Who got that job?

By LIANE VOISEY

Were you one of the 100 people who applied for this job and wondered who got it?

Job title: Chief executive, Port Marlborough New Zealand

It was perhaps inevitable that Sean Bolt, 45, would pursue a naval career. "I joined the Merchant Navy because of my affinity with the sea," says Bolt, who grew up in Auckland and always enjoyed watery pursuits such as yachting, surfing and surf lifesaving.

Following his stint with the Navy, Bolt worked as a marine surveyor, a ship planner at Ferguson Container Terminal in Auckland and harbour master at Westport.

In 1995, he joined the Port of Tauranga as a pilot and in 2000 went into management. "I was on the senior executive at the Port of Tauranga, responsible for the container terminal at Sulphur Point," says Bolt.

Attracted by "the area, the climate and the opportunity to be a CEO", Bolt took up his position at the Port of Marlborough in April. He says there is no comparison with his previous jobs. "The main things that differentiate Port of Marlborough and Port of Tauranga is size, and type of operation," he says.

And the main challenges for Port of Marlborough are to "increase cargo volume and take advantage of growth opportunities".

Of more immediate concern, the port is hoping for a sensible outcome to the Treaty of Waitangi claim to the Marlborough Sounds foreshore and seabed. Although Bolt does not wish to comment on this, he has said the claim has the potential to stop investment in Marlborough.

Four months into the job, Bolt is engrossed in writing his thesis for his masters degree in transport studies, from Lincoln University. His other qualifications include a master foreign-going ticket - which makes him a master mariner - and a bachelor of arts from Auckland University.

As for what he's looking forward to in the job, Bolt says he is just interested in "adding stakeholder value and getting the community to be proud of the asset they own".