Company man for close to 20 years

Much of Brother's appeal for Tony Lenton has been the company's family-focused culture. Photo / John Borren

Tony Lenton joined Brother NZ in Wellington for a short-term assignment in 1996, following a lengthy and successful career in broadcasting.

He stayed on, eventually becoming Brother's chief financial officer.

In 2014 he was project champion, responsible to executive chairman Graham Walshe, for the Japanese-owned printing company's relocation to its new headquarters in Tauranga.

Much of Brother's appeal for Mr Lenton has been the company's family-focused culture, driven by Mr Walshe, who has been with the company since its inception more than 35 years ago.

"There are still rigorous accountabilities, but within that there's a lot of flexibility and basic kindness," said Mr Lenton.

"It's part of our DNA. It's often the little kindnesses that make companies work."

That culture is a major reason why 31 out of 35 eligible staff members came to the Bay of Plenty with the company, which relocated 81 staff and family members, he said.

Priority One chief executive Andrew Coker worked closely with Mr Lenton on the relocation.

"What stood out about Tony was his absolute and genuine commitment and empathy towards those staff who faced a life-changing move to Tauranga," said Mr Coker.

"I believe he's someone who would not only have known the names of the partners of the staff affected by the relocation, but also their individual children. His concern for their wellbeing was palpable, and no doubt would have weighed heavily on him. This hasn't been my usual experience of CFOs of large companies."

Now a New Zealand citizen, Mr Lenton was born in Germany where his father was serving in the British army, and the family followed him on his postings. They relocated to New Zealand from Hong Kong when he was 11, and the family initially stayed with an uncle on his farm in north Auckland.

"It was a dramatic change from living in a British army camp in Hong Kong to being sent out with a five gallon stainless steel bucket to milk a house cow at night," he said.

However, his experiences on the farm paid off in later corporate life. Farming, he notes, "is not a linear function".

Working in a dairy shed - especially back in the days when the milk was separated on the farm - meant learning to plan ahead so that production flowed smoothly.

"You can apply that to business."

After attending De La Salle College, he joined the New Zealand Broadcasting Corp (NZBC) as an accounts cadet in Auckland, completing his accounting qualification at Auckland University. Aged 21, he was transferred as an accountant to Wellington.

He eventually worked in broadcasting for 25 years, through a series of restructurings that began with the 1975 transformation of BCNZ into Radio New Zealand, TV1 and TV2.

"It was an amazing company," he said, noting the extensive land-based broadcast coverage it developed in the pre-satellite days.

Mr Lenton became chief financial officer, but after a further restructuring in the 1990s, decided to get out. He had been offered the job of head of sport. But he had a young family and because the new job would have involved a lot of overseas travel, he turned it down. Instead he took a role with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for a year, before joining Brother.

Brother NZ executive chairman Mr Walshe said Mr Lenton was very well respected at Brother.

"He's a man of incredible intelligence. And he never stops learning. He looks at education as an integral part of his life."

Tony Lenton:

* Role: Chief financial officer, Brother NZ

* Born: Germany (Irish/English parents)

* Age: "Late 60s"

* First job: Accounts cadet

* Recently read: The City of Words by Alberto Manguel