Current role: Chief Executive Officer
Current organisation: SA Power Networks
Last role at PwC: Director
Time at PwC: 1996 - 2001
Please note: At the time of publish, Andrew Bills was the Chief Executive Officer at CS Energy. Since then, Andrew has taken on a new role as Chief Executive Officer at SA Power Networks.
What’s the one career achievement you’re most proud of?
The most rewarding experience I have had over my career is leading and helping other people achieve their ambitions. To see the positive impact you can have on others and see them grow and be successful is something I will never tire of.
What’s been your biggest career challenge and how have you overcome it?
Becoming aware of the need to adapt my leadership style depending on the situation, as I am naturally a pacesetter. I realise this can be exhausting for some people and doesn’t build strong, cohesive teams.
Having recognised it was an issue, I consciously changed how I led and engaged with people. I used a coach and actively sought feedback from my team to adapt my style and improve. As a result, I became a far more effective and inclusive leader, who can draw on a range of different leadership styles depending on the situation.
Being open to change and being prepared to do something about it has been very satisfying and delivered better business and leadership outcomes.
What’s the most valuable lesson you learnt during your career at PwC and how has that helped you get to where you are today?
How to overcome obstacles. When faced with a problem or a challenge, someone will have been there before and you can learn from other’s experience. It is also important to know how to ask questions and collaborate, where possible, to solve the obstacle in front of you.
What was your dream job ‘growing up’ and why?
My dream job was being a professional musician. Both my parents were very talented musicians and music was, and still is a big part of my life. Fortunately, I realised that I didn’t have the talent to make it as a musician and I was better off appreciating other people’s talents!
If you could have an hour lunch with anyone - dead or alive - who would it be and why?
I’ve become a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell who has written many books on social and psychological issues, and has a great podcast called ‘Revisionist History’. He is one of the world’s leading thinkers and an hour’s conversation with him would challenge my perspective on many issues and broaden my knowledge.
How are you and your business making a difference for your customers, employees and society?
An affordable, accessible and reliable energy system is essential to our quality of life. And increasingly our customers and society more broadly are wanting this energy to be sourced from lower emission or renewable sources.
At CS Energy, we are at the forefront of the energy transformation. We are making investments in new solar, wind, storage and renewable hydrogen projects throughout regional Queensland. We also recognise that our coal-fired power stations will continue to play an important role in the future energy system as they evolve into clean energy hubs.
Ensuring our employees, customers and communities share in the benefits of the energy transformation will be key to its success.
With more than 50% of your employees living in the communities where they operate, what initiatives has CS Energy implemented to build positive relationships with the community?
Each year, through our community sponsorships program we invest $200,000 in the Banana Shire and Western Downs regional council areas to provide financial support to projects, events, and initiatives that deliver long-lasting benefits to our local communities.
Wherever possible, we also prioritise Queensland businesses and support regional jobs through our local procurement strategy. More than three quarters of our goods and services last year were sourced from business in Queensland.
Our power stations neighbour rural residential and farming properties. And we know the success of our business is dependent on the ongoing support and trust of these local communities. So, we make sure we are open and transparent with them about our existing operations and our plans for the future.
Every month, I travel to our regional operations to meet with our employees and our local stakeholders so I can listen and understand how the business can evolve in a way which delivers benefit to them.
We are also working towards the delivery of our First Reconciliation Action Plan as part of our commitment to improving outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our local communities.
As someone with over 20 years experience in the industry, how has the energy and infrastructure industry transformed since you began your career?
Ever since I have worked in the energy industry it has been transforming. In the 1990s we saw deregulation, privatisation in Victoria, and the National Energy Market created. Since then we have had constant change and we are now in the biggest transformation period that industry has ever experienced as we move to renewable sources of energy to achieve Australia’s net zero objectives.
What do you believe are the characteristics of great leaders?
Humility and the ability to listen are the most important characteristics for me. I also think that knowing the value of diversity and being able to bring out the best in people no matter what the situation is a fundamental leadership skill.
