Introducing Paul Manks, Sales and Marketing Director

Paul Manks is joining the Etex Australia (Siniat) team as Sales and Marketing Director. We asked him five questions in five minutes.

Welcome to the Etex Team! Can you tell us a little about your background and your vision for the new challenge?

I am very excited to be joining the Etex team and can't wait to begin this new adventure. It's exciting to be joining a business that has such a strong focus on making the world a better place through its building product solutions. I look forward to working with the Etex team in Australia to deliver on their business growth ambitions.

My passion for the building industry goes back to being a child growing up in a family with many tradies and engineers. I bought my first car (an EH Holden!) whilst working my school holidays helping my uncle build houses in Melbourne.

Soon after completing a Degree at RMIT in Building and Construction Management I was offered an opportunity to work on a 9-month contract with an Aussie engineering company in Thailand. This ended up extending to 6 projects throughout Southeast Asia on various building and engineering projects and a 9-month trip became a 6-year adventure.

I returned to Australia in the late 1990's and completed a full-time MBA at Melbourne Business School. Despite my intention to settle in Melbourne I was offered a role with Boral in Sydney, so it was time to relocate again. My final role in Boral was leading their NSW window business, which taught me a lot about selling into the residential housing market as well as some valuable experience in manufacturing and logistics.

Whilst working at Boral I got married to Eva, became a stepfather to a teenage daughter (Ellie) and welcomed our son into the world (Ollie).

In 2010 on a trip to Egypt we did a cruise on the River Nile. It was this time of quiet reflection which led me to the view I was ready for a new career challenge. Upon returning to Sydney I joined CSR where I initially worked in Gyprock, running their NSW business and then spent a couple of years running the Cemintel fibre cement business before taking on my latest role leading sales for the Construction Systems Division in Aus and NZ, which includes AFS formwork solutions, Cemintel and Hebel.

So, you are no stranger to the construction and building materials industry. What do you think the biggest challenges are in the industry now?

On a global level I believe an exciting challenge is how we help the world be more sustainable so that we are making a positive contribution to the world in which we live, work and play. Leaving a positive legacy for future generations is important to me.

If I look closer to home, Australia's population will continue to grow and demand for housing and infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and aged care facilities will expand. The challenge for our industry is to invest in the capital such as new / improved operational facilities, product innovation and developing great people so that we can be a reliable and trusted supplier to our customers and the broader construction industry.

What is your personal philosophy when it comes to work?

I believe in keeping it simple: Have a clear business strategy so we are all on board and going in the same direction is a key starting point, then execute on delivering that strategy in an effective and collaborative way. I am big on achieving results in a way that our customers truly appreciate us as a business partner, and also in making work a fun and rewarding experience for all our employees.

What does success mean for you?

From my experience happy customers and happy employees translate to a great culture and great results. That is success for me!

What do you do when you are not working?

I love being in nature and exploring new places and cultures. I am an active person so most days I will be either running, walking, golfing or heading to the gym. When I get a chance, I love to get into the ocean for a swim. Even in winter – it’s so refreshing!