John Battista Rubino (26 June 1945[1] – 16 January 2023[2]) was a prominent Western Australian businessman in the engineering and construction industry. After he emigrated from Sicily to Australia in 1966, Rubino co-founded the engineering company UGL, and later acquired Monadelphous, a company which he helped to revive.
Early life edit
Rubino was born on 26 June 1945, in Delia on the island of Sicily in Italy.[1] He was a surveyor in Italy.[3] In 1966, at 21 years old, Rubino emigrated to Western Australia.[1]
Career edit
Embarking on his Australian career as a trade assistant, Rubino found a pivotal opportunity in 1970 when he became a sub-contractor on the Ord River Dam project, marking the commencement of his influential career in engineering and construction. Collaborating with fellow migrants John Trettel, Charlie Bontempo and Sam Castelli, Rubino played a crucial role in establishing UGL, a major player in the Australian contracting industry.[4]
In 1987, UGL acquired a stake in Monadelphous, which faced receivership shortly after. Undeterred, Rubino, alongside his partners, embarked on salvaging their investment. Despite facing challenges during the early 1990s recession, Rubino assumed the role of managing director at Monadelphous. Rubino's leadership was initially panned to be temporarily, but lasted for over 30 years[4] in the positions of chairman or managing director.[5] Under his adept leadership, Monadelphous underwent revitalization, and by the 2010s was one of Australia's largest contracting companies.[4]
Legacy edit
Rubino was featured in The West Australian's WA Rich List in 2012,[4] and was recognised as one of the most influential Western Australian businesspeople in the newspaper's 2013 list of the 100 most influential.[6]
Rubino retired from Monadelphous in October 2022[7] due to health reasons,[5] and died a few months later on 16 January 2023.[2]
References edit
- ^ a b c "Celebrating the Life and the Legend". Monadelphous. January 2023. Archived from the original on 1 November 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ a b Smith, Sean (18 January 2023). "Former Monadelphous chairman John Rubino dies, aged 77". The West Australian. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ Treadgold, Tim (21 November 1994). "Payoff Nears For Migrant Business". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d Prior, Neale, ed. (1 November 2012). "John Rubino" (PDF). WA's Rich List 2012. The West Australian. p. 47. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ a b Pownall, Mark; Beyer, Mark (20 January 2023). "Mark My Words 20 January 2023". Business News. Western Australia. 10min 24sec. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ Harvey, Ben; Hatch, Daniel (29 November 2013). 100 most influential: The business leaders who shaped WA – 1829-2013 (PDF). The West Australian. p. 47. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2020.
- ^ "John Rubino". Business News. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
Further reading edit
- "Vale John Rubino". Australian Mining Monthly. 18 January 2023.