Warehouse boss going back to school for role at Massey Albany

Mark Powell says his new role as CEO-in-residence at Massey will help bring the university and business worlds together.

Life for Warehouse chief executive Mark Powell won't be slowing down when he leaves the retailer in the New Year, having just signed on as Massey University's first CEO-in-residence.

The Albany campus role will see Powell act as a liaison between the university and the business community, a guest lecturer, mentor for the students and a strategic consultant to the business school's executive team - a much broader focus than just retail, which he has worked in for the past 13 years.

"I'm sure I will be called upon to advise the retail programme but I come to Massey with a whole range of experiences, including logistics, supply chain management, strategy, organisational development and managing change," Powell said.

"I can also help the university make connections because it's always a challenge to get access to data for research because of commercial sensitivities and to people because they are all incredibly busy."

Entrepreneurs-in-residence and CEOs-in-residence posts are more common overseas, but a relatively new concept in New Zealand.

Typically they involve a business leader who has been successful in a large company, and can then provide guidance and advice.

A number of universities overseas, particularly in business schools, have a CEO-in-residence to help mentor students. Powell said he would be looking to some of these universities to see how he could best help at Massey.

The pro-vice chancellor of the Massey business school, Ted Zorn, said the university had developed a strong relationship with Powell during his time at The Warehouse.

"Mark's support for our new bachelor of retail and business management was instrumental in its successful establishment and the Warehouse Group, under his leadership, has provided funding for research into key issues faced by organisations and workers," Zorn said

"We are extremely fortunate to have someone of his calibre joining our team, someone who understands Massey's goal of being an entrepreneurial university that is closely connected to the business community."

Powell said he would miss the Warehouse Group but not the daily intensity of working for a large corporate. He planned to split his time between the university, working in the faith-based non-profit sector and on his third masters degree. Powell already had two bachelors and two masters degrees.

"I'll be busy but there will definitely be more time for family and personal growth, including further education."