KEY POINTS:
Rob Flannagan
Tower NZ chief executive
Last year Promina Group's chief information officer, Rob Flannagan, took over as the post-split Tower New Zealand chief executive. He faces the challenge of building the company up when the market has clearly favoured its Australian sister since the demerger.
How would you describe last year for Tower NZ?
We were building a platform all year and good progress has been made by a lot of people.
What was Tower NZ's greatest achievement?
The separation obviously was a major event. Whether that was a major achievement or not, there's a bit of a question mark over that. However, the share price seems to be adjusting now. We worked to very tight timeframes but we achieved it and the shareholders have got value as a consequence. That has to go down as a highlight.
And the greatest disappointment?
I suppose in some areas such as IT there wasn't enough progress.
What will be the major challenges for Tower NZ in 2007?
Aligning all the strategies and the new New Zealand group now that we've separated from Australia. We've got to pull it all together as one cohesive group business.
What do you expect from the economy this year and how will that affect Tower NZ?
I actually think the economy is going to be much of a muchness. I don't expect any downturn but I expect to see probably a greater controlled environment going forward and things getting into balance a little bit.
What was the most interesting business story of last year?
What I have found fascinating is all the positioning around the electricity companies and the changes and dance that seems to be continuing. It will be interesting to see what comes out on the other side of that.
