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OUR MANAGEMENT TEAM
NEW ZEALAND
Craig Evans
Country Manager, New Zealand
With Mainfreight since 1987
REGIONAL FOCUS
Our greatest challenge is managing our own growth as we control, coach and embed our cultural philosophies. This is what separates us from our competitors.
Air & Ocean and Logistics form an integral part of the network intensification initiative. They complement the Domestic business footprint and enable the Group to make a much more integrated service offering.
STRATEGIES TO DELIVER
We are striving to be a more inclusive business. Through encouraging them input across the board and investing more in our operational teams, we are seeing a wider contribution to solving our day-to-day challenges.
The expansion of our network facilities – both current and planned – motivates us to fill the additional capacity being created.
Carl George
National Manager Transport, New Zealand
With Mainfreight since 1995
Carl started in the Auckland Transport branch on the Inwards shift and quickly progressed through various loading, rating, customer service and sales positions, before taking on Branch Manager roles. Since returning to New Zealand, from a business development role in the UK, Carl has worked in national sales and now leads the New Zealand Domestic Transport business.
Mitch Gregor
National Manager Logistics, New Zealand
With Mainfreight since 2001
Mitch has worked across the business in operations, sales and branch management roles in both our Logistics and Domestic Transport businesses in New Zealand and Australia. He is responsible for Mainfreight and Owens Logistics operations across New Zealand. Career highlights include being part of two branches to win Branch of Year trophies.
Nic Kay
National Manager Air & Ocean, New Zealand
With Mainfreight since 1997
Nic’s Mainfreight journey began with Christchurch Logistics, followed by roles in Transport, sales and branch management before his passion for sales and leadership led him to accept the New Zealand Group Sales Manager role in 2011. Since then, Nic has been involved across the New Zealand operations and was appointed to the Air & Ocean management role in 2015.
Rob Croft
National Sales Manager, New Zealand
With Mainfreight since 2010
Rob began with Mainfreight in 1994 as local sales rep with Daily Freight Wellington. Following a period working in the industry overseas, Rob returned to the Mainfreight Group in Australia in 2010 as Trade Development Manager Trans-Tasman & Pacific Islands. He headed home to New Zealand in 2014 in a South Island Business Development role, before being appointed National Sales Manager in 2015.
AUSTRALIA
Rodd Morgan
Country Manager, Australia
With Mainfreight since 2003
REGIONAL FOCUS
We are excited and focused on building our sales growth and profit momentum into the future. For this to be possible, improving our quality, or more specifically, delivering our customers’ products safely and on time, is our primary commitment – every day.
STRATEGIES TO DELIVER
Encouraging the instinctive behaviour of our team to always find ways to solve problems and produce consistent quality is central to our strategy. We are working hard to provide the physical facilities and create the environment that encourages and rewards our people to perform better.
Bryan Curtis
National Manager Transport, Australia
With Mainfreight since 1980
Bryan has been part of Mainfreight almost since day one, and has held a wide variety of leadership roles in both Australia and New Zealand. In recent years he oversaw significant investment into new facilities for the Australia Transport business. His current focus is on achieving growth and improving quality.
Simon Hart
National Manager Logistics, Australia
With Mainfreight since 2006
Simon joined Mainfreight in 2001 after graduating as an engineer. He was part of the IT and Business Development teams in New Zealand. After a two year break in the UK, Simon joined the Australian team, where he has been working for the last 10 years in Business Development and now as a National Manager.
Grant Draper
National Manager Air & Ocean, Australia
With Mainfreight since 1997
Grant joined Mainfreight as Financial Controller for Air & Ocean in 1997. In 2001, he relocated to Melbourne charged with maximising business efficiencies following the acquisition of additional international operations in Australia. He then took on the role of Financial Controller for Air & Ocean Australia which eventually led to his appointment as National Manager in 2015.
Dave Scott
National Group Sales Manager, Australia
With Mainfreight since 2000
Dave joined the Mainfreight Melbourne team in 2000, with a strong sales and operational background in domestic and international transport in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. He is focused on growth targets through the ongoing development and retention of a young and motivated sales team.
AMERICAS
John Hepworth
Director and President, Mainfreight USA
With Mainfreight since 1998
REGIONAL FOCUS
We must continue to build on the foundations achieved in previous years. Our desire is to have all branches in profit with strong sales pipelines to deliver our goals; to continue the development of our future leaders; to instil our culture and disciplines into our work practices every day.
STRATEGIES TO DELIVER
Build a business that is continually improving – in quality, sales, line-haul and consolidation programmes. Ensure our teams are well trained and have confidence to make decisions locally. Our team will seek new challenges, supporting each other as we develop services for our customers.
Shawn Roach
National Manager/President of Domestic
With Mainfreight since 2016
Shawn joined the Mainfreight US team in January 2016 following six years as a North American transport partner instrumental in linking the trade lanes between the United States and Canada. His focus is on increasing domestic transportation’s top line and bottom line growth through owning our sales process and customer satisfaction.
Rene van Houtum
National Manager/VP Logistics, North America
With Mainfreight since 2011
After graduating, René spent 17 years in a variety of roles with the Wim Bosman Group in Europe. With the acquisition by Mainfreight, René took the opportunity to move to Australia at the end of 2011 to lead the warehousing division there. In late 2014, he moved to North America to set up and lead Mainfreight’s standalone Logistics division.
Nathan Thomas
National Manager/ VP Air & Ocean Services
With Mainfreight since 2001
Nathan joined Mainfreight through their acquisition of the Owens Group, starting with unloading fish trucks at 3am. He held a number of roles within the New Zealand Perishable Airfreight business before moving to Air & Ocean Los Angeles, where he led his team to win the Mainfreight USA Branch of the Year.
Chris Wilson
President CaroTrans USA
With CaroTrans since 2004
Chris started as the inaugural Cleveland Branch Manager and led the branch to Branch of the Year twice. He open the CaroTrans Le Havre branch in 2012, before moving back to the United States in 2016. He has held many senior roles before taking on the leadership of the CaroTrans business in June 2017.
EUROPE
Ben Fitts
Regional Manager, Europe
With Mainfreight since 1999
REGIONAL FOCUS
Our focus hasn’t changed and remains firmly on the recruitment, training and development of exceptional people who understand the role they play in helping their branch to achieve the potential that sits within its market.
STRATEGIES TO DELIVER
We continue to strengthen our network, and as it intensifies, so too does the inter-network activity that feeds subsequent parts of the business, either within or between the divisions. A relentless focus on impairment – be it quality, efficiency, sales growth or IT will enable us to strengthen results, branch by branch.
Frans Zuidgeest
European Manager Forwarding & Transport
With Mainfreight since 2011
Frans began as a graduate with Wim Bosman in 1997 and has worked across IT and Sales. In 2011 he moved to the Forwarding and Transport team, with responsibility for the SystemPlus network in The Netherlands. Later, as Country Manager, Forwarding he led the forwarding and crossdock team in The Netherlands, before taking on his current role at the end of 2015.
Liane Philipsen
European Logistic Director
With Mainfreight since 2011
After obtaining a masters degree in Business Administration, Liane joined Wim Bosman as a management trainee in 1997. She has held roles in Logistics operations and sales, where she has led the European Sales Team for several years and since 2018 she is appointed as European Logistic Director. Liane has a personal interest in implementing continuous improvement programs with positive outcomes for both the team and customers.
Jason Braid
European Manager Air & Ocean
With Mainfreight since 1997
Jason joined Mainfreight as a graduate in 1997 at Daily Freight, NZ. From there he moved to CaroTrans USA Chicago and then to Mainfreight Air & Ocean Los Angeles as sales and branch manager. More recently he was appointed Air & Ocean National Sales Manager, then Vice President Air & Ocean for Mainfreight USA before moving to Europe where he now heads up the Air & Ocean business.
ASIA
Cary Chung
Regional Manager, Asia
With Mainfreight since 2011
REGIONAL FOCUS:
We are building a stronger Air & Ocean division here in Asia through effective commercial activities and by having our team focusing within the Mainfreight network.
STRATEGIES TO DELIVER:
We are committed to change and the change is clearly controlling our own destiny. Our leadership team across 19 branches with 347-strong Asian team members are all empowered and dedicated to doubling our size in the next five years.
Billy Zhang
Regional Sales Director, Asia
With Mainfreight since 2001
Billy’s journey begin with our Shanghai branch when we had only 10 team members. From there, his career with Mainfreight Shanghai has been around sales, from Sales Executive to Sales Manager Shanghai, Ningbo, Regional Amercias Trade Development Manager to today as our Regional Sales Director for Asia. His wealth of experience and passion for sales, will no doubt bring a renewed energy to the development of our Asia business.
GLOBAL
Tim Williams
Chief Financial Officer
With Mainfreight since 1994
Tim joined the Company following Mainfreight’s acquisition of Daily Freightways in 1994 and played a key role in Mainfreight’s initial public offering in 1996. Over the years his role and capabilities have continued to broaden as Mainfreight moves into diverse global markets.
Kevin Drinkwater
Group IT Manager
With Mainfreight since 1986
Kevin was the first graduate to join the business and has been with Mainfreight for over 30 years. His roles have included Chief Financial Officer, Sales Manager and the first General Manager of Mainfreight Logistics. Technology has always been a key focus and Kevin has led the development and implementation of most of our critical systems globally.
Carl Howard-Smith
General Counsel Mainfreight Group
With Mainfreight since 1978
Carl’s history with Mainfreight stretches back to its inception. His current role as a General Counsel of the Company reflects the value the business places on his legal and business acumen, and his commitment to the Group’s development and growth.
Martin Devereux
Group Manager - Team Development
With Mainfreight since 2000
After graduating with degrees in Management and Law in 2000, Martin joined Mainfreight’s graduate program. He has worked in various roles across both Transport and Air & Ocean locations in New Zealand and Australia. Martin has been part of our Training & Development team from 2004, and took on the global coordination of these teams in 2011.