no sleep till manhattan for centro saviour ...

TP Note: I dedicate this article to 'THE BIG APPLE'! (lol)
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Source: The Australian Financial Review Newspaper [Page 49]
Date: Thursday 18 December 2008

No sleep till Manhattan for Centro saviour
Mathew Dunckley

Calm. It is a word used repeatedly to describe Glenn Rufrano, the quietly spoken American who looks to have saved the stricken Centro Properties Group empire from oblivion.

Over the course of this year Rufrano exuded a cool confidence during the drama-filled negotiations with nervous banks, including one that became down-right obstructive.

"He brings a calm to the storm that enables things to be done," says a well-placed source. "Glenn has pulled out all the stops and got everyone on board to make everyone see that extending the debt was the best thing to do for everyone."

Naturally there were frustrations. Rufrano is apparently not one who appreciates time-consuming or unexpected diversions from the main game. Unfortunately for Centro such events have been a regular occurrence from the nearly disastrous wobble of German bank WestLB to the opportunistic raids on its life-blood syndicates.

It should be remembered Centro has cut a swathe through Rufrano's life. Under former boss Andrew Scott, Centro bought out his business, New Plan Excel Realty Trust, only for the debt linked to that purchase to bring the company to its knees.

Less than a year after being bought out by Centro, Rufrano was asked to run it. That meant shifting to Melbourne with his wife which was something of a culture shock.

Glen Waverley, after all, is a long way from Manhattan. For example, he was surprised, particularly in the early days of its collapse, at the level of media scrutiny Centro endures.

Rufrano, too, no doubt missed hosting his annual fourth of July party and his work on the board of a New York charity for disabled children.

Still, he has apparently adjusted to life in Australia and has become a regular at a pizza joint not far from his St Kilda Road pad.

A keen diver, Rufrano has not had much opportunity to pursue his hobby due to the intense workload of rebuilding Centro. "He doesn't need sleep and he definitely doesn't need to eat," says one insider.

Those who have worked with Rufrano say he will sometimes not eat for an entire day when he is on the road, preferring to wait until work is over before heading for the nearest sports bar and a plate of nachos.

That sort of constitution has been essential, sources say, as Centro's senior management pulled long hours at the company's headquarters at a suburban shopping centre in Melbourne.

Rufrano also had some training for the job.

The governance, transparency and structural issues bear close resemblance to those that faced Rufrano when he took over at New Plan Excel Realty Trust.

Methodically, he went through that business, turning it from a company whose calls to investment house went unreturned to one with institutional investors dominating its share registry.

It is important to realise Rufrano commands impressive loyalty and respect from New Plan employees who came with him. After all, he made a lot of them a lot of money when Centro bought them out.

It helps explain why not one of the New Plan executives who stated on after the Centro acquisition has left. They believe Rufrano has done it again. Maybe he has.


Ends.

Cheers, Pie :)