In the seven years since he took over as Port of Tauranga’s chief executive, Mark Cairns has come to symbolise all that is excellent about this outstanding infrastructure company. Accordingly, this year’s judges have named him the Deloitte/Management magazine 2012 Top 200 Executive of the Year.
That his board of directors rate him just as highly is evidenced by the opening remarks the company’s chairman, John Parker, made in his chair’s report. “The senior management team possesses an outstanding ability to drive future-focused strategy, while maintaining the day-to-day focus on customer needs,” he wrote.
Cairns leads the port’s obviously successful management team and that is what we like about him, the judges said. “He has proven that he is very capable leader and the company’s outstanding performance again this year testifies to that.”
Port of Tauranga has great track record when it comes to choosing high-performing senior executives. Cairns joined the list when he was appointed CEO of New Zealand’s largest and fastest-growing port in 2005. Before that he was chief executive of C3, formerly Toll Owens, for five years.
Cairns also chairs North Tugz, Tapper Transport and MetroPack, and is director of Northport. The judges said he is well regarded by the market and also by the Government which earlier this year appointed him to the board of Meridian Energy as the state-owned power company prepares for partial privatisation.
Writing in the latest annual report, Parker said the Port of Tauranga team again outperformed expectations in rising to the challenges of the past year. He said Cairns’ senior management team had responded to some acute issues, such as the grounding of the container ship MV Rena and the containers diverted as consequence of the Ports of Auckland industrial stoppages. He said the handling of such matters was appreciated by customers, partners and the community alike.
For their part, the judges believe Cairns effectively delivers his board’s strategy both in the way he deals with issues of the day and how he plans for the port’s future needs.
Cairns outlined his leadership focus for the port’s future in this year’s annual report. He said it was vital that the port maintain and improve its class-leading productivity and customer service, and the company would continue to invest in the equipment and people required to do that. The port’s employees were, he added, “integral to the success of the business”.
The port’s safety record is another stated Cairns’ priority. “Our productivity achievements are hollow if our safety performance is not equally strong,” he said in his year-end chief executive’s review. “Port of Tauranga’s safety record is one of the best of all New Zealand ports. But we can always do better and we are striving to achieve the goal of zero-harm work environment.”
Like an increasing number of industry leaders, Cairns is learning to appreciate the changing economic and social role of iwi, and the need to consult and work more closely with Maori interest groups. The port’s application for consent to dredge Tauranga Harbour to accommodate larger ships met with local iwi resistance this year.
Tauranga hapu Ngati Ruahine’s appeal to stop consent to widen and deepen the port’s channel was dismissed by the High Court. Iwi are now taking the Environment Court’s decision to the Court of Appeal.
“It has been challenging process for both iwi and the port over the past four years,” Cairns told shareholders. “I sincerely believe the process has been conducted with the utmost respect for each other’s position.”
The port has decided to challenge the legitimacy of the appeal. Cairns said the New Zealand economy needs the $338 million of benefits that the New Zealand Shippers Council estimates will flow from bigger ships operating on the South East Asia trade routes.
The development illustrates the changing commercial world realities facing New Zealand. “In the meantime the company continues to place high degree of importance on maintaining productive working relationships with iwi,” said Cairns in his review. “We see number of potential projects that we could work on together in the future to improve the health and wellbeing of our harbour.”
Cairns and Port of Tauranga will face another challenging year. But both Cairns and his board believe that Port of Tauranga’s earnings growth will continue, “based on the soundness” of the port’s diversification strategy and Cairns’ ability to deliver it. M
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD JUDGES’ COMMENTS
WINNER
MARK CAIRNS
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
PORT OF TAURANGA
Mark Cairns is the leader of senior management team that “possesses an outstanding ability to drive future-focused strategy, while maintaining the day-to-day focus on customer needs” said the chairman of the Port of Tauranga, John Parker, in his annual report. The comment, said the judges of the 2012 Deloitte/Management magazine Top 200 Awards, eloquently summarised the many reasons why they chose him as this year’s Top 200 Executive of the Year.
The Port of Tauranga has delivered strong results for its shareholders in recent years under Cairns’ leadership and this is reflection of the company’s strong management. Cairns is talented and proven leader of business that is role model for all New Zealand’s infrastructure enterprises.
FINALIST
DEAN BRACEWELL
MANAGING DIRECTOR
FREIGHTWAYS
Dean Bracewell has been heading up this bellwether business since 1999 and been with Freightways since 1979. He is one of New Zealand’s most highly regarded and consistently successful senior executives. His company delivered another strong result this year, one that demonstrates the group’s resilience and its ability to compete successfully even in the toughest economic times. Bracewell is strong and focused leader who knows where he wants to take the company and how to get his team to deliver the growth Freightways needs to succeed. His consistently successful leadership should be applauded.
FINALIST
SIMON CHALLIES
MANAGING DIRECTOR
RYMAN HEALTHCARE
Simon Challies is deeply immersed in, and totally committed to, leading what must be considered one of New Zealand’s most compelling and profound commercial success stories of the past decade. His tenure at the top of Ryman Healthcare is in large measure responsible for the unbroken, year-on-year continuation of the company’s growth and success, and for the delivery of the tried, tested and successful strategy that has resulted in Ryman consistently featuring in these awards. Challies is highly effective senior executive whose contribution to Ryman’s local and evolving offshore success should be recognised.
