Voices of BlueScope

BlueScope Company Historian is joined by Walter Suber OAM to discuss his recognition with a Medal of the Order of Australia, which he received for his long-term contribution to Australian manufacturing, collaboration with education and government institutions and the Slovenian community. Chapters Introduction: 0:00 Starting in Steel: 1:01 Research, Distribution and Product Development: 3:28 Suppor...

In 2025, Mark Vassella announced his retirement after eight years as global Managing Director & CEO. Throughout this interview, he reflects on his career, family history and the contribution of teams across the globe. Chapters Introduction: 0:00 Destiny: 0:54 Pragmatism: 9:01 Full Circle: 17:53 Mirror Image: 26:25 The Bigger Picture: 35:41 A Bit Terrified: 43:56 Making Something: 48:52 Conclus...

Craig Nealon (Company Historian at BlueScope) interviews our former Chief Executive of Australian Steel Products, John Nowlan. In November 2025, John became BlueScope's first ever non-independent, non-executive director, bringing his decades of experience in global steel-making and company management to the board. Together, they reflect on his career in Australia and overseas, what it meant f...

In this episode, Craig Nealon (BlueScope Company Historian) speaks with former iron-maker Jerry Platt, who, in 1996, was recognised for his work with the honour of lighting Port Kembla's then-brand-new No. 6 Blast Furnace for the first time. Although retired, Jerry maintains a keen interest in the industry and now jointly runs a popular Facebook group, Iron & Steel in Australia , which in...

In this episode, we’re featuring an audio-only version of a speech that Mark Vassella, BlueScope’s Managing Director and CEO, made at the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra on the 8th of October, 2025, in which he explained how gas plays a unique and essential role in both manufacturing and the energy transition. Mark’s address to an audience of key influencers and decision-makers across...

On Friday, 29 August 2025, we were excited to host the team from 97.3 ABC Illawarra for a live broadcast of their breakfast-radio show at the front of the Hot Strip Mill at our Port Kembla Steelworks in Australia. The special event was planned to coincide with the 70th anniversary celebration of the Hot Strip Mill, including dedicated interviews with leaders and current and former employees of Blu...

We're pleased to feature one-on-one interviews with two key stakeholders who have long collaborated with and provided expert guidance to New Zealand Steel on Māori culture, history, local community and sustainability. They are Piki Jakeman (Cultural Adviser to New Zealand Steel) and Riki Minhinnick (Chief of Ngāti Te Ata), and both generously share their personal stories and explain how they&...

On Saturday, 26 July 2025, New Zealand Steel celebrated its 60th anniversary! Vicki Woodley (External Affairs Manager) joins the podcast to discuss this significant milestone in a dedicated interview. Chapters Introduction: 0:00 Meet Vicki: 1:00 A Unique Manufacturing Process: 7:00 External Affairs and Community Engagement: 10:56 Job Opportunities and Leaders over Time: 18:04 Commemoration and the...

In this episode, we're featuring two extended excerpts of an event at the Inside Industry Visitor Centre in Coniston, New South Wales, which was all about understanding neurodiversity and -divergence in the workplace. The first conversation is between Mitchell Connelly (Digital Finance Analyst) and Stephannie Jonovska (Head of Finance Operations and Transformation); Mitchell shares his experi...

This episode features a recording of the ASPire Women's Network panel discussion that was held in front of a live audience of employees and streamed online from the Inside Industry Visitor Centre. Organised in line with International Women's Day, the initiative connects all women and existing networks at BlueScope, with the aim of creating accessible opportunities for development and sup...

Continuing a theme from episode 34— sharing corporate knowledge —we acknowledge and celebrate the experience of some of our longest-serving employees in Australia, as part of a campaign called MoMENtous , which ran internally at BlueScope during November 2024 in line with International Men’s Day and Movember. We include five extended individual and group interviews from that initiative, with each...

We explore BlueScope's program for the continuing improvement of workplace culture in Australia, named Respect Is How We Work . The episode features Laura Towey (National Employee Relations and Experience Manager) holding extended interviews with Sanam Sharma (Manager People) and Cynthia Gallina (Shift Supervisor) in Western Port, Victoria. They share their own professional experiences, views...

We’re pleased to feature Jane McAloon, AM (Chair of the BlueScope Board of Directors), including her first address at the 2024 BlueScope Annual General Meeting and a special interview after the event with Michael Reay (Head of Corporate Affairs at Australian Steel Products). Altogether, Jane gives an overview of BlueScope's global performance and its work towards a low-carbon future, while sh...

Gretta Stephens (Chief Executive of Climate Change and Sustainability) joins us to discuss the steps that BlueScope is taking towards a sustainable future. She dives into some of the highlights of our FY24 Sustainability Report and second Climate Action Report , sharing insights into our climate progress since 2021. With Gretta's retirement from full-time work planned for March 2025, she also...

We explore the partnership between BlueScope and Zeal Futures, which works with industry-leading organisations to offer high-quality, innovative apprenticeship and traineeship programs across a range of industries. In the featured group interview, you’ll meet Jeff Robinson (Maintenance Improvement Manager), Katie Tully (Electrical Services Manager), Stacey Sutherland (Senior People Business Partne...

We are joined by four participants to discuss the certification of NS BlueScope Vietnam’s Phú Mỹ site by ResponsibleSteel™. They are Annie Heaton (CEO, ResponsibleSteel™), Hai Truong Anh (Vice President HSE & Community, NS BlueScope Vietnam), Nhut Vo (President, NS BlueScope Vietnam) and Tim Rodsted (Head of Sustainability, BlueScope). Together, they explore the history, function and purpose o...

We meet Emelyn Low (External Affairs Manager at NS BlueScope in Malaysia), Jonathan Tan (General Manager at NS BlueScope Lysaght Sabah) and Rayner Binijin (Scuba Instructor at Borneo Divers), who explain how underwater reef beds made of TRUECORE steel® were used to embed thousands of young coral plants, supporting the rejuvenation of local ecosystems. Chapters Introduction: 0:00 Meet Emelyn, Jonat...

In this episode, we're highlighting the 50th anniversary of our Environment Department at the Port Kembla Steelworks in Australia. In order, you'll be introduced to guests Eric Lengling, David Hodges, Lorrie Zammit, Natasha Porteous, Neale Lundberg and Sharon Makin, along with interviewer Craig Nealon, as they discuss our long-standing commitment to the surrounding environment and commun...

In 2023, we're celebrating 60 years of the Plate Mill at the Port Kembla Steelworks in Australia! The Plate Mill receives slabs of steel from earlier stages of the manufacturing process, then rolls them to different degrees of thickness. To learn more about this facility and its people, we're featuring interviews with six employees who work there. They share their personal experiences, c...

In this episode, we meet one of our leaders in the global BlueScope group of companies. Speaking with Mark Hein (Director of Corporate Affairs, North America), Kristie Keast (Chief Executive North America) shares her experience at BlueScope, the lessons that she has learnt over the years and the challenges and opportunities that face the company—now and in the future. Chapters Introduction: 0:00 I...

This episode is a recording of a live-streamed panel discussion with two representatives from NPY Women’s Council, Liza Balmer and Lynette Ross, along with two BlueScope employees, Aneta Pyzel and Yasmine Gardner, who worked with the council through the Jawun Indigenous partnership program. (The online audience consisted of employees at BlueScope Australian Steel Products.) The panellists discuss...

Claire Jewell, Project Environment Manager at New Zealand Steel, shares her career story and her experience at the intersection of environmental and social sciences. She also elaborates on projects and community engagement at the Glenbrook site and how the company has become a kind of unexpected family business for her and her daughters. Chapters Introduction: 0:00 Interview with Claire Jewell: 1:...

In our final migration story for March 2023, Hamid Fard Aghaei (Senior Electrical Engineer / Team Leader) explains how he and his family moved from Iran to Australia in search of new opportunities and more time together. On top of this, he elaborates on feelings of culture shock and finding a greater sense of belonging. Chapters Introduction: 0:00 Interview with Hamid Fard Aghaei: 1:12 Conclusion:...

We are joined by Jagdeep Singh (Head of Strategy and Transformation), who shares his story of migrating from India to Australia, working for various major brands across the country and finally taking a role with IT and digital at BlueScope. Along the way, he asserts the importance of maintaining long-term relationships and building on your strengths in the workplace. Chapters Introduction: 0:00 In...

Michelle Mamayson shares her experience of moving from the Phillipines to Australia and working as the first female supervisor at Western Port in Victoria. Chapters Introduction: 0:00 Interview with Michelle Mamayson: 1:04 Conclusion: 16:53 Links Read a transcript of the episode. Adamson University Philippines Chemical engineering Assessment centre = group interviewing and assessment for recruitme...