Mike - Regional Manager

Tell us about your career so far with ECL.

I have been with the Post Group since late 1998. During this time I have been lucky enough to have been given some amazing opportunities across a wide variety of roles, including 5 years working in Europe.  The big OE is at the heart of Kiwi culture and being able to combine the OE with working for a New Zealand company was a fantastic experience and one that is often difficult to find.

ECL and the Post Group have challenged me throughout my career enabling me to make maximum use of my MBA and Commerce degrees as well as continuing to identify and focus on developing specific organisational skills.

That's the great thing about working for a company like ECL and the wider Post Group, there are many opportunities to learn, grow and progress through a career path without having to leave the organisation. You just need to grab them.

I have been in my current role as Wellington Regional Manager at CourierPost since September 2010. The role is responsible for CourierPost's performance across a geography spread from Gisborne down to Wellington including Palmerston North/Wanganui. This is the first time I have worked for ECL and it is fantastic to be working for the best courier company in the country.

Describe a typical day for you at work.

One of the great things about CourierPost is it is agile and flexible, everyone is focused on making sure we meet our customers expectations every time This type of focus means every day is different. A lot of my time is spent talking to people across the region, reinforcing the customer focus and capturing ideas on ways we could do things better. There are meetings on how we are performing operationally. If our operation isn’t running smoothly then it makes it hard for our sales people to sell, so it is vital that both the operation and sales are working with a shared understanding. I also meet customers or influencers to try to open doors for our sales team to generate new business.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

Every day is different

What do you most enjoy about working for our company?

I love the fact that CourierPost is such a great business and has a strong brand that I am passionate about and strongly believe in. The commitment of our people to the business is amazing and seeing what our people do to meet or exceed our customers’ expectations is extraordinary.

I enjoy variety and my role gives me many opportunities to do different things. For example I can be talking to a courier one minute then to the CEO of one of our customers the next. The variety is enormous and this is what makes working for CourierPost exciting.

Working for CourierPost is also hugely satisfying because the company is very agile. For example a conversation today can be put in place tomorrow, which is unusual in many large companies. On the flip side if you get it wrong then you can unwind it quickly, learn from it and move on. This makes for a refreshing environment of continuous improvement.

One of my key drivers to enjoying where I work is the environment and CourierPost propagates a culture of innovation, lets peoples personalities shine and having fun is encouraged. This culture leads to a great working environment where the technical infrastructure is sound and it is easy to do business.

What opportunities do you see for yourself within ECL?

I see many opportunities to continue to learn and grow. The market is tough at the moment; it is constantly changing as are our customer wants and needs. Those who adapt and survive during the tough times will be very well placed when the good times return. Learning how to survive the tough times will give me a another set of skills to continue to improve myself and CourierPost in the future

What do you like to do in your spare time?

My spare time is precious. I am lucky to have a great family and I enjoy spending time with my wife and 3 children. Besides the children’s sports we also try to go tramping a couple of times a year and skiing. For myself I enjoy mountain biking, tennis and windsurfing when I can.

Describe your personality in a few words?

Energetic, driven, fun, focused.