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Movings/Shakings: 31 July

High five

Chris Lloyd, ex Radio Bureau Auckland sales manager, has been recruited by Mediaworks as integrated media sales manager. He takes over from Emily Turnbull, who takes maternity leave from early August and will return to the company in a special projects role in 2013. 

Prior to his two and half years at The Radio Bureau, Lloyd was a sales manager at Channel 5 Broadcasting in the UK. 

“MediaWorks Integration has experienced enormous growth in the past 18 months as demand for our cross platform expertise increases,” says general manager of MediaWorks Integration Melanie Reece. “As such, the sales manager role has expanded to five days a week. Chris brings a wealth of cross functional TV, radio and online experience and is well known with media agencies. Emily has done an outstanding job with the team and we wish her all the best with the impending arrival of her new baby. We have plenty of exciting projects awaiting her return.” 

Lloyd can be contacted at [email protected].

Taking a gamble 

In the midst of the controversy over Sky City’s offer to build a new $350 million convention centre in Auckland in exchange for more pokies, Sky City Auckland has announced the appointment of Gordon Jon Thompson to the role of general manager corporate communications.

Thompson is currently research director at UMR Research. Previously, he held the position as former Labour leader Phil Goff’s chief of staff and prior to taking that role, his chief press secretary. He has also held the position of press secretary for former prime minister Helen Clark and has worked both in New Zealand and internationally as a journalist.

Thompson will report through to group chief executive, Nigel Morrison. 

On the Hunt

 

APN News & Media has announced the appointment of Peter Hunt, non-executive chairman and a founder of Greenhill Caliburn, a leading corporate advisory firm which is now part of the global Greenhill advisory group, as director and chairman of the board.

He takes over from Independent News & Media’s Gavin O’Reilly, who stepped down in April.

Hunt was joint chief executive and executive chairman of Caliburn from its establishment in May 1999 through to its sale to Greenhill in April 2010. He has spent nearly 30 years advising local and multi-national companies and governments in Australia at the highest levels.

Major advisory roles include advising the Federal Government on the combined sale and transfer to the future fund of its 51 percent shareholding of Telstra and on the business plan for the build out of the National Broadband Network; Westpac Banking Corporation on its merger with St George; and AMP on its demerger into AMP and HHG along with the associated equity raisings. According to the Herald, he also advised APN on its $A1.3 billion acquisition of Wilson & Horton, the previous publisher of the NZ Herald.

APN NZ, which owns a host of papers, magazines, half of the Radio Network and a range of more transactional sites like GrabOne, has enlisted the help of Deutsche Bank to conduct a review of its New Zealand assets for possible sale.

It is both an exciting and challenging time to be involved in a diverse media company like APN, and I look forward to working with my fellow board members, Brett and his senior management team to execute on its strategic goals,” he says.

Deputy chairman Ted Harris says the board’s decision to appoint Hunt follows an extensive and rigorous search process to find an independent chairman with the right blend of corporate experience and board leadership skills.

“Peter is the ideal chairman for APN’s next phase of growth. His expertise in successfully guiding companies through complex change is outstanding.”

APN chief executive Brett Chenoweth says he was looking forward to working closely with the new Chairman.

“Peter is a highly regarded Australian businessman and APN is going to benefit tremendously from his commercial acumen and leadership. This is an important appointment for APN.”

Hunt was made a member of the general division of the order of Australia in 2010 for services in the philanthropic sector.

Brew ha ha 

The 18-month-long transformation of the Monteith’s Brewery in Greymouth is now complete, with Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn joining Monteith’s head brewer Tony Mercer to officially open the brewery during a celebration attended by MPs, tourism representatives, locals, former staff and media. 

Currently 16,500 people visit Monteith’s each year but that figure is projected to rise to 40,000 by 2014. The addition of a café for light meals, an enhanced brewery tour experience and a merchandise shop featuring local delicacies and apparel, should assist Monteith’s in achieving this target. 

Mercer says the new brewery gives him much greater brewing flexibility to create new and interesting beers in different pack formats, including the new Monteith’s Indian Pale Ale (IPA). 

“It was really rewarding to be able to finally share the fruits of our labour from the past 18 months with everyone and receive such positive feedback on not only the beer, but the brewery itself.” 

Work on the 143-year-old brewery, the oldest on the West Coast, began in March 2011 with the decommissioning of ageing brewing equipment and later the demolition of old packaging lines and office buildings. 

Mercer, who gave special thanks to the Mawhera Corporation, which owns the site and invested in its redevelopment, Christchurch project management company RM Design and the local community for supporting Monteith’s since its inception in 1868, says rather than build a ‘traditional’ brewery he wanted to create one which was more responsive to consumer needs and more flexible in terms of batch brewing.

“The new brewery is now an innovative hub for Monteith’s which will allow us to craft small quantities of beer for the local market. It’s a true luxury to be able to have this new facility as a testing ground for future Monteith’s brews. … Our old brewery stood the test of time but unfortunately age caught up with it. We realised we needed to upgrade not only the brewery, but the entire site if we wanted to continue brewing for future consumers. Access to the site is now much better and safer for tour groups and individuals. The tour experience is lighter, warmer, modern and more personal. We’re also using more environmentally-friendly equipment aimed at reducing our energy and water usage as much as possible. The end result is a modern craft brewery which offering a far more enjoyable experience for everyone.”

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