Until I joined the kiwifruit industry, the longest I’d held a job was two years. In this business, no two days are the same, so it keeps me interested! Prior to kiwifruit, I trained as a chef, joined the army, and held various other positions, mostly managing people. My first role in kiwifruit was as an employment officer for a packhouse.

As my industry knowledge grew, I was promoted to Packhouse Operations Manager in a year. From there, I secured a new role as an Operations Manager for a different packhouse which involved managing the entire site.

I left that role in early 2019 to start my current role with NZKGI. The highlight of this role is the different people that I get to interact with including New Zealanders and people from all over the world – from contractors, growers and packhouses through to government agencies.