While Matthew Ramaley started his career as an engineer, his next move – a switch into management – followed a somewhat well-trodden path. "I was swept up in the current of what most engineers did at the time: go on to business school," he says.
Getting in wasn't easy. "They told me when I applied that about 75 to 80 per cent of the applicants were white male engineers. The school wanted a cross section from the business community, so my odds of getting in were not good," he recalls.
CEO of Rawson Group, Matthew Ramaley moved to Australia thinking he'd stay two years. A decade later, it's home.Credit:Sam Affridi
He convinced them. Then, 10 years ago, after spending most of his working life in the US, Ramaley moved to Australia when his wife landed what was initially a two-year gig. "We both like sailing, diving and surfing, so after about three months living in Sydney we thought, 'We're not leaving'," he laughs. Now, the pair are both Australian citizens and Ramaley is CEO of Rawson Group, a move he made after spending 8.5 years at Stockland.
Rawson Group, which comprises Rawson Homes and Rawson Communities, was a family operation for most of its 40-year history. Ramaley, as its first "non family" CEO, has been tasked to somewhat corporatise the company which turns over about $500 million a year, and hands over keys to three new homes a day.
"When the family run business got shy of 700 home starts per annum, they decided to put together a management team to take it to the next level," he says.
Upon his arrival in early 2015, Ramaley set about building an executive team and growing the business.
"When I was in my old job at Home Depot in the US, I had a lot of experience buying businesses of this size, including ones started by brothers like this one … I was very familiar with the challenges these types of businesses they faced. But now I had to find the value I'd promised," he says.
He's the first to admit many thought he'd turn the agile, family company into a big, clunky corporate where it takes forever to get things done."That's the real challenge, but I think we've got an awesome balance of governance and process, married with the nimbleness of a smaller company. It's about engaging the team and putting the right processes in place, but not stifling it," he says.
Ramaley believes one reason for this early success is his interest in tapping into the breadth of experience around him.
"Diversity is not just about gender and ethnicity, it's about background and experiences too. I learned a long time ago that you can't change the status quo if you don't have diverse views to consider. The quality of your decision-making goes up exponentially when you have a team of people that come at problems in different ways," he says.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Name: Matthew Ramaley
Current position: Chief Executive Officer, Rawson Group.Responsibilities: Driving the strategy and performance of Rawson Group, one of the largest residential builders and land developers in NSW.
Education: Florida State University, Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, honours; Master of Business Administration, Goizueta Business School, Emory University (honours).
Additional training/courses: Six Sigma, Benchmarking; Construction Industry Site Safety Induction; Safety and Survival at Sea.
Professional associations: (As part of the Rawson Group) Ramaley is a member of The Housing Industry Association, Master Builders Association of NSW, Master Builders ACT and the Urban Development Institute of Australia.
Honourable mentions: An avid ocean racer, Ramaley has completed seven Sydney to Hobart ocean races. He's also a published underwater photographer (matthewramaley.com).
Strength: I'm quite proud that I'm known as being a transparent, consensus builder. I'm not afraid to be decisive when the facts are on the table and the team has connected the dots, but that process of getting everyone to consensus is critical, as then you get full buy-in from everyone.
Weakness: Patience. "I struggle with it every day." Management style and tips: "When you have the facts on the table and you're sure the team is across the full picture, it's about being decisive. You're the glue that sticks together all of that talent."
Work motto: Be the best, not the biggest.
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