The Career Nobody Grows Up Wanting - Glen Moloney
"You make your luck, take some risks, have a go."
Did you know what you wanted to be when you left school? Most of us didn't, and plenty of the most interesting careers are ones nobody ever told us existed.
Procurement is one of them. It's the work behind the poles, wires and contracts that keep the lights on, yet almost nobody grows up dreaming of doing it.
In this episode, Dr Luella Forbes reconnects with Glen Moloney, General Manager of Procurement and Supply at one of Queensland's largest energy providers, who she met during their MBA. Glen unpacks what procurement actually involves, from sourcing and negotiating contracts to managing the supply of everything a big energy network needs, and why commercial acumen and storytelling are so important in the role. He shares a career built by saying yes: a TNT scholarship that took him to the UK, a visa mix-up in Amsterdam he calls "a comedy of errors", helping set up the procurement arm for the Ford Mazda joint venture in Nanjing, China, and building a centralised procurement function at Virgin Australia before running Virgin Cargo. Along the way he reflects on transferable skills, why the right environment changes everything, leading people through change, and the values that have guided every big decision.
In this episode:
00:00:40 - What a general manager of procurement and supply actually does
00:03:57 - Supplying infrastructure across a state the size of Queensland, from poles and wires to vegetation clearing
00:08:23 - The skills procurement needs: commercial acumen, contract know-how and storytelling
00:16:47 - How AI is reshaping procurement and where humans stay in the loop
00:19:12 - "Nobody grows up wanting to be a chief procurement officer" and how Glen picked his degree
00:21:37 - A TNT scholarship and six months studying in the UK
00:26:07 - Moving to Amsterdam and an unexpected visa story
00:28:02 - Helping set up procurement for the Ford Mazda joint venture in Nanjing, China, and what it taught him about culture
00:33:44 - Moving to Brisbane and taking transferable skills into financial services at Suncorp
00:37:15 - Joining Virgin Australia to build a centralised procurement function
00:41:15 - Same skills, different environment: why support and mandate change everything
00:43:04 - Leading people through change with honesty and time to decide
00:47:09 - Airport negotiations and running Virgin Cargo, a full-circle moment
00:49:12 - COVID, stepping away and knowing when you've given all you can
00:50:28 - Looking after himself: the gym, Pilates and learning to meditate
00:57:39 - The best career advice Glen ever received
00:58:35 - What Glen is proudest of, and why it isn't about his career
Resources mentioned:
- Melbourne Meditation Centre - https://melbournemeditationcentre.com.au/
- Connect with Glen on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/glen-moloney-bb95a89/?isSelfProfile=false
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Creators and Guests
Host
Dr Luella Forbes
Dr Luella Forbes is a consultant specialising in Organisational Change and founder of The Career Library and it's podcast, Career Stories.
