My job: Earning his stripes in management

Ian Rodgers says he's proud of adidas' association with New Zealand's elite athletes. Photo / Supplied

Name: Ian Rodgers
Age: Early 30s
Role: Finance & operations manager
Working hours: 60 hours a week
Average salary range: $105,000 to $135,000
Qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce through Deakin University, Melbourne, and Certified Practising Accountant (CPA).

What do you do?

I am responsible for the financial and operations arm of adidas New Zealand, which includes customer service, warehousing and planning. Financially that involves providing accurate and timely information to all areas of the business in order to improve decision making and performance. Operationally that involves providing efficient and effective delivery of key customer expectations, largely around service and product delivery.

Why this job?

I enjoy working with data and more importantly factual information, as opposed to "gut" feel and assumptions, which is why I guess I am drawn to the financial stream of business.

Most of my background within finance over the past 10 years has been in manufacturing businesses so the operations side has been a natural evolution through that. I find dealing with factual information a huge benefit when trying to improve operations and supply chain to get to the root cause of issues and address them in order to improve performance.

Your background?

At 17 I moved from the UK to Australia where I studied for a Bachelor of Commerce and then completed the CPA programme while working for a German company in Australia. I then worked for Carter Holt Harvey Packaging before moving to New Zealand last October to work for adidas New Zealand.

I decided to try my arm with adidas, a more marketing and brand-oriented company, because I didn't want to be pigeon-holed in the manufacturing and the packaging industry. I also wanted to expand my knowledge base in the operations and supply chain area.

Who are your clients?

We work with large wholesale partners such as Rebel Sport, Foot Locker and Stirling Sport as well as seven adidas retail outlets across the country so we're working with a broad mix of large wholesale and retail partners as well as country and smaller family-owned businesses.

What training or experience is important?

Obviously experience and knowledge in the functional areas of finance and operations is a must.

In this economic climate it is also important to be familiar with dealing with change and to be able to be responsive and evolve so the company can continue to move forward no matter what is happening outside the controllable environment.

And I think the CPA (certified practising accountant) qualification is particularly relevant to finance within industry. It is something that seems to be studied more widely in Australia than here. CPA suits accountants working in businesses where reporting is used by people that are not accountants. You develop skills to interpret figures and provide analysis in a way that non-accountants can understand.

What skills and qualities do you need?

You need patience, calmness and confidence that driving the right behaviour and practices will bring the right results. Change doesn't happen overnight but if you get the right processes and systems in place it will come.

You need an ability to take feedback and keep communication open. This involves communicating so both internal and external stakeholders understand what is going on.

And you need an ability to cut through emotional and personal involvement in situations, particularly in New Zealand where a lot business relationships seem to be personally based, to get to the factual issues and then deliver to those issues.

Best part of the job?

The variety of work in finance and operations. It is also exciting working in the sporting area particularly in New Zealand where our brand has such strong local identification with the All Blacks and other local athletes like Bevan Docherty and Valerie Vili. Adidas has a fantastic following here and I feel proud to be a part of that.

Most challenging part?

Working across finance and operations is enjoyable but there are challenges around balancing priorities at times, and managing a finance department is very different from managing warehousing. For example, finance people require different motivation from people working in operations. It helps to get hands on initially to understand how processes work on the ground floor.

The expectation that being part of a brand like adidas means you will be world class in everything you do, yet company dynamics vary country to country. However this is good because it keeps you on your toes and striving for the best at all times.

Advice to others wanting to do similar?

Do the academic work - degree, CPA, Master's etc. I found studying while working a massive help because it made my studies more relevant as well as fast-tracking the pace of my career - it is tough but worth it.

Don't be afraid of doing something new or something you think you can never do. It's amazing what you can actually achieve when you want or put yourself in unusual or difficult situations. It's good to be out of your comfort zone from time to time.