Name Glenn Palin
Company John Holland
Group
Position Former CEO
HQ Melbourne, Australia
Employees 5,000I
n 1949, Australian engineering and construction icon, Sir John Holland,
founded the John Holland Construction Group. The company won its first
major civil engineering project in 1950, and has gone on to build many of
Australia’s major complex infrastructure projects. Though Sir John passed
away in 2009, his company and his passion for quality projects have lived
on for generations, surviving multiple acquisitions and business leaders,
including recently retired CEO Glenn Palin, who has continued to drive those
values throughout his twenty-three years with the company.“The late 1940s was a great time for engineering and construction in Australia,
a lot of new significant companies were formed by some incredible men who
became legends in the field,” says Glenn. Along with John Holland, at around
the same time AC Lewis formed Concrete Constructions; Ian Barclay started
Barclay Constructions; and Stanley Leighton founded Leighton Holdings.
“It’s funny but disappointing that there’s only one original name that survived
over the years, and that’s John Holland.”Despite existing for more than sixty years in an industry
that faces continued consolidation, the iconic John
Holland Group has preserved its namesake and the
values it represents.IMAGES ELIZABETH BULLSurvival of
the f ittest
EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW