Commenting on the appointment, Peter Scott, Chairman, said: “In selecting a new CEO, the SKM Board evaluated our internal people against a long list of external executives from across the world. Our search consultants noted the extremely high calibre of each of the internal candidates for the role, which speaks to the talent pool overall within our firm and the quality of our development approach,” he said.
“Santo has all the attributes to lead our firm into the future, particularly his global experience, his proven ability to build and lead teams successfully and his clear appreciation of our values and culture. Strong client relationships remain critical to our ongoing success, and I know Santo is passionate about absolute client orientation.”
Rizzuto said he was excited by the opportunities that lay ahead. “I’m honoured to lead SKM into a new chapter, building on the strong, global foundations we already have in place. My previous client leadership roles and global experience have provided me with a deep understanding and appreciation of SKM’s unique value proposition as a trusted partner to our clients, with a global capability to integrate a breadth of services, from strategic consulting to engineering and project delivery. We have a wonderful team of talented people at SKM, and my objective now is to engage and inspire the business and confirm our strategies to achieve focused growth into the future.”
Rizzuto is a qualified electrical engineer, having graduated from the University of Sydney. He joined SKM in Sydney in July 1997, from GEC Alsthom Australia, where he held the position of Divisional Manager, Mining & Materials Handling. Shortly after joining SKM, he led the firm’s initial foray into South America, working on a number of projects in Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. In 2000 he relocated to Santiago to establish SKM’s Chilean operations which culminated in the successful acquisition of Minmetal in September 2005, one of Chile’s largest engineering and construction management firms at that time. In 2006 he took on the role of Major Client Manager (Global) for BHP Billiton, responsible for SKM’s overall business relationship with that client. In July 2008, he was appointed General Manager of SKM’s Mining & Metals business. He was also appointed to the Board in the same year.
Rizzuto will be SKM’s fourth Chief Executive Officer since its foundation as a private, employee-owned company in 1964. He follows Bruce Sinclair, Jack Knight and Paul Dougas.
