CEO calls time at port

The Port of Tauranga is preparing for change at the top after Mark Cairns announced he will retire from the role in June 2021.

Cairns, pictured, has spent 15 years in the job and says the time feels right to hand over to the next generation.

“Port of Tauranga is in excellent shape. I’m incredibly proud of our people and the positive outcomes we have achieved for our customers and our community,” he adds.
“I will certainly miss my colleagues but I am excited to see where the company goes next, driven by the creative and innovative team we have built.”

David Pilkington, chairman, says Cairns’ leadership has seen the company grow from a regional bulk export port to New Zealand’s international cargo hub and a successful listed company.

The port handled 12.6 million tonnes of cargo and 438,214 TEUs in the space of a year when Cairns became chief executive in 2005. In the year to June 2020, it dealt with 24.8m tonnes of cargo and 1.25m TEUs.

Pilkington adds: “Mark has kept the company strongly focused on future opportunities, while maintaining an industry-leading safety record and the highest productivity rates in Australasia. Mark has built a very strong team, who will continue to take the company forward into the future.”

The port’s board of directors has a succession plan in place and Leonard Sampson, the current chief operating officer, has been named as chief executive officer designate.

Sampson has been with the port for seven years, the first six as commercial manager. Prior to that he held senior roles at KiwiRail, Carter Holt Harvey and Mainfreight.

Cairns says after leaving the Port of Tauranga he plans to pursue a career in governance.