Wood Matters

Tena Koutou

My name is Te Kapunga Dewes of Ngati Porou (East Coast) and Te Arawa (Bay of Plenty) descent. With my five younger siblings, we grew up in a number of places across NZ, although perhaps the most noteworthy is a small place on the tip of the east coast, near the eastern most point of the country that is marked with a lighthouse called Horoera, where I would ride a horse to primary school. Together with my wife and four daughters, I now reside in Rotorua where I spent a significant period of time during my career in forestry.

My background is wide and varied with a heavy slant towards the forestry industry. Education wise, I have a NZ Certificate in Forestry from Waiariki Polytech, a degree in Forestry Science from the University of Canterbury, and a MBA from Waikato University. I speak fluent Maori and learnt as an adult, and I am currently taking papers with Auckland University towards a doctorate in organisational behaviour. However; with recent changes in location for my family having moved from Auckland, and taking on a role of this significance, I’ve side-lined this activity for at least the next 12 months. I have experience in forestry, harvesting, and distribution having had positions with Forestry Corporation and Fletcher Challenge Forests. Following these, I moved into the wood manufacturing industry with FCF and Carter Holt Harvey, spending time in operations and supply chain management, culminating with site management at Kopu Timber and Particleboard facilities. The last 12 years I’ve spent in national and international roles as a General Manager in the manufacturing and industrial services industries with Visy and Contract Resources respectively.

I am both very pleased and grateful to be provided the opportunity to lead and support a highly respected and successful business in PF Olsen. I acknowledge that I have some rather large boots to fill after Peter Clark so rather than say I replace Peter as CEO, I think more accurately we begin a new chapter in our journey. Acknowledging the recent changes of significance in the business including a new CEO and reorganisation brought about by migration of a significant client, OTPP NZ, to Hancock, my intent in the short term is to get out and about, learning about the business, meet with customers and suppliers, and assist with stabilising and embedding these changes. Medium term, there are some issues and opportunities confronting both our business and industry that will require our attention. Having attended a recent business planning and strategy workshop represented by a wide cross section of internal staff, coupled with copious amounts of background reading, discussions with our teams, and board meetings over the last few months, it is clear that commitment and execution capability exists to face these challenges and opportunities.

Nga mihi

Te Kapunga