Mark Gobolos joins WGA board as it looks ahead to the next 40 years

Mark Gobolos joins the Board as the company – which operates across Australia and New Zealand – looks ahead to build strategically after nearly four decades in business.   

Gobolos joined WGA in 2003 as a structural engineer, and 18 years on is the company’s Group Technical Manager. He has led numerous high-profile projects, including the $2.2bn new Royal Adelaide Hospital, University of South Australia’s $220m Cancer Research Institute and is currently working on the $500m Australian Bragg Centre. In addition to his engineering qualifications, Gobolos has a degree in Computer Science and was on the South Australian Committee of the Concrete Institute of Australia for over six years, including President and Vice President. 

At the same time, Andrew Woods, who has been on the WGA board for 20 years, has chosen to focus on project delivery and step off the Board. Andrew joined the company in 1986, and as a board member, has been pivotal in WGA’s growth over the past two decades, including his role as HR Director during the development of the People and Culture team.  

Joint Managing Director Peter McBean comments, “Mark joins the Board at an exciting time for WGA. He knows the business well, and his appointment reflects the company’s commitment to succession planning and diversifying our leadership structure.

Mark brings external perspective from his involvement with industry bodies. Plus, his complementing qualification in Computer Science will help us to better understand at board level the role emerging technologies such as AI have to play in contemporary engineering.”

Founded in Adelaide in 1982, WGA is a multi-disciplinary, award-winning engineering and project management team with an ethos based on developing long-term collaborative client relationships while delivering innovative, buildable and economical solutions. It employs around 400 people across Australia and New Zealand with offices in four state capitals, including most recently Brisbane. It is active across ten sectors offering diverse engineering and project management services. Recent notable projects include the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre and North-South Corridor Torrens-to-Darlington in Adelaide, the Swan River pedestrian bridge in Perth and Chisholm Road Prison and Hazelwood Power Station in Melbourne.  

Gobolos adds, “I’ve been fortunate to have grown my career at WGA and am thrilled to participate in this strategic leadership role. As the company nears its 40th anniversary, it’s an opportune time to consider the balance and diversity of the Board. I look forward to working alongside an esteemed experienced and talented group of business leaders to further build upon our philosophy of great people, client focus and technical excellence.”

McBean continues, “We’ve been fortunate to have survived the economic challenges of the pandemic and experienced double-digit revenue and employee growth and have expanded into Queensland and growing the business in New Zealand. Our Board is currently focused on our strategic plan, risk management and governance to take WGA forward into the next four decades.”