John Rubino dies aged 77

Former Monadelphous chairman John Rubino has passed away just three months after stepping down from the board of the engineering and construction company.

Mr Rubino died on Monday 16 January after being treated at Royal Perth Hospital.

Monadelphous said in October that Mr Rubino was retiring for health reasons but did not provide details.

He led the ASX-listed company for more than 30 years, providing stable leadership during a period of sustained success.

Mr Rubino joined Monadelphous in the late 1980s when the contractor came close to collapse.

He was appointed managing director and chair in 1991 and became executive chair in 2003.

Before joining Monadelphous, he was part of a quartet of Italian migrants who established and built United Construction into a highly successful business during the 1970s and 1980s.

After numerous changes over the past 30 years, United continues to operate as CIMIC Group subsidiary UGL.

John Rubino and Rob Velletri in their early time together at Monadelphous. Photo: Supplied

His long-running colleague and successor at Monadelphous, Rob Velletri, described Mr Rubino as “a legend at Monadelphous and in our industry”.

Mr Velletri spoke at length on Mr Rubino’s legacy back in October, at the time of his retirement.

“John encapsulates the Monadelphous values on which our company is built – safety and wellbeing, integrity, achievement, teamwork and loyalty – and his belief in building strong, respectful relationships as a foundation for success is at the core of how we operate,” Mr Velletri said in October.

“One of John’s greatest features is his belief in empowering people.

“The success of Monadelphous is thanks to the contributions of many people who are all empowered and encouraged to play their part.”

Monadelphous deputy chair Sue Murphy acknowledged Mr Rubino’s outstanding contribution when he stepped down in October.

“For so many of us who have had the opportunity to work closely with John, we have enjoyed his wry sense of humour, admired his phenomenal negotiation skills, his generosity of spirit and his willingness to roll up his sleeves and get involved,” Ms Murphy said.

“His strong belief in relationships and values defines us as a company, and Monadelphous has been incredibly fortunate to have spent the past 30 years with John at its helm.”

During Mr Rubino’s time at Monadelphous, the company handled the construction and maintenance of projects and facilities for companies including BHP, Rio Tinto, Woodside, Chevron, Shell, Origin, INPEX, Newcrest, South32 and Codelco.

It employs more than 8,000 people across its operations in Australia, Chile, China, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines, and it has a market capitalisation of more than $2.5 billion.

Mr Rubino was born in Delia, Sicily in June 1945 and migrated to Australia at the age of 21.

He is survived by his wife Gail, children Brooke, Jade and Zoe and eight grandchildren.