflective learning workshop, led by Bethan Winn, did exactly that. These small group sessions were an opportunity for everyone to reflect on times when things had not gone so well, a challenging but important task. I shared one of my greatest career lessons in depth – our entry into the Chilean market. Initially, it was a sensible and considered strategic move, however as time went on, the challenges piled up. 

The session worked through techniques to adjust our mindsets and reframe failure – to quote Sir Ken Robinson "If you are not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original." 

We wrapped up day one with an overview of Monadelphous' Strategic Market Positioning, led by Chris Tabrett, Zoran and Rob Velletri. As we journeyed through the history of Monadelphous, we were reminded that the late John Rubino thought of Monadelphous as "the best mistake (he) ever made." It was a powerful reminder that not all missteps lead to failure, some become the foundation of something extraordinary. 

At our much-anticipated awards dinner, we celebrated the outstanding contributions of our people and teams across M&IS. Congratulations to all our winners and nominees: 

• Delivering the Safe Way in Action – Individual: Nigel Harrison from Cape Lambert (MMNW)
• Delivering the Safe Way in Action – Team 4 Scaffolders, Dampier Fixed Plant Maintenance (MMNW)
• Best Overall Safety Performance: Lihir (Eastern Region)
• Most Improved Safety Performance: RTW (MMS)
• Most Innovative Operation: Southwest Operations (MMS)
• Best Innovation: Tethered Drone Technology for Tank Inspections – INPEX CPF Team (Energy) 

An energising start to the second day was led by keynote speaker and adventurer James Castrission - Unchartered Ice, taking everyone through problem solving based on James' own story of endurance, resilience and navigating the unknown. 

From there, we moved into group work to examine in-depth how we can further strengthen our Fatal Risk Controls. 

Our newly acquired High Energy Service (HES) team took us through to closing with a "show and tell" of their HV electrical capabilities, a key element of our strategy moving forward. 

The conference is a highlight of the year for me, and once again it was a valuable chance to connect with our teammates from across our many locations, while also challenging ourselves to think differently. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed, and to all our teams across M&IS for the energy, innovation and commitment you bring every day.