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Job title: Managing director, Quality Services Enterprises

Kevin Mulcahy, 53, was the chief executive of Office Products Depot - and not on the look-out for another job - when he saw an advertisement in the Herald for a managing director.

The company wasn't named in the ad - the recruitment industry calls this strategy a "blind ad" - but Mulcahy was intrigued, and made some enquiries. "The more I found out, the more I was attracted to it."

He now finds himself in the hot seat of QSE, a privately-owned cleaning, property maintenance and healthcare support services company holding contracts for large sites, the University of Auckland, Auckland University of Technology, the city airport, and various city hospitals among them.

It is not a new field to him. After leaving school, Timaru born-and-bred Mulcahy worked for Mt Cook Group for 10 years, starting as a travel agent and moving up through various accounting roles.

At the same time, he started studying part-time at Canterbury University for a degree in economics and accounting, finishing it in a burst of fulltime studentdom.

Subsequent employers have included Christchurch Hospital, Temuka Dairy Company, Wanganui-based garment company Warnocks.

He moved to Auckland to join Farmers Trading Company as general manager hard goods, then moved to Spotless Services, where he was New Zealand general manager.

Mulcahy spent a year running his own business before heading to Office Products Depot for six years.

Mulcahy's main role now is to provide leadership to the group, which has 1000 fulltime-equivalent staff.