Melanie August

Strategic, ethically driven, and results-oriented Business Leader / General Manager with over 20 years of leadership experience directing complex industrial, logistics, and multi-site manufacturing operations. Proven track record within the construction materials manufacturing and distribution sectors, including complete operational and administrative oversight of readymix concrete manufacturing, regional warehousing networks, and centralized head offices. Highly skilled in translating corporate strategic priorities into measurable short- and long-range goals, establishing tight financial controls, and driving regional profitability.

An empowering champion of a 'customer-first' culture who excels at building collaborative, multi-skilled, and highly motivated teams in alignment with global multinational visions.

Administration & Operations Executive at CM Supplies and Services Pty Ltd (2023-10 – 2025-06)

Managed operations, administration, and financials for readymix concrete manufacturing and regional distribution networks.

• Multi-Site Operational Oversight: Coordinated end-to-end workflows across the readymix concrete manufacturing division and distribution sites, maximizing plant operating efficiency.
• Staff & Office Administration: Directed office administration, administrative staff, and multi-departmental workflows to maintain seamless organizational cohesion.
• Order & Support Management: Managed the dedicated orders desk and customer support teams, ensuring rapid transit flow, highly optimized dispatch tracking, and zero shipping bottlenecks.
• Financial Control & Resource Planning: Actively managed subsidiary budget frameworks, auditing cost matrices to eliminate resource waste and drive contribution to localized profitability.
• Strategic Stakeholder Relations: Overhauled key client and supplier relationship frameworks, instilling a customer-centered attitude to build trusted, long-term partnerships.

Director: Administration and Operations at MDN Holdings Pty Ltd (2014-08 – 2023-06)

Full executive accountability for operations, finance, and administration across 3 distinct manufacturing/warehouse locations and Head Office.

• Multi-Site Subsidiary Direction: Successfully directed and synchronized simultaneous operational initiatives across three separate heavy manufacturing and warehouse sites alongside the central corporate Head Office.
• Financial & Budgetary Control: Spearheaded strict corporate budgeting and operational cost-control strategies, directly managing contract vetting, resource optimization, and monthly financial reporting.
• Workforce Mobilisation & Leadership: Directed, assessed, and trained multi-disciplinary teams across Orders, Finance, Warehouse Distribution, and Support divisions to drive strong leadership and cross-functional teamwork.
• Process Improvement & Digitalization: Engineered the transition from legacy tracking setups to advanced digital ERP architectures (Sage, Palladium), delivering real-time performance summaries and KPI tracking dashboards.
• Risk & Asset Optimization: Guaranteed continuous compliance with statutory regulatory codes, information security parameters, and robust preventative maintenance systems to ensure maximum industrial asset availability.

Field Operations Manager at TNS Research Surveys (2012-03 – 2013-12)

Directed the end-to-end data collection and field operations footprint for a leading quantitative and qualitative market research company.

• Insights Logistical Coordination: Controlled massive field logistics, strict project timelines, and rapid asset dispatch tracking for up to 20 concurrent, high-stakes market research operations and consumer insight studies across the territory.
• Quality Assurance & Data Integrity: Managed diverse teams of field supervisors and data collectors, implementing strict quality control audits to ensure high-fidelity data integrity for regional corporate clients.
• Cross-Functional Optimization: Aligned large-scale field research operations with internal finance, procurement, and transit business units to deliver proactive, data-driven query resolution and strict budget adherence.

Graduation & Alumni Operations Manager at University of Wollongong in Dubai (2009-04 – 2011-05)

• Chaired multi-departmental planning committees, managing extensive logistical workflows and strategic resource allocations in an international, matrixed environment.
• Regulated comprehensive vendor contract frameworks, tracking global service availability and evaluating cost metrics to optimize organizational structures.

Founder / Managing Director at Veri Clean Contract Cleaners Pty Ltd (2007-01 – 2011-10)

• Built, scaled, and managed a dynamic, fast-moving service infrastructure workforce of 70+ personnel, with complete bottom-line corporate, legal, safety, and financial P&L responsibility.

Events Manager at University of Wollongong in Dubai (2004-09 – 2006-07)

Directed international supplier agreements, complex logistical operations, and multinational stakeholder coordination.

Office Manager at Hill International (2003-03 – 2004-07)

Supervised complex administrative workflows, correspondence registry systems, and operational cost tracking for a world-renowned multinational project management firm.

Senior Order Generation & Fulfilment Administrator at AfriSam (1998-05 – 2003-01)

Gained extensive heavy industrial experience managing high-volume transport pipelines, customer shipping distribution networks, and industrial order generation for a major construction materials manufacturer.

Diploma in Business Administration and Corporate Management – Alison Advanced Learning (2026-12)

Professional Certificate in Change Management (Organizational Capacity for Change) – Alison Advanced Learning