Family name stands firm with new CEO

New Hill Labs CEO Dr Jonno Hill and his father Dr Roger Hill. Photo / Supplied

The son of the founders of Hamilton-based analytical testing lab Hill Laboratories Roger and Anne Hill, will take over the company.

Dr Jonno Hill will step into the company's chief executive officer role in May. The family name has stood firm at Hill Laboratories for more than three decades, with Roger and Anne establishing the company in 1984 and Dr Hill himself working in the business for the past 13 years.

According to Dr Jonno Hill, the company's status as an independent, privately-owned New Zealand business with home-grown values has been important to the Hill family since the company's humble beginnings in the 1980s.

"When my parents established Hill Laboratories they aspired to create an equal income to what they had in Dad's previous job. To their surprise, they achieved this in the first 12 months.

"Since then Hill Laboratories has gone from being a solely agriculture-focused laboratory with two full-time staff in Hamilton to an internationally-recognised laboratory with three major testing divisions and around 400 staff nationwide," Dr Jonno Hill said.

Roger Hill, now serving as executive director of the company, said the company first involved employees in ownership in 1990.

"To this day we are 100 per cent owned by people working here. We anticipate remaining this way even in the face of attracting ownership interest from international parties," he said.

Dr Roger Hill remains active in Hill Laboratories, providing both strategic leadership and technical knowledge, while Anne Hill also retains an ongoing role as payroll manager.

Dr Jonno Hill began at Hill Laboratories as a technologist, later becoming an analytical technology team leader, section manager and divisional manager. Most recently he was general manager of technology on the executive leadership team.

Dr Jonno Hill will take over from departing CEO Dr Matt Glenn, who has been Hill Laboratories' CEO for four years and led the company through consolidating four Hamilton sites in one city location and opening two asbestos testing laboratories in Auckland and Wellington.

He says Hill Laboratories flourished under Dr Glenn's leadership, and that he's looking forward to championing the values that continue to propel the company forward.

"Under Matt's watch our leadership and management grew into a strong team, ably leading the company to where it is now," he says.

Dr Glenn acknowledges his "fantastic four-year journey" with Hill Laboratories and says the time is right to look for new opportunities.

"As I step aside, I am confident that Jonno understands the business inside out — technically, operationally and commercially — and will continue to lead the business with its family values first," he said.

As well as its Hamilton site, Hill Laboratories has labs in Christchurch, Blenheim, Auckland and Wellington.