A reputation for getting the job done

MIKE Folwell is an achiever, and while his style may not be flamboyant, it’s very effective.

“He is a relatively quiet sort of guy – his approach isn’t in your face, it is more subtle. But when he speaks, people listen,” a source close to Iluka said.

“He is not someone I would call overly charismatic in terms of flair comparing him to, say, some other business leaders. He is much more quietly spoken.

“He just gets on with it, basically.”

Part of Mr Folwell’s effective-ness comes from his ability to communicate effectively, as one former colleague noted.

“Mike is an easy person to work for,” the source said. “He can isolate the issues very easily and gets people to get on the job quickly and to get on with it.

“So he is pretty effective.”

Mr Folwell joined Iluka in May 2002, a period, according to sources, that was difficult for the company.

He replaced former CEO Malcolm Macpherson, who had been ousted four months earlier after 28 years with the company.

Since then, sources say, it has not been easy going, as Mr Folwell set about overhauling the company,

The change is understood to have created some internal turmoil, however the results are coming.

A business improvement program, due to be completed next year, could cut costs by up to $100 million.

Mr Folwell says the key to managing a large organisation is addressing the challenge of setting a core direction for the company.

“Your strategy needs to be clearly articulated and … people need to have a strategy broken down into what you might call bite size pieces that they can understand and that applies to them,” Mr Folwell told WA Business News.

“Then work with them through objective setting and appraisal and incentive programs to have them all working on those pieces so that they can impact on the overall company.”