Tim Regan.
Work seems a million miles away for Tim Regan, he says, when he returns home each day and is greeted by his five children under seven--who all want their Dad! The current President of FEI Australia shares his upbeat and poignant thoughts in this profile.Title: CFO
Company: The Mirvac Group, an ASX-listed diversified property group and among one of the largest real estate companies in Australia. It has AUD22 billion of assets under control across property investment, development, funds management and hotels.
Born: Sydney, Jan. 26, 1965 (Australia Day)
Spouse: Lucy, married since 1998
Children: William, 7; Freddie, 5; Ellen, 3; Marnie 1 and Freya 1 (twins--a good way to finish up)
Education Summary: Bachelor of Economics, University of Sydney, 1986; Member of Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants, since 1989; Graduate Diploma in Project Management, University of New England, 2003; Fellow of Australian Property Institute, 2004
Career Summary: Price-waterhouse-Coopers, Senior Manager, 1986-95; Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, Commercial Manager, 1995-2000; James Fielding Group, COO & CFO, 2001-04; Mirvac Group, CFO, 2005 to present.
FEI Chapter: Member since 2003; President, FEI Australia, since 2005
Leisure Pursuits: When I manage to get out of both the office and house, I enjoy surfing, horseback riding, rugby and, of course, watching kids' sports. A recent surfing trip to the Maldives for 10 days with seven of my best mates was an awesome experience.
Time Management: I try to spend the first half-hour of each day reading material, returning calls, answering emails on my Black Berry and preparing for the day ahead. Also, I try to walk around the floors at least every second day, as it's the only way to find out what's really going on.
Favorite Book: Good to Great, by Jim Collins, for the simple but effective messages; and Packer's Lunch, by Neil Chenoweth, for all the gossip on Sydney corporate life emanating from one restaurant.
If I could, I'd spend one hour with: Bono from U2. Not only is he unbelievably successful in what he does, but he uses his position in life to try to improve the human cause. And, having recently seen "An Inconvenient Truth" (on the plane flying back from the USA), I'd chose Al Gore, for the same reason.
Who is your hero? My dad, for being the most unselfish person I know, and for making sure he always has the time for the people who care.
What's the best advice you've ever received? A former boss always used to say: "Now, let's turn that negative into a positive," and it's one bit of advice that always seems to come in handy.
Favorite Job: Working for the Sydney Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games for five years, doing a range of things, from securing the venues to running the soccer stadium at Games time. It was a real life-changing job--especially in that I met my wife then.
Worst Job: Being an insolvency practitioner for four years, and although fun--with the adrenaline rush on day one--you never quite get used to laying people off.
Favorite Deal: The takeover of James Fielding Group by Mirvac, for which I became CFO, after six months. In people terms, it was a jump from 105 to 3,500 employees and seven times the capital base.
If you could, what would you change? I'd make kids understand the value of money--a little bit of advice early on can make a big difference later in life both for respecting it and using it wisely.
As a child, I expected I'd grow up to be: An astronaut. Although "grainy," I remember the incident well, and didn't every kid want to grow up with a name like "Buzz?"
Quotable: "Bad times, hard times--this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times, such as we are, such are the times." I view this as a good outlook on life that goes hand-in-hand with "seize the day."
Email: [email protected]
--Edited by Ellen M. Heffes
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| Author: | Heffes, Ellen M. |
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| Publication: | Financial Executive |
| Geographic Code: | 8AUST |
| Date: | Nov 1, 2006 |
| Words: | 668 |
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