Winery savours Rob Fyfe's vision + video

Former Air NZ boss invaluable in ambition to grow export markets, says Craggy Range owner.

Rob Fyfe thought life would be a lot quieter when he stepped down as boss of Air New Zealand in 2012 but he has just taken up his latest role as strategic adviser to winery Craggy Range, on top of work as chief executive of Icebreaker and a board member for Michael Hill International.

Fyfe said he was originally drawn to the role with Craggy Range because of the company's potential and the vision of the owners and founders.

Fyfe has been working unofficially alongside the Craggy Range team for more than a year and said he was excited to be able to use his experience and knowledge of growing local brands internationally.

"I've always really been drawn to New Zealand companies that I believe have potential on the world stage, and that's certainly what drew me to Air New Zealand," he said.

"With Craggy Range I think it has huge potential, but it's a really young company, and it's got a lot of work to do to leverage itself on the world stage, and I love that kind of challenge."

Fyfe said Craggy Range, which was established in 1997, had world-class wines and so the biggest challenge was to grow brand awareness and build distribution in international markets.

Craggy Range owner Terry Peabody said Fyfe's credentials and experience were second to none in the market. "We are delighted Rob has agreed to formalise his involvement with Craggy Range," Peabody said.

"Rob's experience with New Zealand brands is invaluable in supporting Craggy Range's ambitions to grow its export markets."

Fyfe, who describes himself as an explorer, said the role fitted well with his passion for Kiwi companies, adding that a lot of smaller firms were successful globally because the people involved had to be jack-of-all-trades and understand every aspect of the business.

"For a New Zealand company to be successful on the world stage you've got to start with an inherent belief that you truly can be world-class. If you don't have that belief you'll never be successful," he said.

Despite having spent a a decade with Air New Zealand, Fyfe said he has no intentions of returning to the aviation sector as a director or board member and was happy to have left the carrier in capable hands.

Craggy Range
*Craggy Range is a family-run winery in the Hawkes Bay.
*The winery focuses on environmental and sustainability practices as well as being as energy- and water-efficient as possible.
*Has collected numerous awards over the years, and was most recently named Wine Enthusiast Magazine's 2014 New World Winery of the Year.