1. Ant Belsham – Executive Leader
Anthas over20 yearsseniorleadershipexperience,havingheldmultiple seniorrolesinIT,Product
Development,Operations,Manufacturing,Sales,SupplyChain,andQualityatFisher&Paykel
Appliances(oneof the world’s mostinnovative appliance companies,withapresence inover50
countriesglobally).Hisunique mix of BusinessStrategy&Execution,Technical,andLeadershipskills,
and a careerwhichhas givenhimbothbreadth& depth,hasenabledhim andhisteamsto deliver
some outstandingresults.
Antstartedhis careerinfactory automation. AftercompletinghisBachelorof Engineering(Electrical
& Electronics) he joinedFisher&Paykel Appliances, buildingautomated&roboticproductionlines.
Duringthe early90’s he was heavilyinvolvedinthe developmentof sophisticatedfactory
informationsystems,usingclientservertechnology&relational databases(whichwasleadingedge
technologyatthe time).He thenmovedintohisfirstleadershiprole,asthe IT managerfor the
refrigerationdivision,beingresponsible forateamof 18 that lookedafter all the manufacturing,
operations,andcommercial systems.Inthe late 90’s,as Y2K loomed,he wasinvolvedinshiftinga
numberof legacysystemstoa companywide ERP system.
He thentookthe opportunityfora significantcareershift,takingona leadershiprole in
manufacturing,andthenthe factorymanagerrole.By late 2000 he was appointedthe Operations
Manager for the Refrigerationbusiness.Exportingtoover50 countries,with$120m revenue,and
over500 staff,thiswas(at the time) Fisher&Paykel’slargestmanufacturingdivision.Over3yearshe
built& ledanexceptional leadershipteamwhichwere able toturnthe businessfromlossmaking,to
contributing$43m EBIT annually tothe group result.
Antthentook on a role leading global quality&costimprovementactivitiesacrossthe company.In
2007 he was appointed toleadthe global productdevelopmentandR&Dcentre inAuckland.With
staff of 140, he was responsible forthe developmentof Refrigeration,Laundry,andOEM Technology
platformsglobally.Duringthatperiod,the teamintroducedworldleading“LearningFirst”product
developmenttechniques,anddeliverednumerousproductsthatachievedmultiple global awardsfor
theirinnovation.
In 2009, as the Global Financial crisishit,andaspart of refinancingthe Fisher&Paykel group,he was
responsible forreducing debtbyreducinginventoryacrossthe global businessby$126m. During
that time he builta teamand systemswhichare now core to the supplychainfunctionwithinthe
business.
In 2012 he was giventhe unique opportunitytouncoverwhatwasemergingas“bestpractice”in
B2B salesglobally,andthendevelopastrategytodeliverthisgloballywithinFisher&Paykel. During
thisperiodhe discoveredthe workof the Corporate ExecutiveBoardon“ChallengerSales”,and
partneredwiththemtounderstandandadapttheirresearch.Overthe next3 yearshe ledthe sales
transformationacrossglobal marketsandover150 salespeople. Aspartof the execution,he ledthe
developmentof mobile firstcloudtechnologybasedonthe Salesforce.complatform.
Antbelievesstronglyinthe powerof teams,withadeepfocusontheircustomersinorderto deliver
themexceptionalbusinessoutcomes. Toachieve this,his style of involving,inspiringandengaging,
enablesteamstodeliverthose results.
Antlives southof Aucklandona 10 acre lifestyle block.He ismarried with3children (2atUniversity).
Antraces a salooncar inthe Castrol BMW race series,andispassionate abouttechnology, sport,
music,andDIY.