What's happening in the Hawke's Bay business world?

Unison Contracting Services Hawke's Bay were the big winners at this years Annual Connection awards. Photo / Supplied

Tough competition between power company crews

Unison Contracting Services Hawke's Bay overcame tough competition to win the line mechanic team award at the Connexis Annual Connection Excellence Awards. They were joined on the podium by Bernard Muzengeza, WEL Networks, who was acclaimed overall trainee of the year. Competition between power company crews was intense in Hawke's Bay last week as they vied for top national honours at Annual Connection 2019. Teams and individuals competed in a series of events at the event replicating the work they do out in the field to ensure that New Zealand's power is kept flowing. There were 12 teams competing in the line mechanic competitions, with 9 individuals in the cable jointer competitions. The three-day event is a showcase for New Zealand's energy sector and is organised by Connexis, the training organisation for Infrastructure. This year it was also promoting other infrastructure careers, in civil and water and was held at Hawke's Bay Regional Sports Ground from September 24 -26.

Hawke's Bay directors appointed to board of regional infrastructure company Eastland Group

Eastland Group, the Gisborne-based infrastructure company, has two new directors. The trustees of Eastland Community Trust (the owners of Eastland Group) have appointed Jon Nichols and Wendie Harvey to the Eastland Group board. The Eastland Group board underwent a review earlier this year, with two directors retiring by rotation and two resigning. Nichols and Harvey both live in Hawke's Bay. Nichols was a director at Napier Port from 2007 to 2017, through a period of sustained growth. He currently chairs Central Hawke's Bay network company Centralines and is a director of Palmerston North Airport, where he chairs the audit and risk committee. Nichols is also independent chair of audit and risk at Hastings District Council and the Maungaharuru Tangitu Trust. Harvey also has wide-ranging experience as a director, trustee, lawyer, executive manager and business consultant. Her governance experience encompasses the public and private sectors, local government and not for profit organisations.

International guest speaker to headline I&E19

Katelyn Choe, the US Consul general for New Zealand, has been announced as the latest guest speaker for the upcoming I&E19 event. Choe will be taking the stage at I&E19 speaking about why there's never been a better time to take innovative business to the US Market. She'll share case studies of New Zealand businesses that never thought they could but are now enjoying huge success on the world stage. The speaking engagement looks at celebrating the best innovation and entrepreneurship in Hawke's Bay. Other speakers include Sonya Crosby, BNZ's head of innovation, and Ross Pearce, programme manager design at Callaghan Innovation. The event is at the Napier Conference Centre on November 8. Tickets cost between $200-$300.

A look at the week's business news in Hawke's Bay.

Hawke's Bay Business Hub seminars

The Hawke's Bay Business Hub will run a one-day course on Nov 5 on how to use Facebook as an advertising aid. The course will focus on how to best use Facebook as a potential tool to further grow and expand a business's market and range to clients.
A two-day session starting on November 6 will focus on management and becoming a confident leader. Tips will be given on how to influence and motivate staff, communicate effectively, and use problem-solving techniques to make quality decisions. Further information and costs relating to these courses can be found on the Hawke's Bay Business Hub website.