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The Italian town of Fondi, halfway between Rome and Naples in the province of Lazio, has its skyline dominated by the imposing Caetani Castle, built by the powerful Caetani family who ruled the region in the 13th century.
Fondi, also known for its burgeoning citrus industry, was the birthplace of Fernando and Palmina Velletri, who both migrated to Perth during the 1950’s and were married in the Western Australian capital.
After losing her husband in 1998, Palmina will proudly celebrate her 91st birthday on March 28 with her son Robert, the executive chair of engineering and construction contractor Monadelphous.
“I consider myself to be extremely lucky. Mum still lives in her own place three doors down from us and she still cooks for us once a week. Holding onto that traditional Italian tight family culture is cherished by us all,” Velletri says.
He joined Monadelphous - whose name is derived from a Greek word describing the way some flower stamens fuse together, symbolising “united” - in 1989 as General Manager after a 10-year career in engineering and management roles at Alcoa.
It started a business relationship and friendship with another Italian migrant named Calogero Giovanni Battista Rubino, best known simply as John - who hailed from the island of Sicily - that lasted for the next 34 years.
Velletri spent 19 years as Monadelphous managing director before transitioning to the executive chair role in November 2022.
“Dad had his own cabinet making business. I remember when I was working at Alcoa and they asked me to work at Monadelphous, I thought ‘Well, it’s a small company. Dad could do it in his own business, so maybe I can do that as well.’ I thought it would be a bit more challenging than being a small cog in a big wheel. I can tell you the first two years at Monadelphous were absolutely horrendous. I kept asking myself ‘What have I done?’”
But the rest is history.
With Rubino as chairman, the duo rebuilt the Perth-based company from near extinction - it went into receivership in 1988 - to become an industry colossus with a dominant position working on the nation’s biggest mining, oil and gas and infrastructure projects.
In 2004, Rubino stepped back from day-to-day management, handing the reins to Velletri.
Their partnership ended on Monday January 16, 2023 when Rubino passed away in Perth surrounded by his loved ones at the age of 77.
Before his funeral, a guard of honour stood outside the Monadelphous Perth head office in Victoria Park to welcome him to work for the last time. The flags of Italy and Australia were flown as the staff observed a minute’s silence and waved goodbye to their hero.
“For more than 30 years John was like a father and brother to me, a mentor who always had an open door. We had that Italian background connection and built a culture at the firm that remains very Mediterranean, where family is everything. Personally, it was pretty devastating to lose him and it was just terrible because he meant so much to so many people,” Velletri says.
“But we had a succession plan in place. In terms of the disruption to the business, it was quite seamless. Our CEO Zoran Bebic is a 30-year company veteran who started as an accounts clerk and has tremendous experience, including being our former chief financial officer.”
At the outset, Velletri says he and Rubino were aligned in their principles in what they thought was important, notably that good commercial outcomes come from good performance on the ground at the coalface.
“He taught me the importance of the front line to success. This is a blue-collar business where people are prepared to work side by side. It is not a top-down organisation,” Velletri says.
“He taught me to treat people as individuals to expose their strengths to the opportunities and minimise the exposure of their weaknesses. That is a key principle of our business - each person provides something unique, but their strengths complement each other - and we are open and upfront. A problem shared is a problem halved. I can talk to anyone on anything.”
Rubino also taught his protege to never promise what you can’t deliver.
“In fact, he believed in doing the opposite, to under-promise and over-deliver. Be conservative in terms of what you are creating expectations about. The worst thing you can do is not deliver,” he says.
Velletri describes the secret sauce of Monadelphous, one of the few remaining independent ASX-listed engineering firms after rivals such as UGL, Transfield Services, MACA and Clough have all been acquired, as having “the soul of a small company in the body of a big one.”
“We are very agile and flexible. We put a focus on people and their autonomy, giving them the freedom to make decisions quickly. It prioritises relationships over a transactional approach. People aren’t a cog in a machine.”
The owner-manager mindset is strong in the business. Velletri himself owns about 2 per cent of the firm, while the Rubino family maintains a holding of around 1 per cent. The directors and many of the employees are also shareholders.
At least 1,100 staff have been with the company for more than 10 years.
“We have built a big business that still has the sense of a family-run business. Remuneration is important but it is not where people get their jollies. They actually enjoy coming to work. Work is part of their life, not a means to an end. That is rare in a large organisation.”
Going forward Velletri believes Monadelphous has strong positions in its core markets of construction and maintenance in the resource sector.
It has exposure to the global decarbonisation thematic through opportunities in electrification, renewable energy, critical minerals and the balance sheet to pursue sensible bolt on acquisitions in new markets and geographies.
It is also looking at the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and big data to make backroom activities more efficient.
“But it is going to be a while before you don’t need arms and legs to build things,” Velletri quips. “Our core skill will continue to be managing workforces to do work and doing it with blue chip customers with big pipelines.”
John Rubino only did one media interview in his entire life and proudly kept a low profile, which speaks wonders about his humility.
“It was never about him. That is a vital part of our culture. It is never about the individual, it is about the team. Personal agendas are not tolerated,” Velletri says.
Two years on from his passing, he still misses his mentor. But while Rubino might be gone from Monadelphous, he will never be forgotten.
“He was our spiritual leader and leaves a long-lasting legacy in our organisation. His stamp is all over this place,” Velletri says.
“But it is really tough when you lose a member of the family.”
About the Company
Monadelphous Group Limited, an engineering group, engages in the provision of construction, maintenance, and industrial services to resources, energy, and infrastructure sectors in Australia, China, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, China, the Philippines, and internationally. The company operates through Engineering Construction, and Maintenance and Industrial Services divisions. It offers fabrication, modularization, offsite pre-assembly, procurement, and installation of structural steel, tankage, mechanical and process equipment, piping, demolition, and remediation works; multi-disciplined construction services; plant commissioning; electrical and instrumentation services; engineering, procurement, and construction services; process and non-process maintenance services; and front-end scoping, shutdown planning, management, and execution services. The company also provides water and wastewater asset construction and maintenance; transmission pipelines and facilities construction; power and water assets operation and maintenance; heavy lift and specialist transport; access solutions; dewatering services; corrosion management services; specialist coatings; rail maintenance services; and insulation and cladding services. In addition, it offers turnkey heavy lift services, and civil and electrical services. The company was founded in 1972 and is headquartered in Perth, Australia.
Board & Management
Robert Velletri, Executive Chair
Sue Murphy AO, Deputy Chair & Lead Independent Non-Executive Director
Zoran Bebic, Managing Director
Helen Gillies, Independent Non-Executive Director
Dietmar Voss, Independent Non-Executive Director
Ric Buratto, Independent Non-Executive Director
Philip Trueman, CFO & Company Secretary
Kristy Glasgow, Company Secretary
