Strategic organizational transformation – lessons from a remarkable leader

In March 2022, Greig Gailey, a professional CEO who created billions of dollars of value for himself and his shareholders, died. Greig enriched the communities affected by the operations he headed and nurtured the physical environment around their plants, mines, and smelters. 

Greig served as the Chairman of Caltex (Chevron’s Australasian arm) and in many public positions including Chairman of the Minerals Council of Australia, Chairman of the International Zinc Association (Brussels), Treasurer and Council Member of the International Council for Mining and Metals (London) , a board member of the Australian Mines and Metals Association and President of the Business Council of Australia.

I had the great privilege of working as Greig’s mentor and partner in the huge strategic organizational transformations that he envisioned and actioned.

I first met Greig when he headed up the manufacturing arm of BP Australia.  Greig thought I had been employed to sack him and so decided that he would get rid of me first. In fact, we develop a global partnership that lasted over 30 years. Below I list the key elements that led to Greig’s success.

1. Personal growth and transformation
   In the early days Grieg confided in me that he loved business but didn’t like people.  He wanted me to be his “people person”.  By the time he died Grieg had come to love and enjoy people.  He went on a fearless personal growth journey and found that intimate friendships (and an incredibly strong intimate partnership with his second wife, Geri) were the foundations of his joy and success.

   Grieg entered therapy at the end of his first marriage. He also spent several years working with Manfred Kets de Vries, Jungian Analyst and INSEAD strategic leadership professor.  In his work with me Greig never shied away from looking at his personal blocks or from doing the inner work necessary to have him expand his vision and horizons.

2. Creative, wise, logical strategic thinking
   Greig never settled for the status quo or even incremental improvement.  He wanted breakthrough success.  Whenever he took charge of a new company we would sit down, and he would stretch his thinking to envision the best possible outcome.  When he was appointed as the leader of Pasminco (a failing mining company), he immediately put the company into voluntary administration owing over A$ 3.2 billion.

   He then strategized how to dissolve the debt, refloat the company, and restructure the lead and zinc industry globally.  At the time, no Australian company the size of Pasminco had ever been into administration and come out.  Greig decided that if he created a world class leadership team, worked skillfully with a new advisory board and the administrators he could achieve global success.  He employed me to work individually and in group with his leadership team, the Board and the administrators and with all three groups together.

   Through this process he was able to get the debtors to accept 1c in each dollar owed.  We then worked with the Board and the leadership team to float the company as Zinifex which became the number one growth stock on the Australian stock exchange.  He didn’t stop there.  He believed that unless he restructured the global lead and zinc industry Zinifex would not survive.  So, he orchestrated a merger with Umicore in Europe creating Nyrstar in Europe and Oz Minerals in Australia.  By the time Greig retired as a CEO (to take up a range of non-executive positions) Nyrstar and Oz Mineral were both worth around A$ 6 billion.  Greig had created over A$ 15 billion of shareholder value.

3. Managing the stakeholders
   Greig was a master at managing his stakeholders.  Let’s use Pasminco/Zinifex/Oz Minerals as an example.

   – The Pasminco Administrators – Greig didn’t sit back and allow the administrators to do what administrators normally did – i.e. sell off the assets and sack the staff.  Greig involved them in the transformation process.  While many staff members were outplaced this reflected strategic business decisions not a policy of stripping the company.
   – The Board – Grieg actively recruited a board of experienced leaders who he ascertained were calculated risk takers.  He ensured that each board member was willing to come on a personal (as well as a professional and strategic) growth journey.  He then supported and managed them through that journey.
   – The leadership team – While in many of the assignments that Greig headed he maintained the existing leadership team in Pasminco he carefully selected a small team of leaders who he trusted and whose skills complemented his own.  He then insisted that the members of that team go on journeys of personal growth and lead their people on a similar transformation.  In his team meetings Greig encouraged open debate.  One of his favorite savings was “if I want to know what I think I can look in the mirror and ask myself.  I want to know what you think – not what you think I want to hear”.
   – Organizational staff.  Greig was a master delegator.  He had on his desk the cartoon of a CEO sitting at a desk in front of a range of levers.  The CEO was pulling on the levers (but careful examination reveled that the levers weren’t attached to anything).  Greig believed that if you want a job done you had to involve people, trust them, create a culture of transparency and personal growth, and then empower people to get on and do their best, always measuring the results, not micromanaging how those results were achieved.  (I still get calls from Greig’s previous staff members asking where they can go to work where they will be treated with the respect and empowerment Greig offered them).
   – Investment in people.  Greig didn’t expect people to grow without support. Nor did he encourage personal transformation in a vacuum.  He believed that world class leaders required training and support around the achievement of world class results, he invested wisely in providing the support needed and in measuring results attained.

4. Trust and transparency
   Greig was an economist who headed up a range of large engineering-based organizations.  He knew he could only succeed if he was given the facts so that he could engage in educated robust discussions.  He discouraged communication triangles.  I remember once responding to one of his emails with an honest assessment of one of his lieutenants.  To my great horror I received a response from that executive.  Greig had simply pressed the forward button and advised his C-suite executive to contact me directly.  This way Greig encouraged trust and transparency and saved a huge amount of time – people took responsibility for their communication and told the truth.

   During the many mergers that Greig had me facilitate he insisted on sharing highly confidential material with several layers of leaders.  To my knowledge none of those leaders betrayed Greig’s trust and the leaders came up with increasingly bold and breakthrough solutions to presenting problems.

5. Humility
   Greig had great personal humility.  He wanted no personal glory.  His satisfaction came from achieving results and creating cultures wherein people thrived.  He would call me in delight when he received (often hundreds) of emails from staff member thanking him for his trust and their growth.

   Greig delighted in achieving for the greatest good of all his stakeholders.  While he accumulated a huge personal fortune, he channeled large amounts of this fortune into a foundation to help the wider community.

6. Generosity
   Greig liked to live well. He travelled first class and stayed in the best hotels.  He ensured that all who worked for him benefitted from the success they were part of achieving. He never stinted on salaries, bonuses, or rewards for breakthrough success.  Nor did he skim on praise or gratitude where it was due.

Greig was a much loved and highly respected leader with a lot to teach us all.

Written by Margot Cairnes.
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