A CV filled with business success

WHEN Iluka’s long-time CEO Malcom Macpherson’s left the company in late 2001, chairman Ian Mackenzie thought he knew what the company needed.

Mr Mackenzie said the company under Mr Macpherson was too operational and needed a corporate leader who could better develop relations with share-holders.

Mike Folwell was appointed four months later.

At the time Mr Mackenzie said the board believed the appointment would help Iluka achieve significant growth opportunities, noting the Stanford-educated executive’s ability, which included international experience and a noted business improvement performance.

Before moving to Iluka, Mr Folwell was the CEO and managing director of Australia’s largest fertiliser business, Pivot Limited, where he was credited with turning the business’s fortunes around.

Mr Folwell started at the farmer-owned cooperative in 2000 and was responsible for administering a business improvement program.

The program, which mainly targeted a gearing problem at Pivot, contributed to the company turning a $17.5 million loss for the year ending September 30 2001 to an $18.5 million profit the following year.

At the time Pivot said it had streamlined its business by the divestment of non-core operations, which not only reduced interest costs, but had enabled more focus on the core fertiliser business.

Before that, Mr Folwell successfully ran Pioneer International’s $2.5 billion Asian and Australian division, before the parent’s takeover by UK-based Hanson Group.

In his role at Pioneer from 1996 to 2000, Mr Folwell was responsible for business revenue of $2.5 billion and a workforce of 11,000 people.

From 1990 to 1992 Mr Folwell led the BOC subsidiary, Thai Industrial Gases.

During this time the business achieved a 100 per cent increase in sales and a quadrupling of profits.

Mr Folwell then moved to London to take up the role of global market senior regional director at BOC.