Aberdeen-based Sparrows Group has appointed Chris Bonetti to the newly created position of regional manager for Australia to drive the company’s growth in the country.

Based in Perth, Mr Bonetti will be responsible for furthering the company’s diversification into the industrial market, with a focus on the mining sector. He will also be leading the business across the oil and gas and renewables markets in the region, which includes New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

Mr Bonetti brings 18 years’ experience to Sparrows and joins the company from McDermott International where he recently held the positions of senior project manager and regional business development manager in Australia.

He spent nine years at the company and his previous roles included project manager in Malaysia and Houston. Prior to this, he worked for Technip in Norway and Asia Pacific and started his career with John Holland as a construction engineer.

Sparrows Group CEO Stewart Mitchell said: “Chris has experience in commercial leadership and project delivery, along with extensive knowledge of the region, and so this makes him the right person to lead business expansion in Australia.

“We have a robust diversification strategy and we know that there are opportunities in the Australian industrial sector for engineering and maintenance solutions, particularly in mining. We are also seeing increased opportunities in the oil and gas sector and have undertaken several onshore wind projects in our renewables business.”

Mr Bonetti concluded: “Sparrows has ambitious plans for growth in Australia, so it is an exciting time to be joining the company. It is well-respected in the oil and gas industry and is ideally placed to transfer its expertise in lifting and engineering solutions to other industries.

“I am looking forward to getting started and working with the team to achieve the long-term vision.”