Michael Bigaila’s impeccable contribution to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Linfox has been praised at the highest levels.
On the back of his illustrious 34-year military career and several years in Linfox’s Government and Defence (G&D) business unit, Michael was shortlisted at the Prime Minister’s National Veterans’ Employment Awards as a finalist and awarded runner up in the ‘Veteran Employee of the Year’ category. This commends individual team members and entrepreneurs who are using their ADF-related experience to succeed within the workforce.
Now in the role of G&D Acting National Business Improvement Manager Linfox, Michael, his partner Toni, and General Manager Defence Linfox, Bradley Tatters attended dinner at Parliament House with the Australian Prime Minister, Hon Anthony Albanese MP and other dignitaries to announce and celebrate the award winners.
Linfox has provided high level logistics expertise to the ADF through its Joint Logistic Command Warehouse and Distribution Services partnership since 2013 and is their largest warehouse and distribution service provider across Australia.
Shared values propel transition to Linfox
The alignment of ADF and Linfox’s values helped Michael transition seamlessly from the military to Linfox. “Michael’s ability to use his applied intelligence to translate military experience into solutions for Linfox business operations has resulted in an impressive performance, with numerous achievements recognised and valued by Linfox and the ADF,” said Richard.
After Michael’s initial role as Site Manager at Puckapunyal Army Base, he was promoted to Regional Manager, Joint Logistics Unit (JLU) Victoria and Tasmania, which carries the largest geographical responsibility in Linfox’s G&D portfolio.
“This promotion, after just 14 months, demonstrates the capability, capacity and leadership Defence Veterans possess and the value Linfox places on those attributes for its Linfox-managed ADF operations,” Richard explained.
“It is also a signal of Linfox’s commitment to grow our own through internal career pathways and opportunities.”
Michael quickly embraced continuous improvement (CI) opportunities in his operations, producing significant regional and national results. For example, he improved warehouse management efficiency for high value security items across 30,000 locations, unlocking operational synergies and improving the receipt and goods issues timeline.
The ADF acknowledged this CI activity significantly enhanced efficiency, cost savings and streamlined tasks for Linfox warehouse team members. This operational metamorphosis is due to Michael’s resilience, leadership, communication, planning and operational-focused skillset, derived from his military exploits.
Thanks to Michael’s unparalleled military experience, the ADF involves him and the Linfox team more deeply in logistics planning from the very beginning, at regional and site levels.
“Michael brings a wealth of knowledge to our organisation through his experience as a Veteran,” said Colonel Clare Kellaway, Commander, JLU Victoria.
“Through his vast professional network and understanding of operational planning, he has been able to advance our strategic partnership with Linfox and assist us with meeting a range of operational challenges.
“We are very fortunate to have him working with the Linfox team and value his insights.”