What a milestone! When people say time flies, they really aren’t kidding! But what a journey it has been, and it is a great opportunity for us to reflect back on those ten years.

In 2009, Kym and Nicole moved back from Perth to Adelaide to start their own business. They could see a gap in the market, but they weren’t really clear on how this opportunity was going to play out. At the time they had two toddlers and they started working out of the back room of Nicole’s parents holiday house. It was after the GFC, many thought they were crazy and risky, but they had the foresight, initiative and drive to take the opportunity and see if they could build a sustainable business, which has allowed them to work with the people they have wanted to work with.

Over the years, we have had the opportunity to work with many terrific people, many of whom have both guided and contributed to the BRS journey. Like every business, there have been a lot of hurdles along the way, but we have made many more good decisions and fortunately this is how BRS has become the success that it is today.

Without a doubt, securing the role as the bid coach to win and then go on to deliver the Waterview Connection Project in Auckland has been our most significant project related milestone to date. Our involvement in that project started in December 2010 and we had the opportunity to work alongside some terrific people, many of whom are still clients of BRS and/or working as part of the BRS team today.

We have worked with many clients across so many projects over the 10 years that there are too many to mention. However, we have made so many lifelong friends along the way, who have supported BRS and our journey and we are truly grateful to have had this support and the opportunity to work with such great people.

We have had a number of different people join our team over the years and we have so many fond memories. Some of our team members were only with us for a short time, and they have gone on to do many terrific things with their careers, both within and outside of our industries and we continue to wish them every success. There are also those team members who have been part of our team for many years, and are as passionate about BRS, our clients, our projects and our people as Kym and Nicole are. It is hard to find people like this who are so loyal, committed and love what they do and we are very lucky to have them as part of our team/BRS family!

We often don’t take the time to step back and reflect on how far you have come, but when looking at all the photos and finding some to include in this newsletter, it has been a nice reminder of all the terrific people we have had the opportunity to work alongside and share our journey. The heart of any business sits with the quality of the people in your team and the clients you work with and BRS would not be where it is today without the fabulous team we have had along the journey.

When reflecting on the past 10 years, it is easy to remember all the highlights, the awards, the big wins and the people we shared it with, but it was probably the discipline we have had behind the scenes that has ensured BRS was going to continue to grow and be around for the long term.

Right from the start Kym and Nicole were committed to ensuring they set the business up for success. Everything from systems to training and recruitment. We were a small start-up business trying to compete against large competitors and we had to find ways to stand out and deliver outstanding outcomes for our clients on our projects.

BRS has implemented many new initiatives, systems and processes over the years, but there are a few that have never changed. We have always been very structured with our planning, with respect to having a Strategic Plan, 90 Day plan and Balanced Scorecard. Although the key initiatives may have changed, along with the measures, the key elements of having those plans in place and ensuring everyone in the team is on the same page has always been a priority for the BRS team. It is very easy to get distracted by many opportunities along the way, and the ability to be able to say no is often more important than saying yes!

Moving forward, BRS is going strong and probably in the best place it has ever been. We have team members based across Australia and New Zealand who continue to deliver projects to our clients across all of these regions. For all of our team it really has become a lifestyle business, such that we have the opportunity to be able to say no, and focus on the clients, projects, teams and organisations who we love to work with.

We hope that you have enjoyed hearing our story and taking a trip down memory lane with us as we celebrate the first 10 years of BRS. We can honestly say that our current team at BRS is the most capable team we have ever had, and we will continue to work with our clients to deliver great outcomes on their projects. At the same time, we will continue to enjoy this journey we are on and we look forward to creating many more fond memories!

Given the 10 year milestone, we have also taken the opportunity to refine our aspiration and purpose. Many years ago we made a decision to become a niche infrastructure advisory firm and focus on our key industries and services. Looking back, this was a significant shift in the way we approached our clients and projects as we could no longer be everything to everyone. However, this decision was to become our differentiator and was the catalyst BRS needed for growth and we have not looked back since.

Our Vision:

To be Australasia’s leading niche infrastructure advisors in procurement, bid coaching and team development services for large infrastructure projects and organisations.

Our Mission:

To improve the capability and capacity of our clients in the infrastructure industry to deliver better outcomes for the community.

Our Clients:

• Tier 1 Contractors/Constructors
• Tier 1 Infrastructure Consultants
• Government Infrastructure Delivery Agencies

Our Unique Selling Proposition

The BRS experience is built around four key areas:

• Capability: Experts in non-technical infrastructure
• Courageous: Challenge our clients to be the best they can be
• Deliver: Always deliver on outcomes for our clients
• Share: We educate, share and teach our clients

Michael has over 20 years’ executive experience in the professional services and engineering industries. Most recently he was Managing Director of Clients with Aurecon and led the revitalisation of the Aurecon client strategy and how the business went to market. Prior to Aurecon he was the Group Vice President of the Australia and New Zealand Infrastructure and Environment business of Jacobs Engineering. He had been the General Manager of the Buildings and Infrastructure Global Business of SKM for 5 years prior to the acquisition of SKM by Jacobs Engineering in 2013.

Michael loves working with teams, leading people and solving problems with clients. He is passionate about innovation and how we can approach problems differently. His Strengths lie in leading teams, leading strategy development, transforming organisations and delivering outcomes.
Michael is heavily involved in junior football as Coaching Director and a coach with the local football club and his kids. He loves spending time in the outdoors camping, travelling walking. He and his family have lived Sydney, Auckland and Kuala Lumpur, and have recently returned to live again in Melbourne.

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We now have over 550 blogs on all sorts of topics based on the services the BRS team provide to our clients in the infrastructure industry. We re-post these, and other content about our team members, case studies and projects we are currently working on, through our social media each week.

Here are our social media links if you’d like to keep up to date with all things BRS!