In Focus with Bryan Kidd

1. What is your current role and main responsibilities?
   Director Project Management – Auckland. My role is to establish the Savills Project Management business in the north of NZ, deliver quality service to our clients, ensure we have a sustainable financial future, manage and grow the new team in line with our larger corporate mission and service expectations. I am also focused on creating and fostering a workplace culture which is nimble and active in the start-up phase, yet resilient and scalable as we grow into the future.
   
   
2. How did you get into this industry?
   After a few years working in IT at age 26, I decided to re-educate myself with a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Sydney University. I secured an Assistant Project Manager role shortly after graduation into a challenging “post GFC” construction job market.
   
   
3. Tell us a little bit about your career
   My first project as an APM was an environmental site remediation for then CityRail, then followed with some education and commercial projects. I worked on the 161 Castlereagh St development which was a great learning experience with exposure to high rise construction techniques, and high level project structuring and governance (AFL’s, Development Agreements etc).
   
   In 2014 I took the opportunity to relocate to India to plant the Savills flag and open our first India office in Bangalore, and over the course of 4 years expanded the business to have offices in Mumbai and Delhi with staff delivering Tenant Representation and Project Management work across the country (and Pakistan and Bangladesh). Once the India business was firmly established in 2018, I relocated back to Australia for a few months prior to moving to New Zealand to open our Project Management office in Auckland.
   
   
4. What has been your hardest career decision?
   Definitely leaving India to return to Australia for family reasons. I was having a ball, working harder than I ever had and learning new skills daily. What a rush. Having grown a business from a hotel room to a national business over 4 years in the most challenging environment conceivable, I was very personally attached to the country, my team and the overall mission. In deciding to leave I was concerned that my next move would not live up to the rigors, demands and rewards of working in a developing market in Asia. New Zealand is a significant change of pace, and an entirely different challenge, but still highly rewarding.
   
   
5. What do you love most about your job?
   The exposure to different people from different backgrounds and different disciplines, all contributing to a common goal. The fact that every day is different, yet similar enough for you to be able to hone your craft.
   
   
6. What has been your biggest challenge on a project and how did you overcome it?
   Delays to a base building completion due to monsoon flooding and other “local issues” caused delays to a scheduled opening date. I decided early to swing into available space adjacent to maintain the operations whilst the base build was completed. Good thing too as the original forecast completion date extended month by month until a year later it finally opened. I recommend having a backup plan, and don’t hesitate to pivot to it by throwing Plan A out the window.
   
   
7. What is your most memorable moment of your career?
   My first site inspection for our first project in India - driving through a herd of goats on a dusty block of land that would supposedly very shortly become a technological centre of excellence for a global corporate technology client. Winning my first international project pitch.
   
   
8. How can clients, consultants and contractors work together better?
   Seek to understand an issue from the other’s perspective and understand other parties’ motivations and drivers and the way to best present information to another party. Communication is key and understanding that we are all contributing to the job at hand. Know when to fire up and when to hold your tongue, even if you know you are right. Read the room.
   
   
9. What are some of the trends you are seeing in the industry?
   Increased use of technology and collaboration tools, and now in a post COVID world, the use of online meeting tools for documentation and knowledge sharing.
   
   
10. Did you think you would end up in the role you are in now?
    This role (NZ Director) yes, previous role (Country Manager – India) definitely not!
    
    
11. What do you do to keep learning and growing in your career?
    Work in multiple locations and environments. Exposure to and understanding of different manners of doing things is critical to growth and expanding your knowledge base.
    
    
12. What advice would you give to someone starting in the industry?
    Listen to everything, ask questions (in the right forum), take risks, and invest in yourself and your education. Be a sponge. Never assume people are acting maliciously, often it is a misunderstanding.
    
    
13. What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into PM?
    Ask yourself if you are a generalist or a specialist. Seek to understand what drives you and ask others where you could best fit into the industry; it is an encompassing industry with room for all personality types.
    
    
14. What do you do in your leisure time to de-stress?
    Ride and race motorbikes (as fast and loud as possible), walk the dog, build furniture and drink beer (not necessarily in that order).
    
    
15. What is the single most important quality you need to possess to be in this industry?
    Decisiveness.

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