At Tallai, our people and their experience are a key component of our success.
This month we sat down with our Business & Technical Director, Paul Wise, to hear his impressive industry story and find out a little more about life at Tallai.
Paul, you have an impressive resume of experience in the civil space. What’s been your most rewarding career moment to date?
I’ve had a career of over 40 years in the industry, spanning small, medium and very large multinationals. There’s so many moments that have been rewarding, to make a difference within the industry or on significant projects, but the most rewarding times have been winning industry awards. Being recognised formally among peers is something that I’ve taken pride in throughout my career.
I’m aware you’ve been involved across multiple industry forums and associations, why do you see being involved as being important within the industry?
I’ve represented the Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) as a board member for 18 years, and a chairperson for government committees. I’ve also been involved with the Institute of Civil Infrastructure and Australian Water Association (AWA).
In the past the key value has been the exposure to decision markers in government, at all levels – local, state and federal. The ability to give them feedback so they can possibly consider it for future improvements to the industry, and changing things about the way that people to do business.
We made a lot of changes over the years, representing small to medium enterprises like Tallai, and it’s been rewarding to do this for the good of the industry.
Paul, you’re at a stage in your career where you could have quite easily hung the boots up, but have chosen to come across to Tallai. What intrigued you most about joining us?
That’s correct, I didn’t really need to work anymore but this role really attracted me. I just like using industry and past experience to work with and grow a dynamic and growing organisation like Tallai.
It’s also the personal aspect of it all, you can reach out and talk to the boss directly. I’m not reporting to major boards in other countries. At an organisation like Tallai, you can use all your strengths to directly see results. Leveraging my experience building companies, I guess knowing a lot of the commercial pitfalls, I’m enjoying working with the Tallai team to avoid that as we continue to grow.
I’m also enjoying working with the younger, dynamic team, directly mentoring and positively impacting their career development based on my experience.
We’re happy to have you here, and we appreciate that you’re at a stage where you’re also enjoying the finer things in life! What are the things that make you tick outside of work?
My life is all about family now, I have a lot of grandkids. I love boating and tending to a number of these, between golf and touring around Australia.
My role at Tallai perfectly fits in with family, and I know I’m not the first person to say it, but we really do have an excellent work/life balance.
