Chief knows how to sell NZ

After an extensive career as a senior executive in the meat exporting and horticulture manufacturing sectors, Richard Lawrence is exploring a new market challenge. Last November, he became chief executive at export-focused Tauranga-based pet food company ZiwiPeak, with a mandate to grow the company by 100 per cent over the next two years.

"I'd never been exposed to the pet food sector," said Mr Lawrence, who initially advised the company's main shareholder Masthead Ltd, then joined the ZiwiPeak board before taking up his current role.

"I looked at it and said: 'Wow, here is a segment that we in New Zealand can have a very big part in'. What it comes down to is having a product you're happy to manufacture and then having a channel to market.

"We're looking to get more scale into the business allowing us to invest back into the brand.

"It's all about finding your point of difference."

Mr Lawrence has more than two decades' experience in selling the unique qualities of New Zealand-produced food.

Born in Christchurch, he moved to Palmerston North at an early age, then did a double major in international marketing and agricultural business at Massey University.

On graduation, he joined the Wellington office of meat marketing company Tower. Mr Lawrence spent almost three years with Tower, which sent him off to work with its British affiliate. On his return in the early 1980s, he joined Christchurch-based meat company Waitaki in one of the industry's first export market development roles, and soon found himself travelling around the world.

He became part of Waitaki's team introducing chilled and fresh lamb to the US market for the first time.

Initially, under the then single-desk NZ Meat Board structure, Waitaki worked alongside the government-run Meat Export Development Company (Devco), which had a short-lived monopoly selling all product to the North American market. "The monopoly came off and the US market was opened up to new meat companies," said Mr Lawrence.

More than 20 entered the market, he said, initially resulting in market carnage with fierce competition.

Within two years, the then four largest meat companies, Waitaki, Alliance, Affco and Richmond, set up what became the New Zealand and Australian Lamb Company. Mr Lawrence spent 18 years with the company in the US, initially in an operational role then, after a year, became chief executive.

But in 2002, Mr Lawrence and his wife, Pip, decided it was time to return home.

"We had a young family [and] I wanted to know New Zealand," he said. "The pull of New Zealand got to me."

He was appointed chief executive of Cedenco Group, a horticultural manufacturer, which was the biggest maker of tomato paste in Australasia, as well as producing other products including frozen corn and sweet corn powder.

Mr Lawrence was based in Auckland, commuting to facilities initially in Gisborne and Australia, which later expanded as the company grew.

After a decade, the US owners sold Cedenco to Japanese interests and Mr Lawrence began to consult, working closely with Mark Stewart of Masthead Ltd, the investment vehicle of the Christchurch-based Stewart family, ZiwiPeak's largest shareholder.

Mr Stewart was managing director of PDL when it was sold in 2001 and Masthead is active in M&A, with investments in the healthcare and other industries.

Mr Stewart said he had built a strong relationship with Mr Lawrence working with him on the board of another business.

"One of Richard's big drawcards is that he originally came from the meat industry and given the production processes of ZiwiPeak, somebody that understands that whole procurement side of the business is really important," Mr Stewart said.