John Russell’s leadership of Russell Mineral Equipment has been a constant feature since he founded the company in 1985. An equally constant feature has been his collaboration with RME personnel throughout all areas and regions of the organisation. Acknowledging that leaders bring their unique strengths, but also their weaknesses, to their roles, John Russell has placed an emphasis on gathering the counsel of others. This collaborative style has ensured diversity of thought and protection from stagnation throughout the company’s history. Executive Director Dr Peter Rubie, RME’s Chief Engineer for over two decades, similarly enjoyed gathering diverse inputs during his tenure as RME’s General Manager (2013-2016) and also through his extensive engineering leadership.
Collaborative leadership as a style works successfully for RME due to the company’s identification with the Mittlestand company ethos and disposition. Mittlestand companies are a signature of the German economy, and have historically been a contributor to this country’s economic strength, representing medium-sized companies and viewed as an economic unit. RME identifies with many of the quantitative and qualitative features common to this type of company, including family ownership or a family-like corporate culture, long-term focus, lean hierarchies and investment into the workforce in order to retain institutional knowledge and foster sustainability. Collaborative leadership places emphasis on the professional development and career satisfaction of company personnel in order to build succession into the workforce, consistent with the generational continuity trait of successful Mittlestand companies.
Engineering at RME prospers from the career diversity of the members of this Area of Expertise; it’s another function within RME that derives dynamism through collaborative leadership.
RME’s Chief Executive Team brings together a small number of key RME executives who share RME’s leadership function with John Russell and report to RME’s Board of Directors.
