Andrew Butler’s role involves managing a growing team to deliver cost consulting services to a vast array of clients across Australia. To stay relevant to the industry, he splits his time between sales, management and delivery. Having hands on the tools, in some way or form, will always be a part of what he does.
A typical day for Andrew involves ensuring his family is set for the day, having quiet time on a long commute to Brisbane for work, going to the gym, a walk or a run in between, and then time at home. His main motivation is his family and how young people see the world. He believes that we need to strive to do better, making the world a better place, and not just occupying it.
Andrew has been surrounded by the building industry all his life as his father, a quantity surveyor, built three houses while he was growing up, so he was always sitting on a scaffold - or holding the end of a tape measure! It was a natural progression to follow his father into the profession in South Africa, where he was born and raised.
Chasing something different to working in Africa, Andrew and his family decided to move to Australia and continue their lives there. Gleeds was involved in flagship projects in Brisbane at the time, and as a growing business requiring senior management, it felt like a natural progression for him. With an office based in Brisbane, the potential for growth throughout Australia was a drawcard.
Professionalism with personality is one key value that resonates with him. For someone undertaking their career at Gleeds, he’d say get involved, step up, and take control of your career, as he believes there is room in the business to make your role your own. His proudest moment has been the delivery of cost planning services for a +AU$1B large hospital project for Queensland Health. More recently, it’s been taking on the director role for Gleeds in Australia.
Outside work, he enjoys family time, supporting his family with their sporting pastimes, and enjoying sailing, cars and building. If he hadn’t built a career in the building industry, Andrew believes he would have ended up in mechanical engineering, but he says if money was no object, he would sail around the world!