Chair Showcase: Alan Rees – Building leaders who focus on what matters most

After more than 27 years leading complex organisations across industries as diverse as automotive, manufacturing, distribution, infrastructure, digital content, and local government, Alan Rees has one simple leadership conviction: start with the customer, and everything else will follow.

Today, as a Vistage Chair in Melbourne, Alan brings that philosophy—and the hard-won lessons of his global career—into the boardrooms of Australia’s mid-market CEOs. His mission: to help leaders step back, regain clarity, and create businesses where both people and performance thrive.

Alan’s career began unexpectedly in the commercial fishing industry in Namibia. Initially a technical specialist, he found himself swept into leadership after the company listed on the stock exchange. “Suddenly I was talking to bankers, investors, and shareholders,” he recalls.

“I was fascinated—and hooked on the dynamics of business.”

What followed was a progression into general management and ultimately CEO roles across multiple continents, including senior leadership positions with Rolls-Royce Power Systems where he pioneered a global customer service excellence program. Along the way, he navigated private equity transactions, hostile shareholders, fires, recessions, and major cultural change.

But the toughest challenge wasn’t financial or operational. It was personal. “I came from industries where I was the subject matter expert.”

“The hardest lesson was realising that when you insist on being the expert, you become the bottleneck. That’s when I learned to step back, build empowered teams, and lead strategically rather than manage every detail.”

That realisation coincided with his introduction to Vistage, first as a CEO member. “I was making decisions in an unfamiliar industry and felt like I was stumbling in the dark,” Alan admits. “I couldn’t confide in my team or my board, so I needed a third place where I could be vulnerable and learn.”

His peer group gave him the courage to let go of the need to “know everything” and instead focus on enabling others. The impact was profound.

“Once I accepted that my role was to be a strategic enabler, I could focus on what really mattered—our customers.”

This shift drove one of his proudest achievements at Rolls-Royce: introducing customer surveys and embedding the voice of the customer into culture, processes, and systems. The initiative not only transformed revenue and profitability but repositioned the brand globally—from product-centric to customer-centric.

Alan’s leadership style is marked by humility and reflection. He candidly shares missteps, such as underestimating the impact of his tone when walking through the workshop on stressful days. “We don’t see ourselves the way our people do. Leaders are always being watched,” he says. That experience sharpened his focus on self-awareness, a trait he now sees as essential for today’s CEOs.

Looking ahead, Alan believes leaders face unprecedented complexity and distraction.

“The challenge is to remain calm, grounded, and customer-focused while the world spins with hyped-up disruptions. Simplify, focus, and deliver lasting value for your customers—that’s the real moment of truth.”

Now as a Vistage Chair, Alan sees his role as part mentor, part guide, part community builder. “It’s a privilege to help CEOs rediscover joy in leadership, to reconnect with why they do what they do,” he says. His group brings together leaders from diverse sectors—including privately owned businesses, publicly listed companies, not-for-profits, and local government—creating a cross-pollination of perspectives that enriches every conversation.

Alan is particularly passionate about helping CEOs navigate two universal challenges: building empowered senior leadership teams and transitioning from “hands-on founder” to “strategic CEO.”

“So many leaders are proud of what they’ve built, yet struggle to step back without undermining their people. I help them make sense of that tension and find a way forward.”

Outside the boardroom, Alan recharges by immersing himself in nature—whether trail running, mountain biking, or tending to his beehives. Beekeeping, he says, is an unexpected but powerful leadership metaphor.

“It’s humbling. In the hive, everyone has a role, they collaborate seamlessly, and the community thrives. There are lessons there for every business leader.”

Alan’s journey—from technical expert to global CEO, from Vistage member to Chair—reflects a leader who has wrestled with the very challenges his members now face. He knows what it means to feel the weight of responsibility, to let go, and to find strength in shared wisdom. Above all, Alan believes leadership is about clarity and focus:

“When you align teams around shared goals, meaningful metrics, and a service-first mindset, you not only unlock performance—you create a business that truly thrives.”