WGA MOVES INTO NEXT CHAPTER WITH APPOINTMENT
OF NEW MANAGING DIRECTORS
Former Aurecon Executive Ben Stapleton and WGA Director Nathan Silby to jointly lead the engineering and project management firm from February 2022
8 November 2021: Multi-disciplinary engineering and project management team WGA (Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec) has today announced changes to its leadership structure as Nathan Silby and Ben Stapleton are appointed as joint Managing Directors. They will officially take the reins from Peter McBean and Nick Lelos who will step down as joint MDs after eight years on 7 February 2022.
WGA is a multi-disciplinary, award-winning engineering and project management team founded in 1982 which employs 400 people across Australia and New Zealand , including most recently Brisbane. It has delivered numerous noteworthy projects, from the $2.2bn new Royal Adelaide Hospital, Memorial Drive Tennis Centre, the $9b Torrens-to-Darlington road and tunnelling project in Adelaide, the Swan River pedestrian bridge in Perth, and Chisholm Road Prison and Hazelwood Power Station in Melbourne.
The new leadership change comes as WGA reflects on 40 years’ success delivering innovative, buildable and economical solutions for clients and looks ahead to the future with a solid succession plan in place.
Existing Director Nathan Silby is currently SA Regional Manager at WGA with over 25 years of Civil consulting experience. Nathan brings strong operational leadership skills and understanding of WGA culture to the role.
He comments, “I am humbled by the opportunity to provide the support needed for our staff to excel and work on many interesting and challenging projects throughout Australia and New Zealand. WGA has a unique culture with many talented people. As a business it offers a balance of workplace enjoyment, professional development and career opportunities that have a direct impact on the communities in which we operate”.
Silby’s appointment is complemented by the external hire of Ben Stapleton, who joins WGA having built up several decades of experience in leadership roles in the infrastructure industry with multi-national professional services organisations, most recently at Aurecon. He has a strong track record of leading teams that care for their clients and deliver outstanding business performance and will bring some fresh perspectives to WGA.
Stapleton adds, “I am honoured to co-lead the business alongside Nathan. I plan to draw on the range of experiences I have had to help continue to strengthen the WGA business and support our clients through a culture that creates opportunities for all of our people.”
This new chapter comes as McBean and Lelos step aside after a combined nearly six decades at WGA. The pair took over as joint Managing Directors from WGA founders Geoff Wallbridge and Mark Gilbert in 2014 and in that time have more than doubled staff numbers to 400 and grown the company to an annual turnover approaching $80 million.
Through the transformation of WGA’s leadership and organisational structure over the last eight years, they have overseen many milestones including the, expansion into Queensland and New Zealand and diversification of WGA’s client base into the defence sector.
McBean and Lelos will remain a vital part of WGA’s future, by retaining their positions as Board members and adding value through business development and technical engineering roles.
About WGA
Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec (WGA) is a multi-disciplinary, award-winning engineering and project management team with an ethos based on developing long-term collaborative client relationships, and delivering innovative, buildable and economical solutions.
With nearly 40 years’ experience across diverse sectors, WGA offers a wide range of consulting services including structural, civil, maritime, mechanical, geotechnical, heavy lifting, temporary works, project management, traffic management, water, electrical, pressure vessels, hydrogeology, hydrology and demolition. wga.com.au
For further information, biographies and images please contact Victoria Evans: +61 (0) 472 511 323/ [email protected]