My biggest influence: Peter Springford

Peter Springford admits he should give young staff more opportunities. Picture / Fotopress

Mentors prepared to take a risk by handing a young executive an opportunity have had the greatest influence on Peter Springford, chief executive of Carter Holt Harvey.

One of the first steps towards that position was made in Balclutha when, as a 23-year-old, Springford was put in charge of 60 people at a sawmilling company.

"I was a management accountant and one of the managers left and I put my hand up."

His boss, Jack Willcocks, "gave me a go at it".

Springford later completed an MBA at Otago University and got a job at aggregates company Winstone.

There his second mentor, John Ede, gave a young outsider a general manager's role.

Again it was a risk. In the next five years Springford took up several opportunities presented by Ede. Winstone was eventually taken over by Fletcher Challenge.

The third mentor to influence Springford's career was David Oskin, the American who ran Carter Holt Harvey from 1992 to 1995.

"He headhunted me from Fletcher Challenge and gave me the opportunity to go to Asia with International Paper."

Springford said they all handed significant responsibility to someone who was unproven. "I know I would not have grown and developed if they had not done that. They said, 'Here is your opportunity: take it'. I wish I did that more often with people."