CEO MONTHLY / ISSUE 12 2022 15 Of course, finding ways forward in such a complex environment is by no means easy. The team have made it their mission not purely to offer solutions, but to listen to what problems actually need solving. “That means consulting with politicians and bureaucrats to understand the needs of government,” Con tells us, “and engaging with academia to co-create innovative solutions to meet those needs, now and in the years to come.” Such engagement means that the team’s plans are futureproofed, carefully designed around where nations and their citizens are headed next. “And a chief part of my role as Executive Chairman is ensuring governments are better informed and advised today and tomorrow than they were yesterday,” Con adds with a smile. The growth of Asuria belays the underlying ambition of Con’s approach to the organisation. “I have little interest in becoming the largest in the world just for the sake of it,” he says. “My goal is for Asuria to be the best. That means constantly striving to be the most innovative provider of solutions, and a world-class thought leader in human capacity development.” When looking at how Asuria has positioned itself, it’s clear that this is a business which is designed to evolve. Con brings an awareness of this goal to the table, and has used his leadership to collaboratively address challenges and obstacles, rather than dwell on successes. “I encourage managers and leaders to come to their board meetings with things that keep them awake at night so we can fix them together, rather than bringing me vanity metrics and shallow success stories that paper over problem areas,” Con tells us. This passion for moving forward and finding solutions lies at the heart of Asuria. “What makes Asuria truly unique is that all our people are truly enterprising at heart,” Con says, with a smile. “The Asuria culture drives a sense of innovation, excitement and passion in all programs and services we deliver. At Asuria, our people are at the heart of all our services. We believe the success of services is in having every employee treat every citizen with empathy, dignity and respect.” Nowhere is this better shown than in Con’s approach to disabled people. Humanity comes in so many different forms, with unique talents and abilities and Con’s position has put him in the ideal position to make real difference in the world at large. “I’m a tireless defender on a global scale is disabled people’s access to work,” Con tells us. “Economies all over the world are failing to properly tap into an immense talent pool of driven, capable people, because the needs of those with mental and physical disabilities are not properly understood and catered for.” Needless to say, this drive for using the talents of disabled people sits alongside the changing nature of work around the world and the supply and demand of labour in the post-COVID world. “Pre-Covid economies, which were addicted to a steady supply of migrants to fill labour shortages and skills gaps suddenly cut off during COVID, are once again in a position to fill vacancies with foreign workers,” Con explains. “The effect this could have on the domestic unemployed runs the risk of shutting homegrown workers out of employment, leading to the kind of social unrest and anti-immigration sentiment that only serves to fracture and divide societies.” Despite acting as a private enterprise, it’s these public sector needs that the team at Asuria are coming up with solutions to. The growth of Asuria has not slowed yet, with Con readily exploring the possibilities of further geographic growth. There are billions of people left on the sidelines of economic opportunity and this team has the power to life them out of poverty through work, self-employment, education and training. This eye for growth and innovation is what Con has always brought to Asuria. When he acquired the company, it had never made a profit. In six years, it was transformed into a lean and effective machine. “Asuria didn’t become a global top tier provider of employment services, trusted to deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts, by doing what every other provider has done before or plans to do again,” he says with a smile. “Asuria got to that point by committing itself to innovation, and by investing in the people, products and processes that proved we could deliver on those promises.” The value of fresh thinking is often overlooked because it involves risk. But by taking these risks, you can achieve the truly remarkable. We celebrate the success of Con and the rest of the Asuria team, and look forward to seeing what they do next. Company: Asuria Name: Con Kittos, Executive Chairman Email: [email protected] Web Address: www.asuria.com.au
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