New MD for Babcock Aus
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n a time when a great many of our colleagues are struggling to find jobs or those with jobs are finding their terms and conditions 'squeezed' he kept the Australian operation afloat and won more than his fair share of contracts and kept a lot of our friends and colleagues in jobs! That is something not to be knocked!
For the record when I was over in Darwin recently shooting the two new H175s there EVERYONE I spoke to, clients, pilots, admin staff etc all had good things to say about John Boag - NO ONE had anything negative to say about him. Have I worked for him - No, have I dealt with him on contracts etc - No, but every dealing I have had with him has been professional from a media side.
The thing I hate about this forum and the industry is people are real quick to stick the boot in when someone gets dealt a bad hand - especially from behind a screen name. If you are going to kick someone when they are down then standup and sign off your real name so people know who you are and when it comes time for to you apply for a new job they know what sort of person they are getting.
The thing I hate about this forum and the industry is people are real quick to stick the boot in when someone gets dealt a bad hand - especially from behind a screen name. If you are going to kick someone when they are down then standup and sign off your real name so people know who you are and when it comes time for to you apply for a new job they know what sort of person they are getting.
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Well said!
In a time when a great many of our colleagues are struggling to find jobs or those with jobs are finding their terms and conditions 'squeezed' he kept the Australian operation afloat and won more than his fair share of contracts and kept a lot of our friends and colleagues in jobs! That is something not to be knocked!
In a time when a great many of our colleagues are struggling to find jobs or those with jobs are finding their terms and conditions 'squeezed' he kept the Australian operation afloat and won more than his fair share of contracts and kept a lot of our friends and colleagues in jobs! That is something not to be knocked!
Not so. Your colleagues kept themselves in a job by turning up every day and flying the aircraft. The proof is in the sky if you care to look up. Aircraft are still getting airborne and crews are still doing their jobs, in spite of anything that might have occurred within the ranks of the earthbound managers. If they don't turn up to work, nothing happens, other than an unusually peaceful day at the coal face. If the operators didn't turn up, the work would cease. Management is meant to work for the operators, but the idiots think the operators work for them.
Last edited by NumptyAussie; 9th Mar 2018 at 05:48.
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The Pilots who turned up every day and were flying the aircraft, and the engineers who turned up every day to prep those aircraft all do a cracking job and were paid every month from money made from contacts won by John's team.
I know the guy and wouldn't invite him to a BBQ but he won a lot of business that saw a lot of investment in operations that kept a lot of people in work.
If you want to slate his character then fine, but lets keep the perspective that there are people who have jobs and can support their families as a result of what that man achieved for his team.
New here - the guy stuck his neck out to keep people in work for an extended time. He even carried a couple of people at line level when their family members were seriously ill or dying - past what some others would have. It must have been a pita for the onshore side but only minimum necessary were put off when certain other companies were behaving v badly! If the judgement of a man is to do a good turn before a bad one then I would judge him in the plus side! If you don’t get on with him - take a geek at yourself. I’m guessing you’re probably a drone just keeping your inch of the hive cool.
think I’m with brother and Ned in this. My limited contact with him has usually mostly been high ethics, high energy and respect retuned.
think I’m with brother and Ned in this. My limited contact with him has usually mostly been high ethics, high energy and respect retuned.
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I knew JB when he was a young 206 pilot with Lloyds in Adelaide some 30 years ago. He was a good operator & very popular with the customers. I didn't know him in the management role but the anti remarks here do surprise me. Where's he gone now?
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Having previously worked with the man for a few years, I can only give you my opinion based on my experiences. Whilst he can be demanding, he is also a generous man and very commercially astute. He has built a great business with good people and good culture.
These things happen in business. Companies grow and the people who were so successful in a smaller organisation don't always fit in with the new owners or investors. It's not always a reflection on someone's character, morals or acumen if they're let go.
I don't know JB but from what I've heard he shares similar traits to many of the key personalities in the Australasian helicopter industry.
It's always interesting watching the transition from a small business to a bigger one. Some people successfully make the transition and grow into their role, while many others never get their head around the fact that a corporate structure has different imperatives. Leadership styles that work in a small company often don't work in multi-national corporations, particularly when your success and promotion into a role may have been a result of the patronage shown by a previous manager or owner. When that patronage disappears, you're often left exposed like the proverbial shag on a rock.
Is this the sort of thing you're talking about Goggle Up?
I don't know JB but from what I've heard he shares similar traits to many of the key personalities in the Australasian helicopter industry.
Is this the sort of thing you're talking about Goggle Up?
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New here - the guy stuck his neck out to keep people in work for an extended time. He even carried a couple of people at line level when their family members were seriously ill or dying - past what some others would have. It must have been a pita for the onshore side but only minimum necessary were put off when certain other companies were behaving v badly! If the judgement of a man is to do a good turn before a bad one then I would judge him in the plus side! If you don’t get on with him - take a geek at yourself. I’m guessing you’re probably a drone just keeping your inch of the hive cool.
think I’m with brother and Ned in this. My limited contact with him has usually mostly been high ethics, high energy and respect retuned.
think I’m with brother and Ned in this. My limited contact with him has usually mostly been high ethics, high energy and respect retuned.
Thumbs up nunatak for your message.
EDIT: I wrote another post, however, it has been moderated down I guess (fair enough). To put it more politely than I had before - shame on people for wishing bad luck to others. For how much I know JB, you only get a treatment from him you deserve, if your words and actions are not worth much, you may have got appropriate feedback.
I wish JB some good time off, and I am not worried about him finding a new role whenever he feels like it.
PS: I am long-term visitor of pprune but never had an urge to register to post until today.
Last edited by Pedro83; 19th Mar 2018 at 15:25. Reason: to avoid two consecutive messages
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He's always done right by me. It's likely those who choose to knock him do so simply because they didn't do the right thing and should probably fear his preparedness for a fresh challenge. When the JB's of our industry throw the towel in, you really need to worry because yoj'll like the bean counters even less. I just hope JB isn't reading the trash on this thread. Having said that I know he's made of better stuff. So for all the kickers, you'll still be kicking when he's dusted himself off and ready to make a difference again.
4th MD in 4 years.
He's always done right by me. It's likely those who choose to knock him do so simply because they didn't do the right thing and should probably fear his preparedness for a fresh challenge. When the JB's of our industry throw the towel in, you really need to worry because yoj'll like the bean counters even less. I just hope JB isn't reading the trash on this thread. Having said that I know he's made of better stuff. So for all the kickers, you'll still be kicking when he's dusted himself off and ready to make a difference again.
Lauren Adams replaced JB but only lasted until the end of 2019. She was replaced by Darren Moncrief, previously at Cobham. He apparently resigned at the start of this year and the role was filled by Duncan Milne - another Cobham old boy. Evidently the company is choccas with ex-Cobham staff. Perhaps it's a take-over by stealth.
Presumably Milne didn't win the role permanently because Australian Aviation have written a news article saying that Peter Newington is the new Managing Director from 1 August. He is the current CareFlight CEO and was previously Hevilift.
The delicious irony is that Johnny Boag is now the CEO at Cobham. So it looks as though he dusted himself off nicely
What is going on a Babcock Mission Critical Services in Australia? 4 managing directors in 4 years can't be healthy. Their drivers are not the highest paid in Australia by any stretch but they haven't won any new business for quite a while, There's rumblings about a change in provider coming for a couple of contracts that Babcock currently have too. I wonder if they're going to be sold off like the UK Mission Critical Services business.
Interesting. Perhaps the business isn't being sold off if they're going to the trouble of appointing a new MD eh?
Boom!
Peter Newington's first few days in the job and apparently his first move is to rip up the latest EBA pay offer for Babcock pilots and make a new offer that is a much less than was being offered.
Pilots are now taking industrial action. If what I'm being told is true they're being treated very shabbily by the company.
Peter Newington's first few days in the job and apparently his first move is to rip up the latest EBA pay offer for Babcock pilots and make a new offer that is a much less than was being offered.
Pilots are now taking industrial action. If what I'm being told is true they're being treated very shabbily by the company.