CEO REFLECTIONS: 12 MONTHS ON

Last year AFAC and FPA Australia began a new era, with Rob Webb and John Kilgour, respectively, starting as CEO. Twelve months later, we’ve asked both to give their perspectives about the organisations they lead.

Spending the previous 12 months on the payroll as AFAC Director National Projects and Innovation helped me to build a picture of the organisation, but my preconceptions of what AFAC was when I looked over from the Bureau of Meteorology were a long way from reality. I had no idea of the length and breadth of where it steps in to support fire and emergency services. As I have been able to connect with more of the membership, I have learned the many ways that AFAC contributes to the emergency management sector, and in turn, how the sector contributes to AFAC.

Apart from the obvious things about just how complex and professional our sector—paid and volunteer—is, Australia and New Zealand are very lucky to have the committed workforce we have. I have learned to cherish national consistency deeply—it is a hard road because of the complexity of Australia. I suppose I have grown in respect for the sector. It’s an incredibly privileged position to be in rooms full of Australian and New Zealand experts, willingly coming together for the collective good of the community.

The key thing for me is connecting and amplifying. There are areas where our members grapple with many of the same problems independently. We are focused on supporting them to maximise their handling of those areas and truly leverage the might of the full sector’s intellect. Therein lies AFAC’s reason for being. This extends into the fire protection industry—if there is one thing we know, many different government agencies, business, and communities contribute to safety. The more we connect people along that value chain, the better the result.

We are nothing if we aren’t connecting with purpose and leveraging the knowledge across the sector and within industry—together we can meet the challenges of the future.

– Rob Webb

4. What are the biggest challenges?

There is so much to do; any one of our members runs a complex business with many moving parts. The more we understand how we can help each other, the better it will be. With a broad mix of members and stakeholders, finding those common threads can be tricky—by trying to be everything to everyone, we can dilute the potential impact of what we do.

5. What is your key focus?

Supporting a connected and capable emergency management sector. I want to support connection, capability, and knowledge, underpinned by the creation of an environment that makes people feel proud and safe to do what they do best.

We are nothing if we aren’t connecting with purpose and leveraging the knowledge across the sector and within industry—together we can meet the challenges of the future.

We need to enhance our capability because, more and more, our communities across urban, regional, and rural Australia and New Zealand will be impacted by fires, floods, and storms that will see our emergency services calling on their colleagues from interstate and overseas for help. Truly national approaches to things make us more resilient, allowing us to embrace the future and to support innovation.

This is key because it’s imperative that we use data to be future focused, allowing us to understand trends across the sector and to ensure that we are future fit.

Finally, we must create an AFAC that is safe, inclusive, and full of people and facilities that truly allow us to be what our members need.

6. What changes have you implemented?

The key thing for me in 2022 was listening. Through this, I could better understand the AFAC our members need and can build a new strategic plan to deliver that. We will walk through the next five years with a common focus and a clarity about who we are, what we do, and why we do it.

7. If you had a single catchcry for the members, what would it be?

It’s so hard to come up with a single catchcry. Traditionally it’s been ‘we are here for you’ and, while this certainly still rings true, I would repeat the words above: ‘connected and capable emergency management’.