Who got that job?

Were you one of the people who applied for this job and wondered who got it?

Job title: Financial controller, Wattyl Paints.

Once David Bell had a young family, he gave the home handyman act away.

It's been a few years since the 40-year-old has done any tinkering at home, but he's keeping a hand in as the new financial controller for Wattyl Paints, suppliers of paint, stains and textured and protective coatings to the trade and the public. He comes to the job from 14 years with battery-maker Century and its predecessors.

His new job was advertised "blind" - the company was not named - but Bell recognised a good fit in its description of the skills sought. And he wanted to work with a company which was "a little bigger and more challenging".

Bell, who is Hamilton born and raised, gained a bachelor of business studies from Massey University and became a chartered accountant, starting out in a small firm and later moving through various roles with magazine distributor Gordon & Gotch.

Wattyl is based in the Auckland suburb of Avondale.

Although financial controllers are a fair way removed from the shop floor, Bell says he needs to get to grips with the volumes and cost of the materials coming in, which include resins and other additives, and gain an understanding of how the products are put together.

He might have a genetic advantage here: his father used to run a Hamilton hardware store. Bell says he used to be a bit of a home handyman himself, "but now I've got a young family I've given that away".