Staff Spotlight Series: Andrew Vreeken
Continuing our Staff Spotlight Series, we shine a light on the people behind Leighton O’Brien who make the company tick. You’ll never guess which famous actor Andrew Vreeken would choose to play him in a movie about his life. Read on!
Describe what you do and the best part about your job.
I’m a Director of New Business Development. I’ve been in the petroleum industry for at least 30 years and at Leighton O’Brien for 4 months. I work with potential retail fuel clients to help ensure their sites remain compliant from an environmental perspective and also service their fueling equipment such as pumps, hoses and nozzles so they run optimally and prevent unhappy customers when filling up their cars.
I really enjoy the work I do in terms of tailoring complete solutions to resolve key issues for our clients. LOB is a progressive, global business and takes a holistic approach to what it does. It’s exciting talking to our team in Dubai and Texas, for example. Back in the day service stations sold spark plugs, headlights and packets of chewy. Now they’re so much more sophisticated in how they’re run.
What’s been some of the biggest industry changes in your time in fuel asset management?
A key evolution has been the advent of ATGs which has improved compliance and safety and helps operators run their fuel systems using data. Prior to ATGs you’d go out and dip tanks with your hands without using safety cones.
Now ATGs are an integral part of fuel asset management – it tells you if there’s water in the tank, fuel losses, an overfill or a delivery. There’s a multitude of data that comes out of the ATG.
The other main change has been environmental regulation and onset of compliance methods like SIRA. There’s been a huge industry push towards being more environmentally friendly to mitigate losses and impact on the environment.
What’s a work-related accomplishment that you’re really proud of?
As I haven’t been at LOB very long, a previous project I worked heavily on a few years ago was transitioning 600 sites from Shell to Coles Express with a very short turnaround. I was involved in pulling the plan together including everything from signage and branding to consolidation of IT and wet and dry stock reconciliation systems. I think we converted more than 210 sites in one night, which was a massive effort.
What’s something you’ve done, but will never do again?
Water skiing. I did it a lot on family holidays when I was younger, then corked my thigh. That was the end of it.
What’s your favorite sport to watch and which team do you barrack for?
I love tennis and Roger Federer. I play tennis so when you see the things he does you really appreciate how good he is.
Who would play you in a movie about your life?
The Rock (Dwayne Johnson). He a big guy with no hair, a bit like me! If you’re going to have someone play you they might as well be better looking … LOL!
