KEY POINTS:
Risk management is at the forefront of Peter Gomm's mind.
As the new chief operating officer at Auckland-based Mainzeal Construction, Gomm's aim is to minimise the unknown perils and uncertainties which often come with large building projects.
Before his arrival, the national building firm suffered heavy losses putting up Auckland's $80 million Vector Arena, a beast of a project besieged with major issues ranging from a complicated roof design to labour shortage and rising material costs.
Now, Gomm wants to steer the company on to a safer path, and to achieve his aims he has created new positions including a national commercial manager role which is being advertised.
"This is to tighten up risk management processes," he said.
The second new senior executive position must remain a secret. "It's part of a plan I've got which I'd like to keep under wraps," he said.
Asked to describe his aims for Mainzeal which employs 500 people, Gomm said: "Very simply, it's about moving to a more disciplined approach in business management. Construction is a risk management business and it's really ensuring that you are aware of that risk, you identify it and put into place appropriate management processes."
But he said it was to Mainzeal's credit that its recent problems had not resulted in a wholesale staff cleanout.
Gomm, originally from Britain, has a dry sense of humour and took up the post on April 16.
"They wanted me to take over on April 1 but I thought 'give me a break'."
Gomm's appointment follows last year's departure of Mainzeal chief executive Neil Ranford who stepped down after six years at the helm. Richina Pacific, the Bermuda-based NZX-listed company which owns Mainzeal, had conducted a major restructuring.
Last month, Richina released its results for the first six months of this year which showed the business booking a profit increase, from US$3.6 million ($4.7 million) in the first six months of last year to US$4.9 million this year.
From 1982 to 1985, Gomm worked for Fletchers in Wellington, then moved to Australia, returning here between 1988 and 1991 to work for another builder.
Gomm, 56, got an MBA from the University of Western Australia when he was based in Manila. There, he worked for Leighton Asia, involved in some of the largest projects in the Philippines including the upscale the 3.5ha Power Plant Shopping Centre and a new facility for American cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris.
Leighton Asia was praised for its exceptional site management under Gomm's leadership, clocking 5 million man-hours without a lost-time injury on the Philip Morris project and 6.7 million man-hours without lost time injury on the Power Plant job.
In the last two years, Gomm has been general manager of construction for Westfield. There, he was involved in the upgrade of Wellington's Queensgate shopping centre, Chartwell in Hamilton, the creation of the new Nuffield St precinct in Newmarket, preparatory work for the giant new mall at Albany and the Manukau expansion.
Mainzeal's biggest job lately has been the $250 million Spring Hill Prison south of Auckland for the Department of Corrections.
