Brisbane munitions firm NIOA in sweeping restructure

Brisbane munitions company NIOA has unveiled a sweeping corporate reorganisation following its multi-million dollar purchase of iconic US gun maker Barrett Firearms last week.

Brisbane munitions company NIOA has unveiled a sweeping corporate reorganisation following its multi-million dollar purchase of iconic US gun maker Barrett Firearms last week.

Following the deal, the various subsidiaries of the company including Australian Missile Corporation, Rheinmetall NIOA Munitions and Barrett now come under the umbrella of the NIOA Group. Former NIOA Weapons and Munitions general manager Ben James has been promoted to chief executive of NIOA Australia and New Zealand while current NIOA chief operating officer Nigel Everingham will serve as group chief operating officer.

Jackson Nioa, formerly corporate development manager for NIOA, becomes group chief financial officer while Lee Goddard continues in his current position as chief executive of the Australian Missile Corporation.

Weapons design specialists Richard Basladynski, right, and Jason Jonker

Sam Shallenberger will serve as chief executive of Barrett with Bryan K. James the new president. Under the restructure, the NIOA advisory board and former Australian Missile Corporation board become one group board chaired by former Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne.

The board also includes former US Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord, former Parliamentary Secretary of Defence David Feeney, former Australian Army soldier Mark Donaldson VC, US Army Brigadier General (Ret’d) Alfred Abramson, Dr Ken Anderson, former chief of the aerospace division of the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG), and PwC Australia chief executive Tom Seymour.

Earlier this month, NIOA bought Barrett, one of the biggest suppliers of long-range rifles to the US military in a deal that doubles the size of the Queensland defence contractor. Tennessee-based Barrett Firearms, which rose to prominence in the 1990s after supplying long-range rifles to the US military during Desert Storm. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but according to Kona Equity, Barrett has annual revenues of about $120m.

Aussie Pride

The gang at Sentinel Property Group are celebrating Australia Day on Thursday by acknowledging their own cultural heritage. Sentinel’s 100-strong Brisbane team includes a large percentage of people who have migrated to Australia from all over the world, something that resonates with chief executive Warren Ebert given his German ancestry.

City Beat readers will recall that Ebert has a huge map of the world in his Brisbane office which is marked with pins in the more than 100 countries he has visited. Sentinel chief experience officer Michael ‘The Professor’ Sherlock says the company is proud of the diverse mix of its staff and as part of Australia Day celebrations they will have an opportunity to pin their names in the countries of their birth on Ebert’s map.

Michael Sherlock

Sherlock (illustrated) says the multicultural nature of the Sentinel team has expanded during a major recruitment drive over the past 12 months.

“As a business it has been a priority of ours to promote diversity and inclusion so we are proud that so many of our team are new Australians,“ he says. “Our staff have come to Australia from countries such as Colombia, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, New Zealand, Vietnam, India, Cambodia, England, Ireland, El Salvador, Peru, Chile, Thailand, Brazil, Norway, Mexico, China, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, The Seychelles Islands and The Philippines. I think we have almost every continent covered.“
Recent Mastercard research found that 55 per cent of Australian consumers said they are more likely to support businesses that prioritise diversity.