Meet Hylton Conradie – General Manager, Queensland

Hylton Conradie joined the company in July 2018 as General Manager for Queensland. He’s determined to build on the successful formula already established for this fast-growing division of Advanced Buildings.

Hylton is responsible for leading the executive team, developing effective strategies and creating a vision for the company in Queensland.

A big part of this role will be to improve the productivity and performance of his team.

“My role involves building client relationships directly, whilst supporting and developing the leadership team. I want to help them to solve problems and create opportunities for growth.”

Originally from South Africa, Hylton has worked in the construction industry for over 15 years.

• He ran his own building maintenance company - Maintenance Group Queensland (MGQ). For many years, he provided services to real estate agents, strata organisations, body corporates and insurance companies.
• When he sold the business, he joined an executive recruiting firm and specialised in the mining industry.
• His next role was with Link Oil and Gas as Queensland Operations Manager where he looked after contracts for Conoco Philips, Origin Energy and Chevron.
• As National Maintenance Manager for Tu Projects (now Unita Group, one of the largest shopfitting companies in Australia), Hylton took charge of the construction team.
• He then joined Lake Maintenance as Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and NSW State Manager looking after public housing contracts with State Governments.

What’s the one career accomplishment you’re most proud of?

“One of my most challenging jobs was to manage contracts interstate. I had to oversee one contract in a ‘fly-in, fly-out’ capacity. The contract had been poorly managed, and I was leading a team that was despondent and where the client had lost faith with the company. We were looking at the loss of $55 million worth of business.

“It was my role to turn that around. Thankfully, I managed to change the situation and save the contract. It was about understanding the client’s needs and bringing the staff together to form a cohesive, collaborative approach. Together we were able to strike the right level of service and that’s what produced the results in the end.”

We asked Hylton what he thinks Advanced Building does differently from other building companies:

“I think we provide great service through listening and understanding our client’s needs.”

Outside work, Hylton hits the waves (amongst other things)

Hylton is a keen surfer and loves spending time at the beach with his family. He also enjoys family trips to the snow, playing golf and sitting around a camp-fire with friends.

A keen cricket supporter, he loves nothing more than to “cheer on the Aussies at the MCG during the Boxing Day Test – unless of course the South Africans are playing!”