People in business: Ainsley Speak

This week's person in business is Ainsley Speak, operations/linehaul manager at Mainfreight's Rotorua branch.

Briefly outline your current position and career to date.

This is my fifth year at Mainfreight and I am currently operations/linehaul manager at the Rotorua branch.

What was your first job and what did it teach you?

Helping out with a building crew over my summer holidays when I was 16-17. I learned a lot about how you can work hard but still have a lot of fun while you do it.

What do you see as the greatest opportunity and greatest challenge in your industry in the year ahead?

The greatest opportunity for our team here in Rotorua is to take advantage of the departure of one of our rivals from Rotorua. It's a chance for us to prove our standard of service and please the local market. The greatest challenge for me personally is thinking about where I want to go from here and where I would like to be within the company in the next five years.

What three skills or qualities are essential in your role?

Flexibility, ability to thrive under pressure and a bit of a personality.

How do you maintain a healthy work/life balance?

This is something that lately I have been trying to work on. I try to make sure I can have a little bit of time out for myself even if it is in the middle of the day. Lately this means going for a run or walk in the Redwoods.

If you did any other job for a day, what would it be and why?

I would definitely love to be a pilot. Just a bit of a boyhood dream I guess, who hasn't wanted to grow a pair of wings and fly?

What is one thing most people don't know about you?

I am almost fluent in two languages other than English.

What achievement to date are you most proud of and why?

My time with the Waikato Rowing Club. We won a few gold medals in our novice year and a lot of the connections I made with my time there are responsible for who I am and where I am today.

What advice do you wish somebody had given you when you were starting out?

Be confident and don't worry about making mistakes as no one is perfect. Just make sure that you learn from them.