After nearly 20 years as head of Skellerup, Donald Stewart has announced he will step down as managing director at the end of June.Mr Stewart has been with the company since 1979 and has served in the top role since 1992.A search for his replacement has b
After nearly 20 years as head of Skellerup, Donald Stewart has announced he will step down as managing director at the end of June.
Mr Stewart has been with the company since 1979 and has served in the top role since 1992.
A search for his replacement has been launched and while Mr Stewart will formally step down on June 30, he confirmed he would continue with the company for “a further period of time” to ensure a successful handover.
In his time as managing director, Skellerup moved from a conglomeration of New Zealand based manufacturing businesses to a more global focus, with manufacturing operations in New Zealand, Australia, China, UK and Italy.
Mr Stewart also served as chief executive of Viking Pacific Holdings between 1999 and 2002, working with Skellerup chairman Sir Selwyn Cushing and chief financial officer Andrew Powers to get that company back onto its feet after it was crippled by its debt burden.
Mr Stewart was also a director of Lyttleton Port Company and chairman of the Canterbury Rugby Football Union, and his three-year term on the board of Sport and Recreation New Zealand (SPARC) finished at the end of last month.
A trading halt placed on Skellerup shares (NZX:SKL) earlier this morning has now been lifted.
Earlier this year it recorded a 48% drop in net profit for the six months ending June, but picked a much better second half result, sparking that rise in the share price.
The company which built its reputations on its solid gumboots credited products such as its highly acclaimed Quatro gumboots as a key part of the company’s survival during the downturn.
However it did lose its grip on the NZX 50, replaced on the list of the country’s top performing companies in January by Pyne Gould Corporation.
