On a Friday in mid-December, Napier Port will bid farewell to its chairman, Alasdair MacLeod, who steps down after nine years at the helm of one of Hawke’s Bay’s most prized assets.
It’s a story of hard graft, achievement, excellent team building and communication skills, and deft navigation of complex local politics. But most of all, MacLeod’s story as chair of the port, is a love story. A love for the region, the port’s infrastructure and machinery (hard to resist for a civil engineer), but most of all, a love for the 300 or so people that work at the port.
The genial Scot, known equally for his silver semi-mullet/goatee combo and flamboyant over the top footwear as his exceptional governance and relationship skills, retires in line with the port’s policy and commitment to good governance. Current port independent director Blair O’Keefe will be his successor.
Exactly how MacLeod came to New Zealand, ended up in Hawke’s Bay and as chair of the port is an interesting story, that begins with (you guessed it) love. He migrated to New Zealand in 1979 to be with Mary, his now wife of 43 years, and they settled in Gisborne.
He found the bilingual environment very similar to the highlands of Scotland, where English was the second language. “I loved the East Coast. Māori people are very similar to highlanders. It was almost like I’d come home. From day one I was completely smitten.”
On the career front, his LinkedIn profile shows lots of leadership roles, lots of innovation and transformation, and lots of directorships and chairman roles. He ended up as a partner in consultancy Deloitte – by accident, he says – and led its e-business practice and primary sector strategy practice.
His Twitter descriptor is equally quirky: ‘Former bus-driver, fisherman, tree-pruner, digger-driver, drainlayer… and other stuff’, and his photo bears a passing resemblance to another great Scot, Billy Connolly.
Early days
In 2012, MacLeod moved to Hawke’s Bay, while commuting to Wellington. In 2014 he retired. “I was desperately keen to do nothing,” he says, “but that lasted only four weeks. Mary said: ‘Enough’s enough, get out of the house!’”
Jim Scotland, former chair of the port, had heard MacLeod speaking on New Zealand’s red meat strategy, and invited him to interview for a role as port director. In some ways it was the ultimate gig for the former civil engineer and digger driver from a seafaring family, who loves playing with things.
Six months later, he was promoted to chair. During his interview for the chairmanship, when quizzed on his top three priorities he replied: “Health and safety and people, health and safety and people, health and safety and people.”
Fast forward to 2022, and what a ride the MacLeod chairmanship has been. An IPO, hiring of two key executives in CEO Todd Dawson and CFO Kristin Lie, a major infrastructure project that came in six months early and on budget, and charting a course through the many challenges of the pandemic.
Prior to the initial public offering (IPO), Napier Port was wholly owned by Hawke’s Bay Regional Council through its investment company, HBRIC. The share float (45% of shares) came about as an elegant solution to a need for capital.
The rest is history. The success of the share float was described by journalist Jonathan Hill (Stuff: 27.08.19) as a “win:win case study for local government…because it has successfully brought private capital into a public asset while protecting the things that matter most to a local community.”
MacLeod says that working on the float, and preparing the port for the IPO was: “the second most daunting project (after the red meat strategy) I have done in my entire working life”. He praises the courage of Rex Graham and Rick Barker from the regional council, as well as CEO Dawson and CFO Lie (two hires that he’s exceptionally proud of) who were equally influential in powering through unbelievable amounts of work. Of his own workload at the time, MacLeod says it was an all-consuming process. “I loved it, but it was hard work.”
The CEO
CEO Dawson joined the port in early 2018. MacLeod says that hiring Dawson was one of the highlights. “He’s been an absolute joy. Todd is fabulous. I will always have his back, and he will always have mine.”
Speaking of his recruitment process Dawson says: “I wasn’t really sure if I wanted the role…so decided to be completely myself in the interview.
“I think I challenged their thinking and perception on what was happening in the industry, and brought some new ideas to the table.
“My previous boss Chris Greenough taught me the importance of managing the board. What I learnt was that governance is all about ‘nose in, hands out’. Management decides the strategy and once it’s decided, the board endorses it. I had seen the success of that.
“And that was really important to me from the start, that I was working for someone who understood that, and was happy to go with that process.
“Alasdair is good at running governance. He really understands the difference between governance and management.”
Dawson says MacLeod supported him in his first few months as a new CEO. “He was there when I needed him, to have a regular catch up and to test ideas.”
And speaking of the leadership the port showed during the pandemic, Dawson says that he and MacLeod wanted to do what’s right.
“The philosophy is that principles are pervasive in everything that goes through the port . And if we are aligned on that, it makes it easier.
“During Covid…we had taken the wage subsidy, but when we knew we were going to make a profit, the first principle was to pay it back. But then it was also: what’s the next principle in terms of the hierarchy? Who gets the benefit if the business is doing well? And this is where Alasdair and I see eye to eye. For me, it was people first.”
Dawson says that MacLeod is very generous, and builds strong relationships. “Something that sticks out for me; he has built quite a trusted relationship with senior Iwi, linked to people.
“He values diversity of thought, and I’ve learnt from him in that regard. He’ll make sure that everyone has a say.
“He has good relationships with people across the port. People know who he is, he’s quite visible. He turns up to as many of the health and safety forums as he can.
“From a CEO perspective, it’s good that I know he has trusted me to make the right calls and get on and do stuff… but equally he’s given me a heads up when there may be concerns from other members of the board, and vice versa I’ll let him know about any community concerns. We have a no surprises approach which is good to help our level of trust,” says Dawson.
The owner
Reflecting on the port’s share market float, former Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and HBRIC chair Rex Graham says the IPO was extraordinarily successful.
“I didn’t expect that it would add $100 million to the council’s balance sheet. Two weeks after the IPO, HBRIC’s balance sheet was worth slightly more than before the float, and that’s a really relevant point.”
He says it was crucial during the whole IPO process that there was a competent team at the port. “At governance level we had Alasdair, and we had Todd as CEO. We had the confidence that we had a well-run port, and a port that was very well governed.
“But I had to be sure that Alasdair was up for delivering the IPO. So I asked him and he said ‘yes I am’. And he has been outstanding.
“Alasdair MacLeod was the right man for the time. He has done a great job for all shareholders, including the Regional Council,” says Graham.
Jeremy Williamson, Head of Private Wealth and Markets at Craigs Investment Partners, joint leader manager for the port’s share float says the IPO’s complexity came from the interaction with HBRIC, (the council’s investment owning subsidiary).
“Alasdair managed that relationship really well.
“The Port board is one of the more functional boards that I’ve been involved with. I was struck by their collegiality. I can imagine them having a drink together, which you probably can’t say for all boards, and that’s a hallmark of Alasdair’s leadership.
“The only negative thing I can say about Alasdair (and I’m happy to be quoted on it) is he has very questionable shoe fashion sense!”
On the subject of his footwear choices, MacLeod jokes it has become so much of an expectation, he can’t let his public down.
Shayne Walker – former Napier Port associate director, current CEO of Ngāti Porou Holding Company, and former chairman of Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, first met MacLeod seven years ago, during the establishment of Hawke’s Bay’s Matariki framework. Walker remembers challenging MacLeod on the lack of Māori engagement.
“He responded really positively,” says Walker. “One of his great traits is that he is open minded and invites feedback.
“He was really influential in ensuring that (the development of Matariki) all happened in partnership, and he’s a great partner in that sense.
“I think a lot of that has to do with his Scottish whakapapa. They have a clanship structure, similar to whānau/ hapu/iwi. And so Scottish whānau can often resonate with Māori quite quickly, and also (the Scots) being colonised themselves, there is some sort of affinity.
“He has spent so much time up on the coast in Māhia that he knows how to engage with Māori effectively.”
Walker says MacLeod understands Māori really well. “Every time we caught up he’d have a koha to give me, a reflection of his depth of understanding of our tikanga.”
On MacLeod’s contribution to the Bay, Walker says he’s been fantastic for the region.
“The port’s transformed under his leadership and, as a significant cornerstone business, that means he’s contributed to our region.
“As a consequence of our relationship, when I became chair of the DHB it made it easier to open doors for our staff to do things together (during Covid) and keep our community safe.”
Commenting on whether MacLeod’s retirement is the end, Walker says: “He’s got too many gifts not to contribute to our community. It will be inevitable that he will contribute in some shape or form.”
Slipping the moorings
And while he has a sense of achievement about what the collective of board and management have done, the man himself has mixed feelings about stepping down, admitting to being “torn about leaving, but it is the right thing to do”, and that he is “not as challenging now as I was years ago”.
Familiarity supposedly breeds contempt, but in MacLeod’s case familiarity (with the port) has bred a lasting, deep affection. He says he has fallen in love with the place, and gotten so immersed, making it harder to be analytical and detached, and that’s what’s required to really drive change.
When asked what he’ll do on the morning after stepping down as chair, MacLeod joked that he’d probably cry, but he’s open and honest enough to say that he will miss it desperately. “I will be really sad, it’s quite an emotional thing.”
It remains to be seen whether MacLeod’s retirement 2.0 is any more successful than his previous attempt. Granted, he has other pastimes these days, other chairmanships and grandchildren to keep him on his toes.
But one thing we do know, he’s a man that likes to be busy, and as his illustrious career demonstrates, he has a lot to give to organisations and to people. There’s no doubt that he’s earned his retirement, but it would be a brave person that would bet against him popping up again somewhere significant, sometime soon.
Alasdair MacLeod
• Husband, father, grandfather
• Chairman Napier Port, SilverStripe, TradeWindow
• Chairman Hawke’s Bay Big Brother, Big Sister
• Former Chairman Tomatoes NZ, Optimal Workshop
• Retired partner, Deloitte
• Major contributor to Hawke’s Bay Matariki framework
• #2 user of port CCTV system
Napier Port
• Successful IPO – a win:win case study
• Repaid Covid wage subsidy
• Leadership on mandatory Covid vaccinations
• Introduced Covid PCR testing
• Delivered Te Whiti (6 Wharf) early and within budget
• Leader in Hawke’s Bay business community
