PNG-born Clough continuing family business

By DALE LUMA
BRIAN Bell Group chairman Ian Clough calls Papua New Guinea home.
He was born here, began his education here. He is a PNG citizen.
“My father had lived in PNG since the late 1940s, and my mother since the 1960s. So when PNG gained independence in 1975, we all chose to become Papua New Guinea citizens. This is our home.”
He has been married for 26 years. His wife and two daughters live in Brisbane.
Clough was born at the Port Moresby General Hospital and began his education at the Murray International School.
“I attended primary school at Murray International School with a number of people who have gone on to make positive contributions to the country.
“I went on to attend the Brisbane Boys’ College and worked during the school holidays in the Brian Bell business from the age of 14.”
The Brian Bell business was set up in 1958 by his grandfather who set up a small gun shop at Ela Beach.
“My father worked for the business since 1968 and all of our family has been involved in the business at some point over the past 50 years.”
There are a number of people still working in the company who were there since its early days.
“I remember demonstrating toys in the windows of the Brian Bell Plaza in Boroko to show passing customers all of the new products we had brought in for Christmas.”
On completing high school, he worked in the firm learning about warehousing, corporate sales and more.

“ The highlight is that we are able to provide work for over 1,200 Papua New Guineans, allowing them to support their families.”

“After a number of years, I chose to move to Australia to learn more about retail and business outside PNG. The objective was to bring learning and experience back to PNG to support the business.
“Working in Australia was planned to be just for a few years. I ultimately worked for the Wesfarmers business in Australia for 25 years in various roles.
“Given the Brian Bell business was largely a retailer, I joined Wesfarmers, one of Australia’s largest retailers with a large portfolio of businesses.
“I was able to build a successful career and worked in many of the Wesfarmers businesses from Kmart, Bunnings, Coles, Liquorland and Target.
“From managing large department stores in major shopping centers to leading state and national teams, I was humbled to be able to contribute business integration programmes, business turnarounds and lead great teams of thousands of people creating billions of Kina worth of revenue for the business.
“As a regional manager for Coles, I worked with a great team in 17 supermarkets from Brisbane up to Central Queensland.
“At Target, I was responsible for the Queensland state portfolio and then national management roles overseeing 150 small format stores across the country.
“The work was interesting and rewarding hence I continued to work and learn more to bring these skills back to PNG.”
Clough was appointed chairman in 2017. He believes that any corporate environment is challenging but also rewarding.
“I was appointed to the board of the Brian Bell Group in early 2010 by Sir Brian. I returned to PNG permanently in 2016 and was appointed by the board as chairman in 2017. I never looked at work with a focus on climbing any corporate ladder.
“My view is that you should always work hard, do your best, contribute actively, support the business, challenge appropriately and support your team.
“Roles are diverse, businesses can be extremely dynamic and ensuring high levels of performance is critical. Of course there are financial expectations, etc but delivering outcomes is always through people.”
He regards himself fortunate to work with good people who share “values that helped provide me with opportunities to progress”.
He also has come to understand why PNG is regarded the land of the unexpected. And he loves the people.
“I am fortunate to work with great people who share the desire to make our business and our community a better place. The highlight is that we are able to provide work for over 1,200 Papua New Guineans, allowing them to support their families.
“And we know that when we do a good job in the business looking after our customers, we share the success of this work with our communities.
“Through the Sir Brian Bell Foundation and our shareholding held by Nasfund, a large portion of our success goes back out to the people of PNG through direct support or into their superannuation.
“I think the best advice I have for anyone is always maintain strong values in your family and work life like honesty and integrity. Work hard, do what you say you will, focus on doing the right things and doing them right. If you do these things consistently, you will be rewarded.”
He knows that “when we work hard, the people of PNG benefit. And I am a proud PNG citizen.”