25.07.2016

New CEO for Coates

Australian rental group Coates has now confirmed both the departure of its chief executive Michael Byrne and announced the appointment of his replacement.
See All change at Coates
Jeff Fraser, the current chief financial officer officially took over as chief executive this morning. He joined the company last July from civil engineering contractor Downer, where he had been chief financial officer of its specialists services division since July 2011. Before that he was chief financial officer of Downer Rail for six months, having joined Downer in 2008 as group general manager of finance.

Prior to his time with Downer he worked for three years with Tabcorp as general manager risk and internal audit. Before that he spent four years with Nemmco as chief financial officer and has previously worked with BHP in both the USA and Australia.
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Jeff Fraser

A statement from Coates said: “In his new role he will continue the execution of the Five Year strategy. This will ensure a strong and profitable company, delivering sustained growth, enabling Coates Hire to be the winning provider of equipment solutions in the Australian market. Following a difficult year in FY16, we are confident that the business is well positioned for FY17 and beyond under Jeff and the ELT’s (Exectutive Leadership Team?) leadership.”

“Jeff’s strong commercial acumen, exceptional communications and interpersonal skills matched with his vision and optimism for the future will prove very beneficial to the business over the coming years.”

“We would like to thank Michael for his contribution to Coates Hire during his tenure and the course of organisational change that has been critical for the company. Michael has implemented a number of key strategies and helped strengthen our internal leadership. We wish Michael success in the future.”