This story is an excerpt from the Nov/Dec edition of inspire magazine, which IPWEA members will receive in their inbox this week! 

inspire sat down with Tasmania's Mat Greskie, and got to know IPWEA's new President. 

inspire: Congratulations on stepping into the role of President Mat! How does it feel?

Greskie: Being elected as President is nothing short of an honor and a privilege. If you had told me this is what I’d be doing 10 years ago I would have laughed. I’m grateful for the support from many friends and mentors who have helped me to get to where I am today. I really need to thank the Tasmanian IPWEA Division; they really support new people entering the committee and taking on leadership roles. The Australasian Board and management have also been great to work with and I look forward to working more closely with them all. 

inspire: Mat, what made you decide to study engineering?

Greskie: I’d love to say I’d always dreamed of being an engineer, but to be honest, like many people I had no idea what I wanted to be ‘when I grew up’! A mate’s father was an engineer and when I was in Year 12 he suggested that due to my enjoyment of math I should give engineering a go. It’s probably a bit embarrassing to admit, but I think I was at least half way through my degree before I really had any appreciation for what an engineer did on a daily basis. Anyway, it’s worked out fantastically for me; I love my occupation and it’s provided me with lots of opportunity in life. 

inspire: How did you first become involved in the public works industry? Did you always know you wanted to go into public works?

Greskie: Like getting into engineering, I just stumbled into public works! Again, it couldn’t have worked out better for me. I love all the public works roles I’ve been employed in and I enjoy working with motivated, positive and enthusiastic people which is what public works is full of. People involved in public works are understandably very proud of their contribution to their community. I find it hugely satisfying to be involved in public works. 

inspire: How would you describe your leadership style, and how do you think this will benefit IPWEA?

Greskie: I don’t think there’d be a lot of argument that my leadership style is pretty straight; I call a spade a spade, and I don’t have a lot of energy for beating around the bush. I see the best in everyone and the positive side of most challenging situations. I don’t dwell on the past; I’d much rather focus on making the future better and I encourage others around me to do the same.

I’ve had a lot to do with risk management during my career, so I like to run a risk filter over any complex decisions. To be successful we need to be prepared to take on risk at times –the risk just needs to be understood and appropriately mitigated and managed. We won’t always pick a winner, but we mostly will. If we only accept zero risk propositions, we’ll be extinct in a short time.

I also understand the role of director well; I have no interest in getting in the way of management running the business. We have an excellent CEO and staff and we need to give them the room to do what they are great at doing; the achievements of the past 12 months are evidence of that. 

To read the full Q&A, don't miss the Nov/Dec edition of inspire magazine, available to members this week.