MEET THE NEW YURRA CEO

Yurra CEO Stephen Rogers in the Ngaarda Radio studios. Credit: Tangiora Hinaki.

BY CASSIE ARIUU

Majority-Yindjibarndi-owned business Yurra has employed a new CEO.

Yurra is a contracting entity that was founded in 2013 as a result of a successful collaboration between the Yindjibarndi people and ALM Landscaping, a construction business established in Port Hedland in 2010.

The Pilbara-based company provides various construction and maintenance services.

Mr Stephen Rogers worked internationally for major businesses across the globe before taking on the role at Yurra.

“What attracted me to Yurra was primarily the vision and values of the company,” he said.

“Obviously being majority-Yindjibarndi-owned, and very much driven by the Yindjibarndi ‘3C’ model, which is ‘Community, Culture and Commercial’.

“Yurra is the commercial arm, the delivery arm of the Yindjibarndi nation, and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

Mr Rogers says the company plans to employ more Yindjibarndi people.

While one in three workers at Yurra are Indigenous, only a few are Yindjibarndi people.

Mr Rogers said an ongoing upgrade of Yindjibarndi community Ngurrawaana will help employ more Yindjibarndi.

“We’re looking to renovate a number of houses, support some programs around seeds, and seed storage, and seed planting, and generally look at services and the development of Ngurrawaana,” he said.

Linked to that is, we’ve had 20 local people who live at Ngurrawaana, residents both young and old, want to come and work as part of those services, which is fantastic.”

Listen to Mr Rogers speak to Ngaarda Media’s Cassie Ariuu: