Former Deloitte CEO Giam Swiegers named Chairman of Aurecon
The former CEO of Deloitte Australia, Giam Swiegers, has been installed as the new Chairman of Aurecon.
Swiegers will be aided in his new role by his extensive knowledge of Aurecon – a company where he was CEO between 2015 and 2019. While at the helm, he introduced and implemented an innovation culture through the company – a seed that has since placed Aurecon among the most innovative businesses in Australia and Asia Pacific as a whole.
This was in addition to sitting on global boards for the company, and serving as non-executive member since vacating his CEO charge in 2019. He now takes the chair – at a time when Australia and the rest of the world is charting recovery from a devastating economic crisis.
“I’m delighted to take on the role of Chair as we embark on Aurecon’s next chapter. During this time of substantial global disruption, it's important that we continue to have a culture of championing innovation while reimagining Aurecon’s future.”
Swiegers’ capacity to drive this purpose comes from an illustrious, four-decade professional career. Most notable on his resume is a 30-year plus stint at Big Four accounting and advisory firm Deloitte, where he climbed the ranks for years across South Africa, the US and Australia before taking over as Deloitte Australia CEO in 2003 – a position that he held for nearly 12 years.
Strategy and management were key parts of Swieger’s roles at Deloitte, combined with experience on the firm’s Global Board, Global Governance Committee, and Global Executive Committee. All this will play into his next professional chapter.
“As Chair, Giam brings valuable perspectives on the global business landscape as well as deep understanding of the Aurecon strategy to Aurecon board discussions and decisions,” said William Cox, current Aurecon CEO.
Looking ahead
According to Cox, Aurecon performed strongly over the last year despite all the pandemic-related challenges – a promising omen for the year to come. In the backdrop, Australia's infrastructure industry is in a phase of transformation, as it adapts to modern principles of sustainability, innovation and digitalisation.
Hefty investments in infrastructure are expected as a result, and Aurecon's proposition of engineering and design consulting services is heavily in demand. For Cox, the way forward is to channel more resources into the company’s innovative capabilities.
“Our performance success has also been based on the premise that we dance with disruption rather than wasting time on prediction and we continue to have an ambitious plan for the future for our digital, advisory and design services.” Having brought an innovative mindset to Aurecon, Swiegers is the right man to oversee this charge.
