Career of many challenges

A conversation with Garth Anderson

When late last year Garth Anderson, General Manager of Matilda Fuel Supplies, took on the task of bringing together two very different retail networks for his new employer Neumann Petroleum (see box), he was doing what he does best — taking on a new challenge — and loving it.

Garth's career started humbly enough in 1980 with a motor mechanic's apprenticeship. Although he had completed his senior certificate (at a time most young men left at year 10 to take on a trade), Garth preferred Manual Arts and Technical Drawing over the more academic subjects.

"At the end of year 10 I signed up to be an apprentice dental technician," recalled Garth. "I saw it as my 'escape' from school. But, when I thought about it a bit more, I changed my mind and went back to school for two years."

Garth joined a local engineering firm in suburban Brisbane and, by the time he was in the fourth year of his apprenticeship, he was the foreman of a large workshop. After doing exceptionally well in his trade certificate, he enrolled in an advanced mechanics course. This rapid advancement and thirst for knowledge set the pattern. Newly qualified and keen, Garth went looking for a new challenge. At the age of 23, he became the youngest ever vehicle inspector for the RACQ (Royal Automobile Club of Queensland).

"Vehicle inspector was a very prestigious position and entailed a lot of responsibility," recalled Garth. "Reputation was everything, and motorists trusted RACQ without question. Most of the dealerships were honest and ethical, but I came across some 'shonky' car yards, where they had literally welded two wrecks together. They would try to intimidate me into passing those vehicles but I played it straight and management backed me up."

After a couple of years, Garth was promoted to the role of Technical Adviser, responsible for overseeing RACQ-badged mechanical repairers and workshops. His next promotion was to Technical Trainer, when he travelled around Queensland supporting service providers contracted to RACQ. Garth attributes his rapid progress to his practical, level-headed, logical approach, and he believes this is due to his upbringing.

"I was born in Toowoomba, where my father worked as a radiographer," said Garth. "Both my parents are from honest working-class backgrounds. My mother's father was a shearer in Longreach, and my father's father was a logger in Gympie. My family are down-to-earth, no-nonsense folk, and they instilled in me the importance of a fair day's work for a fair day's pay."

Garth's hard work paid off. In 1990, after 6 years with RACQ, Garth was appointed Field Supervisor in South-East Queensland.

"I managed a workforce of over a hundred mechanics," said Garth. "When I look back, I can see how much I enjoyed the 'people' aspect of these roles. I enjoy communicating with people and giving them a sense of achievement."

Garth's next promotion was to the role of Road Service Manager, where he had the opportunity to fulfil his other passion – how businesses work. In this senior management role, Garth introduced Quality Assurance (QA) to RACQ, including third-party certification.

"QA was relatively new, and some of our major customers were moving in that direction," said Garth. "The process revealed that we were not delivering on our promises uniformly across the state. We were not providing the same service levels in outback towns as we did in the city. QA led to a tiered service offer, better communication with our customers, and the development of new products such as RACQ Plus, which includes extra services and extended towing to major town centres. By turning the microscope on ourselves and inviting external auditors to assess our practices, we developed better practices for the business."

In this role, Garth also introduced the very successful RACQ Battery Service, which is still a successful and lucrative business unit. A keen student of business management through studies and reading, Garth is endlessly fascinated by people who create great companies.

"I admire the likes of Richard Branson," said Garth. "He has a real passion for his business and the brand, and people who work for him know that he is genuine. You can have the best product and write the best business plan but it will fail if the people are not engaged."

Garth was happy working for RACQ, but yearned for a national role within a national company, so when the National Operations Manager job became available at coach company Greyhound Pioneer, he rose to the challenge despite the company's obvious financial woes.

"The guys at RACQ were surprised by my decision to leave after so many years at RACQ", recalled Garth. "But, I was young enough to give it a good crack and I needed a new challenge. I enjoy taking on new challenges and responsibilities and I am driven to deliver benefits to whoever I work for."

Greyhound wasn't without some financial difficulties and needed to address its cost structure. Garth's main task was managing the fleet of around 200 coaches that travelled a total of 30 million kilometres each year across Australia.

"There was a delicate balance between the 'need to have' and the 'nice to have'; between doing extensive maintenance or a complete rebuild," said Garth. "The cost and likelihood of a breakdown had to be weighed against the cost of removing the coach from the fleet for a period of time. I rationalised the fleet and brought in harder-working, more cost-efficient Scania coaches from Europe. I was also responsible for rationalising fleet workshops, and outsourced the mechanical repair work."

Garth was quickly promoted to the role of General Manager and facilitated a merger with Qld based, McCaffertys Coaches in 2000. With the merger pretty much 'done and dusted' he was ready for the next big challenge. Along came Peter O'Keeffe, at that time owner of Matilda Fuel Supplies with an offer that was hard to turn down.

"Greyhound coaches used to stop at Matilda sites, so that's how we got to know each other," said Garth. "I accepted Peter's offer because I could see the enormous potential to improve the Matilda network. It was a bit of a rough diamond in those days. It was a large, but fragmented, with a small number of company-operated sites and a network of commission agents that pretty much ran the sites their way. In the main, they did a good job but the network was not taking advantage of the potential to combine their buying strength or to generate returns with a coordinated retail program. Peter asked me to bring the retail business together into a compliant network with professional standards."

Not long after Garth joined Matilda, Coles and Shell combined forces to form Coles Express and Woolworths and Caltex were flourishing under the Petrol Plus banner.

"People in the industry were saying that the independents were finished," recalled Garth. "Matilda's dealer network turned to head office for a way to survive. That was when we launched our 'milk and bread' promotion, to help try and combat some of the shopper docket fuel discounts and 'encourage' some volume back our way. The deal helped to pave the way for our 'Buy and Save' program."

"The sites are still operated by commission agents with a number of sites under company operation, but the retail business is more like a franchise now," said Garth. "Dealers have to qualify to be Matilda site operators and they comply with our standards and follow our business model. This business model acknowledges that our market is fairly mainstream. I think I am fairly in tune with everyday people and what they are looking for."

Under Garth's leadership, the Matilda network has not only survived, but is thriving. The successful retail network was a big part of the appeal for Neumann Petroleum. Although of a similar size, the two networks of retail sites are quite different. Matilda operators are agents who sell fuel provided on consignment. Matilda head office sets the fuel price board each day for its agents. Neumann Petroleum operators on the other hand, buy their fuel from Neumann under a supply agreement and carry the Neumann brand under a branding agreement. Neumann site operators set their own board price each day.

"As General Manager of Matilda Fuel, my challenge is to ultimately operate and capitalise on the many retail opportunities that the strength of the combined network brings," said Garth. "The challenge will be to maintain Matilda's consistent retail image, in particular a consistent fuel pricing policy. Matilda is positioned in the minds of consumers as a competitively-priced independent; usually the lowest in the area. It has been Matilda's yield management pricing system and consistent monitoring of the competition that has created and maintained this position. I am working with Neumann Petroleum retailers to introduce them to the benefits of group promotions and buying power."

No doubt Garth's pragmatic and personable approach will ease the transition.

"Communication is the key," said Garth. "Systems and procedures are important, but at the end of the day it's all about people. I still love to work shoulder-to-shoulder with staff at their sites. That being said, it's not all about me. I am fortunate to have a hard-working productive team of people that I rely on, trust and together have a wealth of skills and experience. I have also been very lucky to have a wonderful family, in particular my wife Sandra. We were married shortly after I finished my apprenticeship. All my jobs have been with companies that operate 24/7, involving long hours and often time away from home. Sandra and my three sons have been very supportive throughout my career."

ADVICE TO GENERAL MANAGERS:

Share the vision and motivate staff — this is a tough business with tight margins, so people need to be motivated; they need to have a sense that the business has goals as well as strategies to achieve these goals.

Encourage constructive criticism and learn to read body language — staff need to know they can say what they think; but sometimes they don't, so it helps to take notice and read their reactions to your proposals.

Empower and trust staff — to be effective, people need to have the confidence that you will back them when they make decisions; mistakes are for learning from, not reasons to punish people.

Keep your office door open – staying contactable allows you to keep in touch with the business.

Remember that big attitudes/egos just get in the way.