We’re thrilled to welcome John to the Transporting New Zealand team as our new Membership Team Manager! With decades of experience across transport, media, and technology, and with a genuine passion for the industry, John brings a wealth of knowledge and energy to this important role.
About me
I am really excited to be joining the team at Transporting New Zealand especially in this role as Membership Team Manager. The transport industry plays such a key role in the success and growth of the New Zealand economy and it’s a privilege to be part of an organization that works hard to ensure the voice of its members is heard loud and clear.
Career so far
My passion for the industry began back in the early 1990’s when I owned and operated Mackenzie Supply Services with my father. We were lucky enough to operate in a truly beautiful part of NZ where we carried a wide range of general freight from Christchurch to South Canterbury and the Mackenzie basin.
After the sale of the business, I moved into a role with Fairfax Media looking after the distribution of newspapers for The Press and a number of other South Island regional newspapers including The Southland Times, Nelson Mail, Marlborough Express and Timaru Herald. This then led to a move into more of a newspaper-sales-and-marketing position that included the home delivery and retail sales side of the business. After a decade with Fairfax, in the late 2000’s it was becoming clear that the popularity of printed newspapers was on the decline with the digital online presence growing fast, so it was time for a change.
Following a short stint in hospitality I was fortunate to secure a role with what was then the Road Transport Association (RTANZ) as an Area Executive for Region Four, covering the top half of the South Island and the West Coast. Membership engagement, dealing with local and regional issues on behalf of members with local and central government, and forming those commercial relationships with suppliers just reinforced the passion I felt for the industry.
So, after 2 ½ years it was a difficult decision to depart from RTANZ and take up a position I had been offered with EROAD as the Business Development Manager for the South Island. For me the key reason for the move was that I felt the transport industry at the time was one of the last sectors in New Zealand to adopt much in the way of technology in their day-to-day operations, so this presented a real opportunity to be part of this change. As we know technology now plays such a key role across so many areas within transport, from telematics, traffic monitoring services, Health & Safety through to advances in vehicle specifications and the in-cab experience. Over my 13 years at EROAD my role evolved to include looking after a number of key national relationships, involvement in a number of key product launches like electronic logbooks and camera solutions, and being a part of the ANZ Sales Leadership team. But as the saying goes, “all good things must come to an end.”
Life outside of the office
With all of this, it is also important to make sure there’s life outside of work. I have been known to swing a golf club on occasions, although like so many of us, getting the ball to go in the direction we planned doesn’t always happen but at least it ends up being a good walk. I also enjoy fishing (referred to as casting practice) and have been lucky enough to catch the odd fish now and again – but it’s as much about escaping to the Canterbury High Country as it is fishing.
Well, that’s a bit of background on me. I really look forward to getting out and about to learn as much as I can about you, our members, your businesses and how Transporting New Zealand can continue to represent and support you to the best of our ability.
