Ex-Cardno boss Andrew Buckley has quietly resurfaced as the...

Ex-Cardno boss Andrew Buckley has quietly resurfaced as the non-executive chairman of engineering outfit Premise
Anthony Marx, The Courier-Mail
August 2, 2017 6:16pm
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BUCKLEY’S CHANCE
THREE years after bailing out as the long-serving boss of Cardno, Andrew Buckley has quietly resurfaced as the non-executive chairman of another engineering outfit.
Yes, the Brisbane bizoid has just joined the board of new mob Premise, which formed last year from the merger of the O2 and UDP groups.
Buckley told City Beat on Wednesday that he was approached to join Premise a few months ago after an ill-fated tilt at fusing a few companies in the engineering and environmental spaces.
“They’ve got the right perspective and want to grow their company. I want to help people that want to grow, not stay stagnant,’’ he said.
Premise, headed by Dave Pollock, has outposts dotted across Queensland, as well as Papua New Guinea and Vietnam.
But the firm is now eyeing a push in to NSW and Victoria, a task that should dovetail nicely with Buckley’s skill set.
Over a 17-year career at Cardno, Buckley built up the company from 180 employees turning over $14 million to an 8000-strong global behemoth generating about $1 billion in annual revenue.
But the company has had a rough go of it since he left in 2014, enduring a revolving door of CEOs, profit downgrades, lay-offs and a sagging share price.
“I thought the company was going to move onwards and upwards,’’ Buckley said.
“I didn’t think it would stall. Obviously you have some regrets that it hasn’t gone on to bigger and better things.’’
Buckley, who spent a year chairing electrical products group CMI in 2015, has also indulged his passion for boating since leaving Cardno.
Last year he bought a 75 per cent stake in Muir Engineering and now chairs the company, which makes anchor winches for all kinds of boats, including super yachts.