"We treat our role as a real privilege," he said. "It's a great industry."
He was born in Wellington, but the family moved to Auckland, where he attended Auckland Grammar and went on to study civil and construction engineering at Auckland Engineering School.
After graduating, his first job was with the Auckland City Council, followed by a number of consulting jobs, including working on the tunnel specifications of Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World for Tony Crang, and for McConnell Dowell at Glenbrook steel mill.
However, after several years in the Auckland civil and construction sector and a six-month break in Australia, Mr Radford and his wife decided to shift to Tauranga. He initially worked with Graham Rundle, who went on to found engineering consultancy Redco.
"But it was time for a career change," he said.
Mr Radford began working with local IT and computer specialist David Harris and taught himself how to code.
"I love working out a puzzle," he said. "Programming is creative with a lot of logic involved. From engineering, I learned the whole idea of trying to build a solution to a problem and work out the best ways of doing things, and I think that really helped."
After its launch, Radford Software initially focused on a number of activities, including selling computers, but by the 1990s was focused on software development for the horticultural sector.
"We were very fortunate in terms of working hard in the kiwifruit sector and circumstances fell our way in that space," he said. "But it's also been exciting to be involved in avocados, apples, kumaras and potatoes. We're also working with mushroom and berry growers."
Kevin Halliday, general manager corporate services for post-harvest company Seeka Kiwifruit Industries, noted that Radford Software had grown with the industry over the years.
"They're now in a bit of a monopoly position in that they service all post-harvest operators in kiwifruit", he said. "We have a good close relationship with them and assist with some of the developments that are going on with their software in terms of being an initial tester."
Mr Radford has stepped back from the keyboard to focus on more strategic projects and direction, with Les Dimond joining the company in 2008 as general manager, overseeing application development as well as assisting in the strategic planning of the company's growth.
Time stops on the lake
Fishing is the Radford family passion and a 21-foot boat gets plenty of use at weekends.
"When you pull away from a jetty, time stops," said Phil Radford.
His wife Sandy is a nurse leader at Tauranga Hospital, working in the x-ray department, and they have two sons, one married and working in Hamilton as an analytical chemist, the other at school in Tauranga.
The family home is a 1.2ha lifestyle block in Te Puna, in easy reach of the Radford Software offices in Bethlehem.
"I'm a bit of a chainsaw carpenter," said Mr Radford. "There's always something to do."
The family also has a getaway holiday home on Lake Rotoma, the easternmost of the lakes to the east of Lake Rotorua.
"That's been a real pleasure," he said. "We're very fortunate."
Phil Radford
Role - Chief executive and founder, Radford Software (since 1989)
Born - Wellington, New Zealand
First job - engineer
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