It was very exciting. But the biggest fun was creating and forming New Zealand's first joint venture with China where a consortium bought half the association's Timaru scouring plant, forming Three Rings.
From there, I joined the Auckland corporate world of property companies in the late 1980s before Swiss multinational Society Generale Der Surveillance in 1991, where I started running a pathology laboratory then went on to run the New Zealand business.
Then we moved to Sydney where I ran Australia and New Zealand with sector oversight into Southeast Asia. This was a very positive time where we pioneered pathology and radiology investments in both countries.
In 2000 we came back to New Zealand and I joined ElderCare which became Abano in 2003 and after 15 and a half years I joined Hellaby Holdings in November.
Q. What did you achieve at Abano and why did you leave?
A. Fifteen years is a very long time for a CEO to stay but ElderCare and then Abano were two very different companies.
The best achievement has been the recognition Abano achieved through several Top 200 and INFINZ awards and a share price and market capitalisation that reflects the trust placed in us by our shareholders.
Operationally that meant we attracted and retained some very talented people.
Q. Why have you gone to Hellaby and what are your aims and goals there?
A. I have watched Hellaby for a number of years and the story of repair and rebuild from 2008 to today reminded me of ElderCare/Abano's history between 2000 and 2007.
The previous CEO John Williamson and the team have built up the business and we are in a great position. My aims and goals are to first understand the business and get to know the team. We will hold a leadership conference in the New Year once I have had an opportunity to visit everyone and all our operations around the world.
Once we have done that, we will look at what milestones we want to achieve, and then we will concentrate on doing that.
Q. Do those two industries relate to each other in any way?
Like Abano, Hellaby is not a command organisation. In traditional organisations, all the smart people are at the top in a head office and all the businesses and divisions wait for their wisdom and then implement the head office strategy.
At Abano and Hellaby, the smart people are all through the business and the trick is to give them a voice where they can be heard and involved and where they feel included and where they can contribute to the whole.
It is about motivating people to try and not being afraid of failure. It is about sharing a common vision for what is possible and not getting stuck in the near-term problems.
Successful leaders are those who genuinely foster that philosophy and who do not take the accolades but take the blame and carry the responsibility without being asked to and importantly leaders listen.
Q. What gets you out of bed in the morning? What makes you excited about going to work?
A. The possibility of what could be gets me up in the morning. Dream but dream reality and make it happen. The opportunity I see at Hellaby makes me excited about what could be.
