Meet the team | Chris Francis

Chris Francis is a person who really cares for his team. With approximately 1500 beds at Lobs Hole, he keeps constantly busy alongside his back-to-back, Superintendent Nikki Freeland, and the 70 members of the General Services team.

Born in Ipswich, 45-mins west of Brisbane, Chris’ father was in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and his postings saw the family move to seven different bases across Australia. Chris learned to reinvent himself with every different school he went to, introducing himself to new people. “It’s probably why I can talk and sell ice to an eskimo!” Chris said.

Chris enjoyed a unique and great childhood because he has friends all around the country. He also spent over four years living in the Northern Territory. A particularly fond memory is barramundi fishing in a crocodile-infested river. He recalls a few crocodiles circling his boat, including when he once caught a 98cm ’barra’.

Chris started working FIFO at the Murrin Murrin mine site in Laverton, Western Australia in 1997, in a Security role, and he’s worked FIFO jobs all over Australia since then. Chris joined Snowy 2.0 in July 2022.

Of his journey so far on the project, “It’s grown exponentially since I started…Main Office has tripled in size.”

“We’re a team. It doesn’t matter if I’m in General Services, or a crane operator, or in community relations, or a tunneller. We’re all here as one team and we need to work together on this unique project,” Chris said.