Colonial director stepping down

Colonial Motor Company has announced Matthew Newman will be retiring as a director in November this year after spending nine years on the board.

His retirement will be effective following the company’s annual meeting, which is due to be held on November 11. Newman, pictured, also stepped down from his role as chief executive of South Auckland Motors Ltd, Colonial’s largest car dealership operation, at the end of June.

He started work with South Auckland Motors in 1986, became dealer principal in 1991 and has been chief executive of its expanded operations since 2014. He became a director of Colonial in November 2013.

In a statement to the NZX, Ashley Waugh, Colonial’s chairman, acknowledges the “unstinting dedication, effort and successes” Newman has delivered to South Auckland Motors and to the group over more than three decades. 

“Matthew has been a dedicated and loyal Colonial employee and director and we all wish him well in his retirement,” he adds.

To fill the vacancy Newman’s departure will create, the board has appointed John Alexander Hutchinson as a director of the company.

Hutchinson is currently chief executive of one of Colonial’s Christchurch subsidiaries, Hutchinson Motors Ltd. His appointment will be effective from September 1 and he will then be subject to election at the annual meeting.