New head sees plenty of scope

Johnathan King

Fletcher Building chief executive-designate Jonathan Ling sees plenty of opportunities to expand the building products giant when he takes over the $2.02 million-a-year role in the spring.

Ling, a mechanical engineer, said: "Fletcher Building is not going to change direction in any significant way, but opportunities within the generic building materials area will be very attractive to us.

"If you look at the number of products on a house and the ones that we make, there are still a lot of opportunities available to us."

Further geographic expansion may also be on the cards.

"We also have investments in Asia and the US, and as an extension to our existing business if opportunities present themselves that is something we would have to consider very seriously."

But he said the operational disciplines the outgoing Ralph Waters and the rest of the management team installed rated with the best in Australasia and would be maintained.

He is in line for a base salary of $900,000 as well as short-term and long-term incentive plans worth as much as $1.12 million. He will move from Melbourne to Auckland.

Under Ling, earnings at the panel business he now leads have almost doubled in the past two years as it expanded through acquisitions, making up for the impact of rising costs.

Before joining Fletcher Building in 2003 he held management and leadership roles at companies such as packaging giant Visy and manufacturing group Austrim Nylex.

Fletcher Building chairman Roderick Deane said his leadership qualities should reinforce the present Fletcher Building management culture.


Jonathan Ling

* Nationality: Australian
* Aged: 52
* Married, with two children
* Education:Melbourne University BE (1975)
* Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology MBA (1985)
* 2003-present: Fletcher Building
* 2001-2003: Austrim Nylex
* Previous employers: Visy Recycling, Pacifica Group, Engineering Innovation, Kenworth Trucks Australia.