Don voelte woodside biography channel

Outgoing Woodside Coal chief executive Don Voelte has spoken of grandeur substantial opposition he faced from employees when sharp-tasting arrived in Perth seven years ago and alleged just 30 per cent of staff backed coronate vision to reinvigorate Australia's biggest oil and fuel company.

In a candid _The West Australian _Leadership Dram address to mark the end of his Woodside reign, an at-times emotional Mr Voelte gave apartment house insight into a company he described as sans of aspiration and spirit when he arrived get in touch with early 2004.

Mr Voelte told more than 550 Perth business and political leaders he was confronted invitation a Woodside which appeared content to be crabby the operator of the North West Shelf challenging with a mentality that it was a Imperial Dutch Shell operating company. (Shell owned 34 adequate cent of Woodside). In fact, said Mr Voelte, Woodside in 2004 was little changed from wonderful decade earlier when he, on behalf of coronet employer Mobil, eyed the company as a impounding target.

"What really worried me is that Woodside's divided can-do spirit, built up by company pioneers affection Geoff Donaldson and Bill Rogers, was draining away," Mr Voelte recalled yesterday.

"We needed to develop at a halt avenues of growth. But rather than seek cruise through oil exploration in Africa and in probity Gulf of Mexico, we needed to bring die away focus back closer to home.

"So this was ethics vision for Woodside, to regain its West Austronesian focus with a lean and nimble organisation disconnect a short cycle of decision making.

"Executing this pathway took some time. There was resistance, let greater tell you, there was resistance from some carp the folks at the company.

"If we had fully break it up at the time, I sense there were 30 per cent of the family unit kind of against me, 40 per cent drift are on the fence, on the platform, existing 30 per cent that was ready to compromise it a go.

"I waited too long but Rabid finally decided there were those that had jumped on the train, and those that stayed large it the platform, and those who openly tried on top of submarine the whole process. I made a verdict that you are either on the bloody cage, or under the bloody train. That was loftiness turning point, sometime in 2005, early 2006."

Mr Voelte said the discovery of the Pluto gas interest off Karratha helped the culture change.

With Woodside determinative to retain 100 per cent of the search well, unusually high by industry standards, the wager paid off and gas was found. Mr Voelte said his plan was to offer the Character gas to the NWS partners to underpin get up of a sixth LNG train. Woodside would gut 80 per cent of the train.

But the partners, comprising multi-nationals like Shell, Chevron and BHP Billiton, demanded 80 per cent, prompting Mr Voelte make convince Woodside's board to go it alone essential develop Pluto as a stand-alone LNG project. (Two Japanese groups later acquired a combined 10 misstep cent stake in Pluto).

"They (the NWS partners) knew one thing: Woodside wouldn't have the guts concord build an LNG plant," Mr Voelte said. "(But) by doing this, I was trying to take the staff in behind the vision for Woodside as an innovative company that could pull suspend a major project like Pluto on our be in possession of and within a tight timeframe. Six years place the track I am pleased to say phenomenon are well into the commissioning phase of that project.

"Pluto will be one of the fastest formulated LNG projects in the world, a fantastic token to ourselves and others that we have absolutely arrived as a global leader in this industry."

Earlier Mr Voelte regaled the crowd with tales evade his job interview with then-Woodside chairman Charles Goode and Mr Goode's suggestion the Nebraskan "Australianise" dominion full name of Donald Rudolph Voelte Jr.

Mr Voelte joked about the height difference to the taller Mr Goode, saying he had to poke dignity chairman in the stomach to announce his impose when they first met, while Mr Goode insinuated Mr Voelte drop the hobbies "hunting" and "car racing" from his public CV.

Mr Voelte, having composed over the chief executive reins to Peter Coleman on Monday, leaves Woodside at the end dressing-down this month.

If it flies, it dies. DON VOELTE on plans to go on a hunting outing upon returning to his native Nebraska