ENERGY & PASSION

ACCULEC CEO SHELDON UPTON HAS TURNED AN ELECTRICAL SUPPLY COMPANY INTO A POWERHOUSE DRIVEN BY A TEAM OF UNITED PEOPLE.

- STEPHEN CROWE

He labels himself as sector agnostic, but he admits that his career path has been “quite a colourful journey”. Through it all, though, is a common thread of people and relationships.Sheldon Upton started his career in the steel sector in South Africa, moving through the sales stream into general management roles. He was attracted to Australia by BlueScope Steel, then moved into the resources and industrials sector. Along the way, he completed his MBA and other qualifications.

Then, one day, he took a phone call that started his venture into the private equity world.

“Three years ago I got a call from an executive recruiter in Sydney who said they had a CEO role in a private equity asset that supplied products to the energy sector,” Sheldon recalls. “I remember thinking what I know about electricity utilities is dangerous, but that challenge enticed me even more.”

He took up the opportunity and joined Acculec as CEO, embarking on a reformation program to modernise and reinvigorate the company. When Sheldon first arrived at Acculec, he found a team of individuals who were talented, but somewhat “disjointed”. “They were clearly highly capable, but not operating as a united team,” he concluded. That had to change.