Cusp Building Solutions GM appointed

Well-known and respected timber researcher Michael Lee has been appointed to the new position of general manager at Tasmanian timber processor Cusp Building Solutions. Michael Lee has been involved in timber research for nearly 40 years. Throughout his career he has either been conducting research or collaborating with research bodies, so he’s no newcomer to R&D.

Michael has spent decades communicating with people at most levels within research, architecture, processing and industry leadership, which is a skill he sees being valuable at Cusp. “There’s huge potential in the built environment to design a whole suite of timber elements that work together with other materials to achieve the most cost-effective and sustainable outcome. But it requires people to think differently about designing buildings,” he says.

According to Michael, not every building needs CLT or GLT, but every building needs timber. There should be timber solutions that service a larger part of the building sector and the community through, for example, sustainable building developments and social housing. “This business is still in its infancy, and while we’ve already had a number of world firsts, I know the best is yet to come. We’re building a team going forward that can produce and deliver a variety of solutions for the built environment that will have a positive impact.”

Cusp CEO Clinton Tilley said Michael is the perfect person to see Cusp through its next phase of growth. “Cusp is about being on the front line of innovation in the built environment and who better to help us work on what’s next than Michael Lee. With over three decades of experience in both academia and industry, working in both timber research and working with processors to improve their operations, Michael’s technical expertise is exceptional.

Moving him from Operations Manager to General Manager was an easy decision. Our first phase was about getting the product right and we’ve done that. “Now Michael can help us facilitate the next stage of change and mentor our team to an outcome. We’re also really interested in developing the capability of our entire team and having Michael pass his knowledge on to others will allow us to sustainably run our business with a strong development curve into the future.”

Source: Cusp Building Solutions