Acceptance Speech for Marcelino Fernández Verdes

Transcription

1 Acceptance Speech for Marcelino Fernández Verdes (Approx. 9 minutes) Your Excellency, Ambassador Enrique Viguera, Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, your Excellency, for your gracious speech and kind words. And thank you for presenting me with this great honour. I humbly, and with gratitude, accept this award from the Kingdom of Spain - la Encomienda de Númerode la Orden del Mérito Civil - or, in English, the Commendation of Number of the Order of Civil Merit. This award is one that I never imagined when I started my working life as an engineer in Spain 30 years ago. But, then; I also never dreamed of living and working in the wonderful city of Sydney. Sometimes it is hard to predict where life s journey will take us. The Ambassador introduced me as the Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CIMIC Group Limited. Let me take this opportunity to briefly explain our new name and the transformation we are undertaking. Last month we changed the well-known name of Leighton Holdings Limited to CIMIC Group Limited. P a g e 1

2 CIMIC is the custodian of iconic Australian contracting businesses such as Leighton Contractors and Thiess, some of which have been in operation for more than 80 years. Ours is a rich heritage. We have been instrumental in delivering great infrastructure projects across Sydney, throughout New South Wales, and right across Australia and abroad. Our infrastructure projects have joined communities and families, provided secure water supplies, delivered reliable power, and fostered trade and commerce. Our building projects have created homes, provided entertainment venues, and supported the health and welfare of hundreds of thousands of people. And our mining projects have helped fuel power stations, generate export earnings for the country and create jobs. We are one of the world s leading international contractors and the world s largest contract miner. Today, there are more than 30,000 families whose loved ones are working on our projects; 30,000 families reliant on us to provide safe, rewarding and fulfilling careers as we deliver projects for our clients. And, on any given day, there are many tens of thousands more people and their families who are reliant on the CIMIC Group because they are providing subcontracting services to our company. Over many years, the CIMIC Group has helped shape this city, this state and this country. It is one of the reasons that I am incredibly proud of my role at CIMIC; proud to be the current custodian of a great legacy. A legacy built on those 30,000 families and the many thousands of others who have gone before them. P a g e 2

3 While a legacy is very important, we are looking to the future at CIMIC. Our change of name is symbolic of how we are looking forward. We have restructured our business over the past year and our new name better represents who we are and what we do as we focus on our future. We have streamlined our business to create a dedicated construction company and a dedicated mining company. We have also established specialist businesses focused on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and Engineering. These focused companies provide our clients with: greater economies of scale and efficiencies; a more diverse market offering; access to a wider pool of talent and experience; and as a result of some divestments, the backing of a strong balance sheet. We have made these changes so we can increase our competitiveness. So that we are able to better tackle the challenges of the global and domestic construction market. This is an industry that is increasingly globalised; barriers to entry are falling, capital is more mobile, and skills are more portable. If we are to compete and generate sustainable returns for our shareholders, we need to leverage all of the skills and experience that we can access. That is why we are sharing the technical expertise and knowledge of ACS and HOCHTIEF to modernise and transform our Group. It is why CIMIC is partnering with John Holland and with ACS subsidiary Dragados, which has a wealth of international tunnelling expertise, to deliver part of the North West Rail Link tunnels and civil works under a contract worth more than $1 billion, right here in Sydney. P a g e 3

4 It is also why we have established our new PPP business. Demand for economic and social infrastructure projects in Australia is strong; for roads and railways, hospitals, schools and prisons. We have the ability to help deliver these infrastructure projects as PPPs and so we are leveraging the expertise that Iridium Concessions also an ACS company has, as a world leader in infrastructure development. We plan to make PPPs a key component of our growth strategy and we are focused on facilitating the development, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of PPP projects in Australia and overseas. We are also leveraging engineering capabilities from across the world, from the networks of ACS and HOCHTIEF. We are creating a focused engineering company that provides world-class specialist design, technical support and research for the projects we tender and deliver. This will make us better able to evaluate and manage risk, to the benefit of our clients and the construction industry. We are doing all of this while building on our deeply held values of integrity, accountability, innovation and delivery, and our absolute commitment to safety. We are undergoing a transformation which will produce significant improvements in the construction, engineering and mining fields. For instance: we are enhancing our risk management approach, supplementing our technical capabilities, introducing new approaches to financing PPP projects, and upgrading our systems. The Australian industry as a whole will benefit from these innovations. P a g e 4

5 We are building on our legacy to forge a new and brighter future. We are transforming the company; internationalising and streamlining the CIMIC Group. What we are undertaking, what Ambassador Enrique Viguera referred to, is in fact to make a great company even better. It is indeed a great privilege to have been entrusted with this task at CIMIC. This brings me to the point where I must thank some of the people who have supported and guided me during my career. This award is a reflection of the efforts the success! of many, many people. First of all, my family and friends, whose faith, encouragement and advice has been invaluable. For me, this award is a reflection of the people who forged the way on this path before me people like Mr Florentino Perez who continues to support and trust me with increasing responsibilities and accountabilities over time. The encouragement and backing I receive from Mr Perez has been essential, as has the support of the shareholders of ACS, HOCHTIEF, and CIMIC. This award is also a reflection of the people who come to work each day for CIMIC, HOCHTIEF and ACS. I know from experience that the greatest successes are achieved not by individuals, but by teams of talented people. And I also wish to thank all the teams that I have worked with over the years. At ACS, at HOCHTIEF and, more recently, at CIMIC. P a g e 5

6 Finally, I have a great appreciation for the government of Spain, for its efforts to foster successful businesses and to promote those successes globally. I express my thanks, in particular, to Minister José Manuel García-Margallo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. Without all of these people, the journey would not have been possible. I thank all of them sincerely for their support. I also wish to again thank Ambassador Enrique Viguera for facilitating this award, and the staff of the Spanish Embassy for organising this event. Thank you to the Members of Parliament and the staff of the New South Wales Parliament House for hosting us here today. And, thank you to each of you for attending this afternoon. Through our global project, CIMIC, HOCHTIEF and ACS are linking continents and countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia. This is not just through business but through cultural connections. We are building bridges as partners, collaborators, and friends on many fronts. Australia is essential to this vision and the people in this room each of you are a part of this. I am delighted to share this occasion with you and, I hope, our future. Finally, I am very proud to receive this award and to accept the acknowledgment of my home country. Obviously, I am Spanish, yet now I also carry a part of Australia, and particularly Sydney, in my heart. This is indeed a tremendous honour, and for that I can only express my deepest gratitude. Thank you. Muchas gracias. P a g e 6