Todd Hacking brings a wealth of experience to the table in his role as Chief Executive Officer of the HVIA (Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia). 

Todd has held senior roles in government at both Federal and State levels, sitting on numerous boards and committees and currently leading advocacy for the industry that keeps Australia moving, transport.

After successfully hosting the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show at the Brisbane Exhibition & Convention Centre during May, we thought it would be opportune to catch up with Todd to discuss his role at HVIA, his journey, and the long-term vision he harbours for the organisation.

Q/ Can you tell us a bit about your role and responsibilities as CEO of HVIA?

Ultimately, my responsibility at HVIA is to grow our membership base and deliver value for our members, which is something we are constantly striving to achieve. Creating that value for our members and representing them to the best of our abilities is important for an industry association such as ourselves.

When I first started some three years ago, my role was a lot more focused on setting up the systems. We were still in our infancy, fast forward we are approaching five years of being known as HVIA. Taking a Queensland based organisation to state-based National prominence certainly posed challenges and complexities but our biggest asset besides our people was the Brisbane Truck Show, continuously assisting in raising our profile indeed. But there is so much more we must continue to do, and that’s still an ongoing challenge, learning how to pivot and market a relatively new organisation Nationally.

As CEO I’ve also got to keep the organisation financially sustainable and advocate for the right things. But if we get the engagement with our members right, everything else falls in into place.

Q/ We know that HVIA is responsible for the health, safety, well-being, and progress of the industry, can you name two or three major achievements to occur during your reign as CEO?

Doubling our membership in three years has been an incredible result and an amazing achievement. Doing that during a pandemic has been unbelievable, a massive team effort, but I’ve got great people around me.

I was also proud to be a part of government discussions during COVID-19. This is when I believe a lot of our new members jumped on board when our communications were saving people from watching 10 hours of news a day. Our members trusted us to comprehend the information that was being presented and to distil it down into key points that they needed to think about, allowing them to concentrate on driving their business.

To also use government connections to advocate for our members is another major achievement. I’m absolutely thrilled with the changes that were made to the instant asset write-off and temporary full expensing scheme, which I was privileged enough to play a role in devising. It was pleasing for the treasurer to stand up in parliament and specifically identify HVIA and heavy vehicle usage as prime reasons for the introduction of these initiatives, each of which is important for our members.

Q/ After having recently completed the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show, the largest indoor event held in Australia over the past 15 months, with 300 exhibitors and 1100 trucks entering the loading docks, tell us what you believe the highlights were from an industry and personal sense?

Looking back on the Brisbane Truck Show, it was nothing short of unbelievable. The easiest thing we could have done was postpone or cancel the event. Being a bi-annual show, you only have to miss one show and all of a sudden you haven’t had one in four years, then it’s really hard to keep the connection and momentum within the industry rolling along.

Prior to the show, we went through a serious analytical process and changed our minds a hundred times, but the decision was made to proceed with May 2021. Looking back in hindsight now, I believe the industry feels that was a great decision, and we are very proud of the fact that we hosted the largest Truck Show in the world over the past two years.

We had 31,000 people come through the doors, and it wasn’t just the number of people, it was the calibre of people.  We saw people from all over the country, many who had been in lockdown for eight or nine months and many who were used to travelling weekly, who hadn’t been able to do so for 15 months. This added to the amazing show that it was.

To me, it just reinforced the importance of personal connections and personal relationships in an industry that’s so traditional and essential in keeping Australia’s wheels turning. I’m really proud that we stayed the course, and the show went ahead, I think we may have got a little bit lucky, but I’ll take every ounce of luck I can get.

Q/ Can you enlighten is what your previous long-term role as State Director of Cement Concrete & Aggregates Australia entailed?

I started with CCAA in South Australia in their Adelaide office back in 2012, relocating to Sydney to take over the New South Wales office then moving into a broader National role.

This was my first industry association role, and although a very different industry to HVIA, they are also similar in a lot of respects. They are both traditional industries made up of great people. The team at CCAA spent a lot of time with me, helping me understand the industry and passing on their wisdom and corporate knowledge. It’s such an important industry, concrete is the second most consumed material on the planet after water.

My role there was heavily focused around advocating, which is my strength, working with a group of people in an industry who can explain what’s frustrating them but can’t or don’t necessarily know how to get that changed or whether it is even able to be changed.

I see politics and government as a vehicle for change and a mechanism to do good. A mechanism in an industry sense to streamline, become more efficient, remove costs, barriers, and red tape, and increase profitability.

Q/ What do the next few years hold for you, can you share your vision, your aspirations, and what your medium to long-term goals are?

In a professional sense, I believe there is still a lot of growth within the HVIA, and there are a lot of issues that we can get our teeth stuck into. So, if we can do that the industry, members, and our community will certainly be better off.

Of course, we have copious State-based events and training, as well as the beginning of preparation for the next Truck Show in 2023, but ultimately it all comes down to the members, and I know HVIA is well placed to achieve some exciting things in the future.

From a personal sense, I’ll just see where the role takes me. I love the challenge and the industry, and it’s an exciting period.

Q/ In such a challenging and demanding role can you share with us what you do to “chill out?”

Something that I probably don’t share too regularly is my love for cooking. I’m an avid cook and I love spending time in the kitchen, it’s how I relieve the stresses of the modern world.  

I see it as a creative outlet, and I like to show my love and affection through food.

Exercise is also important to me, although given time constraints I don’t do as much as I should. You’ll find me walking around the Brisbane River at 5 am most mornings.

On the sporting front, having grown up in South Australia, l am an avid Adelaide Crows supporter.

Q/ How do you see Morris Finance and HVIA collaborating in the future?

Here at HVIA, we acknowledge Morris Finance as an integral partner, providing asset finance solutions to our valued members. We’re looking forward to furthering the evolution of our relationship over the coming years.

To keep up to date with HVIA’s latest news and industry updates, head to their website, Twitter, or LinkedIn page.