Phil Raven – General Manager WA Country Builders Geraldton and Plunkett Homes Geraldton
Joining the building industry in 1991, before construction Phil had a background in diamond drilling. Phil is heavily involved with the local community with both divisions giving back to a lot of sporting clubs and organisations. It’s aspects like these that Phil loves as every day is different offering plenty of opportunities and it never gets boring. Describing one of his major achievements as driving across the Nullarbor with his 76 year old mother in law in 36 hours, Phil also achieved significant weight loss a number of years ago but still enjoys his red wine. If you’ve seen his garage you’ll know he’s a man heavily into sports cars, but also finds time out on his boat doing a bit of fishing.
Ian Holloway – Regional Business Development Manager
Joining the industry in 1976, Ian has enjoyed an impressive career seeing the building industry evolve whilst also being instrumental in contributing to how we approach housing and design today. Joining Julian in 1987 at J-Corp, Ian played a pivotal role in the organisations growth. He has been involved with the commencement of a number of building operations. His latter activities, as a General Manager for WA Country Builders, include a land development in Boddington.
Throughout his career, Ian has been heavily involved in the Housing Industry Association (HIA) receiving numerous awards and accolades, the most recent of which was the National GreenSmart Professional award. He currently is on the State Planning Commission Statutory Planning Committee, HIA’s President’s Industry Forum and Planning and Development Committees and represents the industry on the Urban Development Advisory Committee of the Water Corporation.
A known identity throughout the industry, Ian possesses a passion for the industry which has seen him be a solid contributor to housing policy in Western Australia.
Rade Ristovic – General Manager WA Country Builders Bunbury
With a Bachelor of Business majoring in Accounting and Finance, Rade has been working in the industry since 1992. Starting in the accounting and finance sector of the industry for 10 years, Rade made the decision for a seachange and moved to Busselton where shortly there after he was appointed General Manager. Spending a lot of time on building sites with his father as a youngster, a passion for putting families into homes soon developed and remains strong today. A devoted family man, Rade has been married for over 25 years with three now adult children. With no shortage of hobbies and interests, Rade keeps himself busy with boating, fishing, cycling, walking, golf and a nice drop of red from the local wineries.
Steve Kirby – General Manager WA Country Builders Busselton and Oswald Down South
As a third generation builder, Steve definitely has building in his blood. Starting as a tradesman and contractor, Steve has done it all from Drafting to Scheduling, Supervising to being a General Manager. In 1996, Steve opened the WA Country Builders Busselton office which is responsible for many of the beautiful homes you’ll see scattered throughout the south-west. With two diplomas in building and construction, Steve is also a registered builder. To Steve it isn’t about being mainstream, and prides himself on offering a dedicated level of service, honesty and integrity which permeates throughout the two divisions he manages and is hard to match.
Steve’s passion for the industry starts from seeing new people join the industry, and watching them grow in experience fulfilling their dreams and aspirations. He’s quick to say that at times it can be challenging, but it’s compounded by the satisfaction and reward that comes with putting families into homes.
Outside of work, Steve has been married for over 30 years and is the proud father of 3 children. If you’ve seen him driving, you’ll know he’s a man that loves his cars and when he has time, loves spending time on the track. His other interests include boating and dirt bikes – of course these both involve the desire
Peter Cherry – Sales and Marketing Manager WA Country Builders South-West
Peter joined the JWH group in 2001 as part of the sales and marketing team that drives the WA Country Builders brand. With a passion for being involved in a dynamic organisation that helps people make their housing dreams a reality.
He has enjoyed a varied career to date including a 12 year stint overseas and counts the time he spent as part of the Americas Cup defence squad, his current role on the board of Nurtureworks (A SW Children’s Charity) and his experiences in teaching success principles through international public speaking as some of the highlights. He believes that the best is yet to come!
He’s known as a great communicator who can raise a smile in almost any circumstance with a tendency to sing at the drop of a hat (even if he has to drop the hat!). A competitive individual, Peter is a rugby union tragic who still turns out for the odd game when his wife isn’t looking. He currently resides in the beautiful South West region of WA with his wife and two children who are the true joy in his life and enjoys music, gadgets and the water with a passion.
Rod Harris – General Manager WA Country Builders Albany
Rod has been in the building industry for over 50 years from when he started helping his father at the age of 10 building farmer’s houses and war service homes.
His greatest achievements and goals have been achieving his Builder’s Registration in 1992, creating a successful function centre at Kendenup, building several large commercial projects in Albany, raising 2 fine sons and learning to fly light aircraft.
He loves the challenges that the building industry presents every day and enjoys working out how to utilize new products and methods of construction. The building industry is always evolving and changing and it is a fundamental of existence, the need for shelter.
When not at work Rod loves flying, driving his MG sports car and spending time with family and friends.
One of Rod’s greatest strengths is ‘cutting through the bull’ and finding out what is really important and also being trained to look at the economics of a situation and make clear decisive decisions.
David Hochwald-Jones – General Manager Residential Attitudes and Oswald Homes
Spend 5 minutes with Dave and you’ll quickly learn he has a lot of passion for this industry. As a registered builder who started in the industry in 1998, David loves driving around and seeing homes that he can be proud to say Residential Attitudes built, knowing it will be there for a very long time. In an industry that never gets dull, the variety, challenge and chance to interact with hundreds of different people each day keeps life interesting. Outside of work, Dave is a devoted family man with wife, two kids and two dogs, he’ll take any chance to take the boat across to Rottnest and enjoy our WA lifestyle. The Rugby is also a passion, having played and represented the UK, Dave now enjoys watching the sport on TV or attending games at Subi oval.
Jay Walter – General Manager The Rural Building Company and WACB Avon
From a young age, Jay has always had an interest in the building industry; growing up with J-Corp and the JWH Group, a passion for the industry was easily developed. Having undertaken a double degree of Commerce and Behavioral Science at Notre Dame, Jay graduated in 2006 working at Midland Brick for 6 months before traveling overseas and backpacking for 4 months with his partner Sally. After seeing the world and taking in the sights, Jay worked at Plunkett Homes in a Business Development role before becoming General Manager for The Rural Building Company. Aside from the industry, Jay has a passion for cars and anything on the water.
Jim Ilias – General Manager Residential Building WA
After completing a Bachelor of Business Degree with a double Major in Marketing and Finance Jim began his working life in the finance industry before progressing to land development and then finally the Building Industry.
Having been involved in the building industry since 1989 in various roles from Sales through to Administration and Management Jim is passionate about all facets of the building industry however his main focus is Sales and Marketing.
Jim has many and varied interests outside of the building industry from fishing through to hobby farming and is a longtime member of the mighty Hawthorn Football club.
Tony Pritchett – Chief Executive Officer Plunkett Homes
Starting with Plunkett in 1985, Tony has seen the business grow and built a team of close and loyal staff. Becoming HIA President in 2009, Tony’s other achievements include completion of a Business Degree in 1991. With a love for the competition in the industry, the continuous change in trends and raising the standards help keep things interesting as Tony ensures he stays ahead. With a passion for motorbikes, you’ll often see Tony riding his Harley on the weekends and spending time with family and friends. With a weakness for a good read, this passion is also complimented by a love for good food.
Brian Garavanta – General Manager Plunkett South-West
Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Brian (affectionately known as ‘Gara’) started in the industry in 1974. Describing his greatest achievement as the appointment of General Manager for Plunkett’s South-West operation, honesty and integrity resonate through his personality. The different people you meet, the hundreds of families he has put into homes along with the thousands of people the industry employs keeps Gara motivated and passionate at work. Confessing he’s not very good, Gara loves a round of golf and spending time with family and friends.
Darren Burr – General Manager The Home Plumbing Company
Predominantly from a Manufacturing background Darren trained as an Instrumentation & Control Engineer and has worked in various industries to include; Chemical, Biotechnology, Food and now the building industry. As a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and the Australian Institute of Management Darren is firm believer in personal development not only for himself but for his staff as well.
Outside of work Darren loves all forms of motorsport especially motorbikes with Carl Fogarty and Valentino Rossi his all-time hero’s. Having raced round Silverstone and Brands Hatch on track days in his teenage years Darren would love another bike but he say’s “the wife will take some convincing!”
Peter Wood – General Manager Tekbuilt
Having spent a majority of his career in the supply side of the construction industry, Peter spent twenty years split between Midalia Steel and BlueScope, joining the construction side in 2008. His greatest fortune has been working with some great businesses amongst some fantastic people which has helped him achieve some great things. He’s quick to add that his two kids have also been major achievements but can’t take all the credit. Mentioning he is still fresh to the construction part of the industry, Peter is enjoying the challenge of meeting the diverse needs of people – inspiring him to become more of an innovator. A bit of a hobby man, Peter loves anything DIY, cycling and rugby.
Paul Di Carlo – General Manager Ceiling Force
Paul returned to the Building industry and joined the JWH Group in mid-2008 after a decade of being involved in a family business. Having studied building construction and working in the industry for a short period the opportunity to go into business with his family at a young age is what he says is the best education he has had and uses the same principles in business today.
Having a passion for all things business especially the building and real estate industry is what lead him to taking a role initially with RBWA before transferring to Ceiling Force and being promoted to General Manager in 2011. Being one of the younger members of the management team, Paul is a highly motivated people’s person who enjoys all facets of the building industry including the many challenges that arise.
Outside of work he is a sports fanatic and a soccer addict who represented Western Australia on many occasions before he retired from the game. Through sport and his general love of travel and exploring he has travelled throughout Europe, America, Australia and parts of Asia with the highlight attending the 2008 Soccer European Cup in Zurich as a spectator. Other interests include the stock market, reading autobiographies, making people laugh and having a great time.
Darren Kam – General Manager Constructive Media
Joining the Construction industry in 2001, Darren loves being able to show people a picture of the future of what their potential dream home can look like. Catering for a range of different building company’s with different designs and styles, the variety of projects and work keeps things interesting and seeing the response to the finished product keeps Darren motivated. Working with Darren, you’ll see someone who has a careful approach with each project, taking time for research, preparation and time spent on the work to ensure a quality result. Outside of Constructive Media, Darren enjoys tennis, horse racing, tarmac racing and animation/film.
Steve Brown – General Manager Active Plumbing
If you know Steve, then you’ll know there’s more to him than meets the eye. A practical joker and confessed ‘muso’, you’ll find a conversation can go for hours when reminiscing about old bands and #1 hits. Having worked in the building industry for three years, Steve has had plenty of experience in management and is able to apply himself using what he has learnt across different industries at Active Plumbing. Admitting he gets a buzz seeing an ‘Active’ sign out the front of a construction site, when he’s not driving around looking for them he loves spending time with his family and mucking around with musical instruments. So the plan for now? To be recognised as WA’s best plumbing company.
Terry Meyers – JWH Group Building Manager
Terry has worked alongside Julian as his “construction man” for over 20 years, having moved from J-Corp to assist with establishing the JWH Group in 2003.
Terry is the Registered Builder for the majority of the Group. It is Terry’s name and builders registration licence number that is on display at each and every one of our building sites. Over the course of his career as a registered builder Terry has supervised the construction of more than 30,000 homes.
As the Group Building Manager Terry has responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the building function, including construction, estimating, scheduling and materials procurement.
A key part of his role is managing the Group’s risks associated with our building and construction related activities. This includes ensuring compliance with the Home Building Contracts Act, Australian Standards, BRB initiatives and Occupational Health and Safety legislation. To this end Terry has been responsible for establishing a Quality Control team whose purpose is to ensure the Group’s building activities meet the required standards through site inspections, training and implementation of best practices throughout the Group.
Terry’s expertise is invaluable when dealing with any contractual disputes or litigious matters.
Terry is a keen negotiator, and ultimately responsible for maintaining strong relationships with our key suppliers.
Terry is a representative on a number of industry committees including the HIA HR Legal Committee and HIA Technical Committee. He was also the driving force behind the “Name and Shame” campaign and sits on the HIA committee that looks after it. He maintains close liaison with statutory bodies such as Standards Australia and the Builders Registration Board.
Married to Gabby; Terry has two grown up sons, with his youngest sharing his enthusiasm for motor sport, fast cars and motor bikes. Terry was previously a competitive squash player, but now enjoys a social game on a regular basis. His new found interest is the peace and quiet of escaping to his rural block in Beverley.
Deb Millard – JWH Chief Financial Officer and Company Secretary
Debbie was appointed to her current role in December 2008. Prior to this appointment she held the position of Finance and Administration Manager, a role she undertook since January 2003.
As CFO and Company Secretary Debbie’s responsibilities include:
• Assisting Julian with the strategic and financial analysis of the existing business and potential new business opportunities.
• As the figurehead for the Group accounts department, ultimate responsibility for the performance of that department and all accounting staff (7 accountants and 25 accounts staff)
• Contribute to the performance of the Group through the analytical critique of cash flow management, business models, budgets and accounts and otherwise provide a high level review and quality control function in respect of the Group’s financial and management reporting obligations.
• Continuous review and enhancement of financial procedures, policies and processes to ensure meeting the needs of the business
As a professional chartered accountant and auditor, Debbie spent the majority of her career prior to JWH Group with KPMG in both Perth and England for a period of almost 10 years. Debbie moved to Perth in 1997 with KPMG for an 18 month secondment, and never went home! Immediately prior to joining JWH Group she enjoyed a short stint with Grant Thornton as Senior Audit Manager.
Before embarking on a career in accounting, Debbie spent 3 years with Glaxo Pharmaceuticals in the UK as a Medical Sales Representative. And for the two years prior to that, held a variety of roles trying to work out what it was she really wanted to do.
Debbie is a graduate of Oxford University, UK, where she gained a BA (Honours) degree in Pure and Applied Biology in 1987, and she qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1996.
Outside of work Debbie enjoys most things outdoors, and generally keeping herself fit through a range of activities, and has recently rekindled her painting and drawing interests. In 2008 Debbie and her husband Peter took 4 months extended leave and travelled to India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The highlights of which were completing a lifelong ambition of trekking to Everest Base Camp and visiting their World Vision sponsored child in Bangladesh.
