20.10.2026

Leslie James Brown 1946-2026

We have received the sad news that crane and heavy lift veteran Les Brown has died.

He passed away a couple of months ago in Perth, Western Australia, following his 80th birthday. Sadly, we do have any details or were able to find an obituary, although several of his former colleagues have provided comments regarding their memories and appreciation of a man who made such a significant contribution to the industry he loved.

Having trained as a mechanical engineer he began his crane career in 1977 as a project engineer with PSC Heavy Lift in London, when it developed the strand jack and tower systems that are now quite common place. In 1986 he was appointed as commercial manager at Fagioli PSC. He moved up through the Fagioli business based in the UK, as operations director, and in 1998 group managing director.

In 2006, at the age of 65 he decided to go part time and took on the role of chairman, still based in London, but advising the company globally.
Around that time, he moved to Australia and in 2009 he was appointed vice president of Fagioli for Korea and Western Australia, with the aim of establishing two joint ventures, one with Chum Jo in South Korea and the other with Tutt Bryant in Australia.

In 2012 he joined Enerpac on a consulting to assist and advise it on the sales of its strand jacking systems in the Oceania region, with a particular focus on South Korea. As his 70th birthday loomed in late 2014 he sort of retired, but as a consultant with Business Niche in the greater Perth area.

We received the following letter which alerted us to his passing:

I lost a dear friend a few months ago. His name was Les Brown. I first met Les in 1997. I was 34 or 35, bubbling with energy, eager to try new things and bring new technologies to India. Les was extremely sharp, experienced, willing to take risks and willing to place his faith in people. He placed his faith in me at a stage when I was still finding my way.

We worked together for many years and eventually formed a JV, which in its last form and style was known as Fagioli India Private Limited. Through those years, I watched the way Les dealt with people. He expected you to deliver, gave you room to make mistakes, told you clearly when you had gone wrong and gave you the confidence to move ahead. He had a wonderful ability to see what someone could become and give them the opportunity to get there.

I learnt a great deal from him about taking chances on people. You can carry experience and judgement with you and still remain open to someone younger, hungry and asking for an opportunity. I was one of those people once.

As the years went by, our relationship became deeply personal. Even after Les retired and moved to Australia to be with his children, we remained in regular touch, and I even visited him once in Perth. I enjoyed our conversations, valued his advice and simply enjoyed what I used to call the comfort of being in the halo of Les Brown.

When someone influences you for close to three decades, some of their qualities become part of how you approach your own life. I see Les in the chances I have taken on people and in my instinct to give them room to prove themselves.

I feel fortunate that Les came into my life when he did.
I will miss him dearly.