THE PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT REVIEW
became a leisure craft business known as Star Boats in 1972, a company that upended traditional boat-building practices by utilising aluminium rather than fibreglass for its lightweight hulls and which he grew for over a decade before selling to Christopher Skase backed Precision Marine (now Quintex Corporation) in 1984. On a personal level, John migrated aged ten with his family from Holland in 1954 and completed three years of primary / secondary school before entering the workforce at fifteen - over the course of the following eight or so years, he held a number of roles working in steel fabrication, welding, transport & land clearing. In a highly decorated career, John been the recipient of a number of awards including Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2004, Australian Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2002,
Western Australia Citizen of the Year in 1999.
In this exclusive interview, John walks us through his remarkable career, the evolution of Austal over the course of more than three decades, the opportunities & challenges in running a global manufacturing business from Australia and the fundamentals required to achieve sustained success in both business and life.
April / May 2024 – 11
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