“At some point, you realise that your profession isn't who you are; it’s just a skill you have, which can be applied in many different ways.”
Discover Stu's journey at Transurban and what skills helped him the most.
Take us through your career journey at Transurban – where did you start, where did you move to, and where are you now?
- Started at Transurban in 2017 as a Senior Accountant, eventually moving up to Finance Manager. During that time, we purchased WestConnex, and I was flying to Sydney every other week to help transition them onto Workday. It was a massive learning curve, understanding how the asset worked while it was still being constructed.
- Took parental leave for my second child
- Came back in March 2020, just as COVID hit. Over the next few years, I took on project roles and then shifted out of traditional accounting into Planning and Performance as a Senior Analyst. At first, I was a bit wary of removing the word ‘Manager’ from my title. But upon reflection, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I went from working on one particular asset to bringing all the elements together through our Group budgets.
- That broader perspective led me to prepare financial results for the Investor Relations (IR) team. I pitched in, doing everything from creating site maps to ironing tablecloths.
- I was eventually offered the Investor Relations Manager role permanently. The experience in IR made me realise the world is much bigger than finance. I got to travel overseas for roadshows, talk to investors in New Zealand and Japan, and see firsthand how the external world uses our numbers and understands our business.
What skills have helped you throughout your career?
My top skill is taking complex or technical issues and distilling them down so they can be explained in their simplest form. If you can't get the message across clearly, people can't make decisions. Having that corporate history and technical accounting skills meant I could explain why something was happening within our business.
If your career journey at Transurban was made into a movie, what would the title be?
Sliding Doors. It’s all about openness, taking the unexpected opportunities when they present themselves, and seeing where they lead.
