Newsletter July 2017

We also have many new faces joining the BRS team over the coming weeks who we will be introducing you to in our newsletters. Anita Payne, who is an outstanding bid, leadership and team coach and facilitator in Melbourne has joined our team and is already delivering some great outcomes to our clients. Betina Galaret has also joined our team in Adelaide as project coordinator and is providing support to many of our consultants and clients on projects across Australia and New Zealand.

In addition to the Waterview project, this week marks 4 years since we won the Telstra Small Business of the Year in SA. When we won this award, we knew we had a great business and we had a bright future and it is so great to see that many of our team members are still enjoying the BRS journey with us!

Another milestone for BRS this month was the incorporation of Business & Risk Solutions NZ Limited (BRS NZ).

We are still in the process of setting up this business and working out the logistics for how we are going to be working with our NZ clients going forward. But it is a really important step forward for BRS as we show our commitment to our NZ clients, partners and team members as we continue to grow.

We will be contacting our NZ clients individually regarding their projects over the coming months and what this means for them, but for now it is business as usual.

Last week we flew most of our team into Adelaide to join us for a two-day planning and strategy session to map out our plans, growth strategies and focus areas for the team at BRS for the next six months.

This was a terrific session, similar to what we often do with our clients, where we have brainstormed, collaborated and developed action plans, to ensure that we achieve our targets within our Strategic Plan.

We have many new people, new technologies, programs, capabilities and service offerings that we are going to be introducing to our followers and clients, so make sure you check in with us and stay up to date!

Anita Payne

We are delighted to welcome Anita Payne to our team, who is based in Melbourne.  With over 35 years experience in developing teams and strategies in bids, projects and organisations, we look forward to bringing Anita’s contributions to both our own team at BRS and to our clients.  Anita has had her own long term successful practice in specialising in helping multi-disciplinary teams win large and strategically important projects.  She brings both communications strategies and communications skills development to her teams, developing their leaders and performance culture, and increasing personal and interpersonal effectiveness through optimising team performance. Her relaxed and fun approach to developing teams certainly brings the best out in them, delivering very impressive bid win-rates in a range of highly technical industries, including construction and infrastructure, mining, outsourced services including asset management & maintenance, IT&T, professional services.  She has worked throughout Asia Pacific and enjoys exploring new destinations and cultures.

As a keen gardener, Anita takes her sustainable growth philosophy to the small farm that she shares with her artist-husband and she enjoys developing her food forest using organic permaculture principles.  She gets very excited about abundant harvests to share with family & friends!  Still on her bucket list is to travel the Inca Trail, sail the Nile, and other fascinating destinations.

If you would like to learn more about Anita and her expertise, please click here.

Chris Spittal

Chris has recently joined BRS as Finance and Commercial Manager after emigrating to Australia from the UK. Chris is a qualified Chartered Accountant and has experience in senior finance roles across several industry sectors. Chris joins us from Optos PLC (part of Nikon Corporation) where he was Financial Controller and managed the finance delivery of the European and Asia-Pacific business operations. His expertise lies in process improvement and automation, business and strategy planning and applying his commercial skillset to drive best for business decision making.

Chris is passionate about adding long term value through continuous improvement. This might be achieved through better technology, systems and process automation or simply approaching problems from a different perspective. Operating with this mindset ensures that teams spend more time and energy in areas that deliver commercial value and less time on administration. Chris believes that focusing on making small constant improvements can create significant efficiencies.

Being from Scotland, Chris is a keen golfer and hopes the slightly warmer and drier climate in Adelaide will equate to a few extra hours on the course.

If you would like to learn more about Chris and his expertise, please click here.

Betina Galaret

We welcome Betina Galaret to our team as the new Project Coordinator. Betina is a versatile professional with a diverse knowledge in finance, engineering and construction. She has 10 years’ experience in providing operational excellence in the finance industry. More recently in project coordination and administration roles within the Property Development and Engineering sector. She holds a Bachelor in Architectural Design and further elective studies in banking, finance and construction management. Betina has a passion for continuous improvement and believes that the sharing of knowledge is a key component for collaboration with clients and team members. She is excited to join BRS and is confident in making a positive contribution to the team.

Betina has recently returned to her South American roots and has started Latin dancing. Betina also wishes to engage with the local community and has become a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and looks forward to the opportunity to be hands on. She enjoys observing her architectural environment and has been known to travel to cities simple to wander and stare up at buildings.

If you would like to learn more about Betina and her expertise, please click here.

In conjunction with the Office of the Industry Advocate in South Australia, BRS is running Commercial Acumen Training: Building better Business Cases and Driving Value for Money with Suppliers.

The workshop will be facilitated by Heath Colebatch, who has extensive experience in this space and it is specifically tailored for Executives and Senior Staff (ASO7 or above) to maximise the value of projects by:

If you work in South Australian State Government and are looking to understand the key principles in developing a business case, or want to be able to learn how to influence decision making and obtain better value for money from your service providers then this workshop is a must!

For more information on BRS Commercial Acumen Services that can be tailored for your organisation or project, please click here.