Deane

"From Gibbs’ perspective, the primary task for the new chief executive was to implement the plan that had been drawn together by the taskforce he was leading. Deane had to satisfy himself that it was deliverable, commit to it and then make it happen. This he did with style, taking on McMillen as his chief operating officer and White as his chief financial officer, and bringing in some of his own people to strengthen the marketing and human resources side, where the taskforce’s work was relatively underdeveloped. In February 1993 he announced the second round of restructuring, with a goal of reducing staff numbers to 7500 over four years. It wasn’t Gibbs’ original target, but it was sufficient to ‘make the company sing’.[37](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477273-050103421-37) The market responded with gusto, sending the share price surging past $3.00 almost immediately.[38](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477273-050103421-38) When critics said Gibbs was tough and mean for slashing staffing levels, his reply was always the same: ‘It’s not me that’s tough on Telecom, it’s the consumers; they want and demand cheap calls. If we hope to remain a profitable business we have to give them what they want.’ Telecom’s progress was also helped by the slow progress Clear was making in its court battles."

"After six months or so of close involvement, Gibbs eased back, knowing the company was in safe hands. But, as Deane recalls, he remained an active and intensely interested director: *Around the board table he was an agitator, which is why the Americans loved him, because he was prepared to take the flak with management. But his interventions were always crisp and incisive. What I liked the most was the fact that I knew if I stuck to my guns and my arguments were in good order, he’d listen and reason with me. Then he’d let me get on and manage the company. He never opposed me on something that he knew mattered to me. He’d have strong reservations, but at the end of day I was the CE. Best of all, he wouldn’t keep revisiting things. He was always focused on the next issue. In the same way, although he’d often give the staff a hard time, they enjoyed working with him because he was hugely stimulating, imaginative and creative, and he forced them to fight for their ideas. I used to tell them, ‘You’ll never get a more outstanding low-cost consultant than Alan Gibbs.’*[39](private://read/01jrsfvkjy84rkprtbz9amfvj8/#rw-num-note-477273-050103421-39)"