Just a minute... with Derek Hird

Come with us Down Under to spend Just A Minute with the regional CEO of DSI Underground and find out what kind of leader he hopes to be.

Dad, engineer, dog-lover, regional CEO. Derek Hird wears many hats and has seen much in his 25 years at DSI Underground, the ground support division of Sandvik Mining and Rock Solutions. Still, he feels the best is yet to come and is excited for what the future has in store.

It all started when the Australian native moved to Newcastle to study engineering at university. Part of the engineering degree required acquiring industrial experience, and because that city is steeped in mining and mining services companies, it was a natural to get his start there.

His interest piqued and mind challenged, Hird decided to stay on after his degree and got a job at the same mining services company that he’d worked at as a student; the one that would eventually become DSI Underground and his family away from home.

Now with his own family, a wife and three children, Hird stresses the same message that he does at work: safety first, safety always. It is a mantra that has served him and the business well and one he believes with all his heart.