Niina Marni! – It’s In Orbit from Down Under!

Interested in learning about what KBR’s up to in Australia and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region? We’ve got you covered! This week, guest host Leanne Stace speaks with Paul Kahn, president of KBR Government Solutions International, and Rob Hawketts, vice president of Government Solutions APAC, for a wide-ranging conversation about KBR’s busy year so far in Australia and APAC. As Australians say, we’ve been flat out like a lizard drinking! Topics include KBR’s capabilities in the region, the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce, the vision for KBR in the region going forward, and much more!

Transcript

IN ORBIT A KBR PODCAST

Season 3, Episode 5

Niina Marni! It’s In Orbit from Down Under!

INTRO

John Arnold

Hello, I'm John, and this is In Orbit!

Greetings and welcome to the podcast! Whether you're finding us for the first time or if you're a loyal orbiter, we're glad you're with us and keeping us in your orbit. And if you can believe it, we have yet another special episode for you. In a first on the podcast, we've handed over the reins to our colleagues Down Under.

Leading the interview for this episode is Leanne Stace, director of Communications and Marketing for KBR's Government Solutions Business in the Asia Pacific region, or APAC.

Leanne had the opportunity to sit down with Paul Kahn, president of KBR Government Solutions International, while he was on a recent visit to Australia. And they were joined by Rob Hawketts, vice president of Government Solutions APAC.

What follows is a very interesting and wide-ranging discussion with topics that include KBRs hot start to 2023 in Australia and across the APAC region, and the breadth of KBR's capabilities in the region, including the very important work we do preparing Australian naval recruits for the challenges of service. They also discuss the importance of a diverse and inclusive workforce, the vision for KBR in the region going forward and much, much more. So please sit back and enjoy, over to Leanne.

TRANSITION

Leanne Stace

Niina marni and welcome to Australia listeners. Niina marni is the Kaurna word for, “Hello, how are you?” My name is Leanne Stace, and I am the communications and marketing director for Government Solutions here in the APAC region. I'm delighted to be joining you all today from the Kaurna country here in Australia.

I'd like to begin by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land on which we are meeting today and pay my respect to elders past and present. I'm joined by Paul Kahn, the president of Government Solutions International, and Rob Hawketts, the vice president of Government Solutions for APAC. And they're both joining me from Ngunnawal country whilst on Paul's visit here in Australia.

I'd like to start by providing a brief explanation about why acknowledging countries are important here in Australia. The traditional owners of the lands here in Australia, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, have experienced a long history of exclusion from Australian history books, the Australian flag, the Australian anthem, and, for many years, Australian democracy. The history of disposition and colonization lies at the heart of the disparity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians today — including recognition of the traditional owners in events, meetings, and national symbols — contributes to ending the exclusion that has been so damaging for so many years here in Australia.

For the last two weeks, we've been delighted to welcome Paul here in Australia, whilst we host some key events and activities in the market. Paul, great to have you.

Paul Kahn

Niina marni, Leanne. Hi, it's really great to be here. It's always exciting to be spending time in Australia and with the amazing capable workforce of KBR Australia.

Leanne Stace

Thanks Paul, and it's great to meet you in person for the first time as well. We also have Rob joining us. Rob, it's been a busy couple of weeks.

Rob Hawketts

It certainly Leanne, and thank you for the introduction. And I'd like to add my acknowledgement please to the Ngunnawal people. That's the traditional owners of the land on which I'm currently joining this podcast from, and I'd like to pay my respects to the elders past and present.

Leanne Stace

Thanks, Rob. So as we've mentioned, Paul's been in Australia for the last two weeks — sort of late February, early March. One of the key instances that he's been involved in whilst we've been here and one of the most defining moments in the Australian Defence calendar over this year is the Avalon International Air Show. Paul, it'd be great to hear from you about your experience at the Air show and some of your impressions.

Paul Kahn

Yeah, it's been really great to be at the Avalon Air Show. I've spent a large part of my career going to air shows, in particular in Farnborough and Paris, and at different times have been involved in organizing them. So it's a really great occasion to get the whole industry together, and there was a real buzz and excitement around people meeting face to face for the first time after a significant break. And there the chance to meet with customers, to have that more relaxed and intimate conversation, was very important. To meet, particularly with partners where we are looking at how can we work together to provide better services, better solutions, to the Commonwealth [of Nations] in particular, but also internationally, in terms of the technology systems and solutions that we bring together from around the world. So a really good time together communicating and dialogue.

Leanne Stace

Thanks Paul. Are there any other highlights since your visit to the air show that you'd like to share with us?

Paul Kahn

Well, it's been very good to get out. I mean too, that's worth mentioning, I went out to Cerberus. So the main Royal Australian Navy training establishment where KBR provides a lot of the technical training there for the navy. And there, just to meet with the instructors, to meet with the customers, to talk to a few students, and find out how we're really making a difference in the sovereign capability of the Royal Australian Navy, was really encouraging. We've been involved in delivering that service over many, many years, and being engaged with the customer, providing an excellent service, is fundamentally what KBR is about. We're a very large business in Australia. We've got over 2,000 people across the country. And I've been engaged actually in Surfers Paradise. I didn't get to go surfing, but it was great to be together with the leadership team of the [KBR] Infrastructure Solutions business based out of Australia — where just looking at how we can manage the growth, where we are really making a difference in sustainable solutions, in improving the transport infrastructure, the water, and the environmental infrastructure of the nation — it really feels like important national work.

Throw in some submarine bases and naval infrastructure into that as well, and you really get a sense of where KBR is making a real difference to some of the mission-critical national challenges that Australia and the Commonwealth government faces today. So that was a very energizing time, looking at how we can work better together as a team, including the international dimension, that both businesses here in Australia are very much a part of.

Leanne Stace

Thanks, Paul. Certainly sounds like a busy and interesting few days here in Australia, from one end of the country to the other — from Melbourne Avalon's Air Show up to Surfers Paradise — which is in Queensland, for those of you not familiar with Australian geography.

Rob, Paul mentioned his visit to HMAS [His Majesty’s Australian Ship] Cerberus and the training support we are providing to navy. I wondered if you'd be able to provide a bit more information on that. It sounds really interesting and unique that support we're providing out of that base.

Rob Hawketts

Yeah, thanks Leanne. It is a very important activity as Paul has said, we've been delivering a range of technical, and this means electrical and mechanical trade training to the Royal Australian Navy at their principal training base at HMAS Cerberus now for over 30 years. That's a significant period of time, and we are genuinely considered and seen as a true, trusted partner for the Australian navy. We are really focused on how we support the navy to train their sailors so they are actually ready to undertake their tasks and activities in those technical trades whilst they're on board ship.

The technical trade training support services actually starts with that initial trade training, but it does actually cover pathways for sailors to progress right through the ranks up to chief petty officer. So we actually undertake the training from a variety of locations, not just from Cerberus. We also undertake that training from the west coast and also on the east coast at other naval establishments.

We have a really strongly specialized team down there. They really are very intimately aware of the naval training environment, the naval training employment requirements, but also highly skilled in their vocational trade training qualifications. And the combination of all of those things means that we're in a good position to help and to ensure that navy get their sailors job ready, as job ready as they possibly can be for their tasks when they're on board ship.

We are obviously continually evolving, and we wouldn't have been there for 30 years had we just been continuing to do the same thing. We're continually looking at how we can improve the delivery of the training, how we can optimize the training delivery through the use of virtual reality, augmented reality, or other mixed reality systems and capabilities, so we can enhance the sailors' experiences and reduce the time it takes for those sailors to be qualified and trained. It's a, I'd say a very successful long-term relationship with our key customer.

Leanne Stace

Thanks, Rob. And I wish I could say 30 years is longer than I've been alive but unfortunately can't. I'm interested in … you talk about training the navy officers. Is it fair to say every naval officer would've been through one of those training facilities and come into contact with KBR in that process at some point or another?

Rob Hawketts

Well, every technical sailor that's gone through the training program will have come into contact with KBR, so you're absolutely right. We've made a significant contribution through this technical and trade training to what you would call a national security of Australia.

Leanne Stace

Yeah, when we talk about — Paul mentioned sovereign capability — I think that is a perfect example of just how KBR are integral in supporting that for our nation.

That also provides me with a nice transition to the next topic I wanted to talk to you about, Rob, was — and Paul, I'm sure you've heard a lot about while you've been here — this thing called the Defense Strategic Review [DSR] that's currently underway by the Australian government. I wondered if you wouldn't mind providing for our listeners, Rob, a brief overview of what this review is, but also why it's so critical for our nation and for our business.

Rob Hawketts

Well, what it will produce, Leanne, we'll have to leave until we hear the public version of that, probably later in April. But in terms of why it's being conducted — and these are not my words, they're more from the government and those that have been published. There's a general view that traditionally Australia's typically operated in a strategic setting where it would have a certain number of years, generally a 10-year cycle of lead time before its national security situation deteriorates.

The general view is that is no longer relevant, that 10-year lead time. So the government commissioned a fairly wide-ranging strategic review, which will cover everything from technologies capabilities, force posture, and force structure. Everything will be covered. In the words of the government that have cited in the media, this is probably the most wide-ranging and fundamental review that has been undertaken in defense, certainly since the 1987 [Defence] White Paper. But it's likely that it'll have very profound effects on a whole range of capabilities, new technologies and systems that Australia will be bringing in.

Leanne Stace

And what, in your mind, this review, the opportunities it creates for the market here in Australia? It sounds, from what you've described, it's certainly very profound. It's going to have an impact. How does KBR prepare for that?

Rob Hawketts

Well, when you look at these changes, it sort of ripples all the way through everything that industry undertakes and provides back to, in this case, defense. One of the strengths of our business has always been the fact that we deliver. We've continually held that as the main mantra, and our customer recognizes that. And more often than not, when new changes, new requirements have entered, we've been one of the first to implement more innovative and creative solutions.

So I would fully expect that we'll see ourselves embracing these changes as they come in, and we'll be at the forefront of providing the right support and the right solutions for these customers.

Leanne Stace

That's awesome. Thanks, Rob.

Another very topical theme at the moment is this small thing called AUKUS, the tripartite agreement between Australia, the UK, and the U.S. Paul, I'm interested in your view, obviously being resident in the UK, being in Australia for the last couple of weeks, your thoughts, your experiences around AUKUS, what you think. Are there any differences between the countries that you've observed in their approach, their thinking, but also similarly, what are those opportunities for KBR?

Paul Kahn

Well, AUKUS is a very significant development. Certainly it's Australia, U.S., and UK standing together in a world where the threats are changing the dynamic and they're really very present. So how can the three nations work better together to support each other, and in particular, to bring UK and U.S. technology and expertise into supporting the needs and the enhanced capabilities for Australian defense.

So with KBR being a very strong and significant Australian company, a very strong and significant British company, and a very strong and significant, and, obviously, American company, we are very well placed to support all three governments, but in particular the Australian government in this big generational endeavor to enhance the capability and capacity of our ability to defend ourselves.

Leanne Stace

In your mind, Paul, how can KBR emulate that close relationship on a smaller scale? You mentioned our business operating out of those same three key regions and supporting the government. How do we as KBR operate and emulate that relationship?

Paul Kahn

Well, we do that by working even better together. That's one of the core values of KBR is to be a team of teams. So this is an area where our British, Australian and American teams can work well together to support each other's customers, but in particular the Australian customer, through the capability, expertise and competence that we have internally within the company in the U.S. and the UK for the benefit of Australia.

Leanne Stace

So it sounds like we're in a very strong position to continue to grow as a business, not only in the region, but globally, strengthening some of the opportunities that are emerging, demonstrating our capability and expertise.

Rob, I'm interested in your perspective, of what you see as some of those key opportunities or aspects that you think we need to be prepared for.

Rob Hawketts

Thanks, Leanne. I'm not sure I'd go too much into specific opportunities, because we don't yet know what the DSR and AUKUS necessarily will deliver. But what I would like to cover off is that, as I said earlier, 

there will be some significant changes. Speed to delivery of these technologies and capabilities will be absolutely critical. That speed and demand from the customers and the governments will drive industry to adopt new and more innovative practices and ways of working. And that's where I think, when I look at the combination of the DSR and AUKUS together, the footprint we have both in the UK, the U.S., and Australia, we are in a pretty — I won't say unique — but it's not many of us in those sort of positions, where we have that level of, or that type of footprint in the same three countries, and with a similar sort of technology and technology heritage or expertise inherent in those areas. How we leverage those skills and capabilities will be, in my view, one of the keys to success, and when these changes are introduced. So we've always been pretty creative — have to say that, certainly here in Australia — very much. And this gives us another opportunity to further display that creativity, that innovation.

Leanne Stace

So very much aligned to the strategic reviews that the capability that our three nations are growing, maturing, looking at how we sustain that as a sovereign capability, certainly here in Australia. But more broadly, I know that the world at the moment, some of the challenges we are facing in getting a skilled workforce and the right talent in the right jobs at the right time are presenting unprecedented and complex challenges for employers, for KBR to be an employer and contractor of choice, and you to be able to support these endeavors that our countries are embarking on.

I'm interested in your thoughts, Paul and Rob, in terms of how we can look at where we create a work environment with diverse teams, collaboration, that social responsibility at the core of how we operate to ensure we have the talent and the pipeline to support these national endeavors, but also do it in an innovative, national, defining way that you talked about, Rob, that KBR has been at the forefront of for so many years.

Rob, we've recently recognized International Women's Day. I think gender equality and equity is very much on the topic of conversation and how we can continue to strive to ensure we are getting maximum benefits and recognition for all genders and their capabilities. Can you please share your thoughts on the day and why it's so important for us to recognize, and what we need to do as an organization to support that international endeavor?

Rob Hawketts

If I just start with one sort of comment: a diverse business — and diversity comes in many forms — is a strong business. And that's been one of the key strengths, in my view, for our business and also in creating the right environment for the creativity that exists with that diversity to come to the fore. And that's been a major feature of the success of our business. And I'm sure that's been globally, but certainly here regionally.

But International Women's Day, just focusing for a moment on gender if you don't mind, it's really an important opportunity to reflect and take stock, not only of where we are in relation to this journey, but also what we've achieved, and then ultimately what we still have to do. But it is different. It is critical to really understand the difference between equity and equality. Equality means each individual or group has access to the same resources or opportunities.

Equity though recognizes that each person has different circumstances and seeks to find ways of allocating the actual resources that are needed for those individuals to reach equal outcomes. Now we've, in KBR, we've supported all our employees by ensuring they have the tools they need to succeed in their roles. And I have to say from a regional perspective, we've been making great progress. We've moved, the end of 2022, we've lifted our percentage of females within our business to just under 25%. The industry average for us is running at about, just under 19%. So we're well ahead of the industry, but clearly there's still more for us to do. We've made a concerted effort over the last couple of years to address a number of key… I will call them inequalities that leads on to the discussion about equity, but inequalities around pay. And certainly from a local perspective, we've made great inroads in removing that gender pay inequity that existed now to the point where the differences under standard deviation is sort of less than 1%.

It's down to about 0.3 of a percent, which is extraordinary. That creates a recognition in terms of the value that comes in the form of someone's salaries. But just as importantly, we've continued to make those investments in providing the opportunities for those women and women leaders in our business to progress their careers. So we've seen over 34% of all promotions in the year last year actually went to women within our business, well ahead of the general ratio that we have in the total population. Of that, we are pretty close to 25% of all our managers in our business are also female. The further promoting what I call that diversity in experience, in views and in capability, which really does strengthen the business. What is interesting though is over time that the attrition that we see in the business has changed from women leaving the business for maybe family or other personal reasons. Now we're sort of struggling with the fact that people are leaving because they're that good. They're getting poached by our competitors in the marketplace.

Leanne Stace

There's always a challenge. The summer months are certainly busy in Australia. And another wonderful festival we have been celebrating here in Australia over the summer months and more recently is the Midsumma Festival, and that's as well as the Mardi Gras and World Pride in Sydney. And Pride movements are important because they're rooted in the ongoing push for equal rights and the promotion of the self-affirmation, dignity, and increased visibility of gender and sexuality, diverse people. Paul, I'm interested in what KBR is doing when we talk about that inclusive, diverse environment to support individuals from the LGBTQ+ community.

Paul Kahn

Yeah, well, great question Leanne. And we had a team from KBR out in Sydney last week supporting that movement. So a lot of excitement and energy around that. What we do is we have an employee resource group called Pride and Allies to help create that supportive, encouraging environment. And certainly from my perspective, and really echoing Rob's sentiments, we are looking for genuine diversity and genuine inclusion. So we want people to bring their whole selves to work. We want them to be authentic and to feel safe at work, and that's very much the environment we're trying to create, because then, by being inclusive, we get those diverse teams. And it's only by good communication, good teamwork, that you get that really high-performing, successful environment that we have within KBR. And we want to foster and encourage. So it's absolutely part of who KBR is going forward. It very much speaks to our values that we are inclusive and that you can be yourself at work on whatever dimension.

Leanne Stace

Thanks, Paul. I've been having quite a few interesting conversations over the summer months with many of the celebrations and recognition that has been happening from the Pride festivals, International Women's Day. Towards the end of May in Australia, we observe National Reconciliation Week, which as I mentioned at the start is around our reconciliation with the traditional owners. A common theme through all of these conversations and observances is around unconscious bias and the biases that people carry, not necessarily about other minority groups or situations we're in socially, but also about themselves and their own capability. I'm interested from both of you, in terms of unconscious bias, where you've encountered that or how you've addressed that in your own personal experiences, is — when we talk about that genuine diversity and inclusion, unconscious bias and being aware of that and addressing it — isone of the key fundamental aspects that I think we all need to be aware of.

Paul Kahn

Yeah, and you're absolutely right. So recognizing we have unconscious bias is a large part of the journey, and then taking steps to ensure that those issues are addressed so that we are genuinely inclusive and we encourage that diversity. And that does mean that people need to change. We have to take the message about equality and equity out there so that people see visible leadership and actively challenge their own biases. So that's about self-awareness. It's about listening. It's about being inclusive. It's about challenging poor behavior when you see it. It's about being authentic and living the values of KBR.

And it's certainly very much part of our Zero Harm culture, which is absolutely fundamental to what we do. And I'm very proud of our safety track record. And it's not only safety. It's all about how we impact others, the environment, and really being part of a force for good in the world, because that's what we do. We want to make a difference to change the world for the better. And actually, being inclusive, being equitable is absolutely fundamentally part of that. And that's why we start all of our significant meetings with a Zero Harm moment. We just had Zero Harm day a few days ago to really get together, celebrate our safety culture, and make sure that everyone is committed to Zero Harm at work and in our lives.

Leanne Stace

Thanks, Paul. I love that Zero Harm covers physical and psychological safety at work. And as an organization, we are creating those safe environments for everyone to bring their whole self to work. Rob, is there anything more specific from the Australian business you'd like to share?

Rob Hawketts

Well, you asked the question about unconscious bias, Leanne, and I think Paul's covered that. But I think just on a local level, one of the things that we introduced, really to try to address this because, as Paul says, if you can't recognize it, then it's something that will continue to pervade the organization individually and organizationally. So in simple things such as recruitment and interviewing techniques and interviewing approaching, training people that are going through the recruitment as in those that are recruiting through the right processes and steps to take to ensure that that bias doesn't appear. They're aware of it, they're conscious of it, and they make efforts to ensure it doesn't manifest in that recruitment process. And I'd like to think that's contributed to some of the changes we've seen, particularly in the areas of promotions, but also the success we've had in bringing more females into our business.

Leanne Stace

And I think that also talks to the fact that this is a sustainable, committed journey. This won't happen overnight. This is an evolution and we've got to stay the course.

And Paul, well, thank you for your time. It's been great talking to you. We've covered many varied topics. It's been really interesting. I genuinely appreciate your time. I hope the listeners have enjoyed the conversation and learned a bit more about our business here in Australia, but also, more broadly internationally, that alignment with yourself there, Paul. I look forward to speaking to you all again in the future to provide some further updates with what happened with the Defense Strategic Review, with AUKUS, what submarine will we have? How are we going on that diverse and inclusive journey, any further updates? We are clearly making progress, and it'd be great to come back and visit that and continue that discussion.

Paul Kahn

Well, Leanne, that's great. And I hope listeners really are inspired by what they've heard. That's certainly, certainly our intent. They can go out, innovate, work together, collaborate, be a team of teams so that we can get on and really make a difference implementing what we say, so that we deliver solutions that genuinely change the world. So very excited and thank you for listening. Thank you.

Rob Hawketts

Thank you.

TRANSITION

John Arnold

What a fantastic episode! I hope you enjoyed it and learned as much as I did.

Hats off to Leanne for leading us through that very interesting interview. Many thanks to Paul Kahn and Rob Hawketts for taking time out to be part of the podcast. A special shout out to my colleague Aaron Stewart for his technical wizardry on this episode. And as always, thanks to our producer, Emma, for her amazing work.

If you're interested in learning more about KBR Government Solutions and the exciting and important work that we're doing in the U.S., the UK, Australia, and many places in between, please head over to kbr.com. And if you liked what you heard today or if you have an idea for an episode, we'd love to hear from you. So please email us at inorbit@kbr.com.

Until next time, from all of us here, thank you so much for being with us and staying in our orbit. Take care.