Interview: Our People: CFO Andrew Clark

In April, LPC welcomed our new Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Clark. Andrew joins our Executive Team to lead LPC’s strategic financial direction and we talked to him about why he’s excited to work at LPC.

What does your job involve?

Leading the finance, digital, procurement and risk areas for LPC – all of these are about supporting our business and operational teams to be successful.

The CFO is essentially the conscience of the business, there to help achieve our company’s strategy. For LPC, that encompasses a few things.

It’s about sustainable profitability – customer, cultural and commercial excellence with a fair return to our owner, Christchurch City Holdings Ltd.

Its also about building whanaungatanga – one team which is high performing and highly engaged.

Finally, we’re focusing on building the infrastructure of the future – which for the teams I lead is largely around great processes and systems to support LPC and the Canterbury region’s growth.

On a day-to-day basis – it’s all about providing support and challenge so that everyone can successfully do their jobs with the best tools available.

What motivates you at work?

Working for an organisation that inspires me and feeling like I can make a difference is a great motivation. I am fascinated by what makes businesses better, and how people can contribute to that.

What excites you most about working at LPC?

One thing that has really struck me is how proud the team is here, everyone that I’ve met are passionate about working for LPC. For some people, they have a strong family link to the Port, maybe their uncle or grandad worked here, or they grew up in the area, so they are proud to carry on that legacy.

The other thing I see is people appreciate the importance to the local economy. The Port’s success is vital to the success of the economy from supporting small businesses to our dairy and agriculture sector. It’s great to see people take this responsibility seriously.

The final thing is the harbour is a beautiful space and we should look after that. There is a lot to be proud of here, that’s really struck me.

What is something you’re really proud of in your career?

I’m proud to watch team members gone on to roles with more responsibility after I’ve challenged them and worked with them to grow their careers. It’s a great feeling to have played a small part in their development.

How would your colleagues describe you?

Calm, common sense, focused on improving business and working with people.

Who or what inspires you?

New Zealand is such an amazing country – plenty of inspiring places to visit with lots of great spots to recharge batteries.

 

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