My journey is non-linear — and I’m better for the detours! Read on to learn about my work, family roots, and outlook on life.
My corporate and independent consulting work has mainly been concerned with the front-end planning, concept development and analysis stages of capital asset, economic and business development initiatives in Australasia. I’ve been entrusted with finding solutions to some vexing property issues and managing complex large-scale projects — often in dynamic contexts involving ambiguity and risk.
I commenced my career with Fletcher Construction, New Zealand’s leading building company, where I gained invaluable mentorship and training working on a wide range of design and build projects. Sectors covered were diverse — including dairy processing plants, supermarkets, marinas, through to office and warehouse buildings. Since that time I’ve worked on numerous projects and have operated independently for about two thirds of my career.
My more recent property work has focused on the enabling and divestment stages of client projects and I’ve had the privilege of contributing as a team member to some impressive outcomes. Career highlights for me include the master planning and nascent development of the award-winning 378 hectare Norwest Estate in Sydney (now home to 800+ firms providing 30,000+ jobs), the Wintergardens project in Queenstown (the first privately initiated plan change of its kind under the RMA), the South of Lichfield heritage restoration projects in Christchurch and my most recent private client work in Auckland capturing value across a portfolio of commercial A-grade office, tourism, and large-scale residential land assets. I’m also a former registered property valuer, licensed agent and CEO of a specialist agri-sector and infrastructure valuation firm.
In the economic development sector I have experience as Executive Director of a State economic development agency mandated with providing ministerial advice in relation to major events (e.g. America’s Cup). During my time there I worked alongside a very supportive largely private sector advisory board and my counterpart in the policy unit Scott Morrison (former Australia Prime Minister). I also have business advisory experience working with SMEs and not-for-profit organisations in the tourism, research, ICT, bio-tech, and niche manufacturing sectors.
I’ve pursued a number of personal entrepreneurial initiatives across tourism, property, online-media and e-commerce sectors. These have given me a hands-on appreciation of the detailed planning, hard work, highs and lows that go hand-in glove with converting an idea into a viable reality. They have also given me valuable lessons on when to dig my toes in and when to walk-away.
At a governance level I have contributed around the board table in the public sector (both central and local government), as Chair of a private network water utility, as Director and Trustee of my own business and holding entities over many years and in the not-for-profit sector with Rotary International.
I hold a Master of Business Administration Degree (First Class) from Massey University Business School and a Diploma in Valuation from University of Auckland School of Architecture. I’m currently enrolled studying not-for-profit housing policies and systems for a Master of Philosophy at Auckland University of Technology School of Future Environments — as a foundation year for a Doctor of Philosophy research project. My focus is learning how we can implement exemplar not-for-profit cooperative housing systems to produce better access, affordability, and spatial quality outcomes.
My roots are working class and Celtic.
My forebears were tenant farmers and working class who migrated to New Zealand in the 1860s seeking jobs and a better life than where they came from — the Scottish Borders, Ireland, and for some at the time the workhouses of Lancashire. My paternal second great grandfather was a newly qualified ship master who came to New Zealand to captain a cargo barque sailing between Port Chalmers and Newcastle in Australia shipping coal. He died during a storm in the Tasman Sea in 1867 aged 27 when his son, my great grandfather, was just one year old. Other family members of that generation had typical working class jobs — some that don’t exist anymore such as ‘newspaper runner’ and ‘railway gatekeeper’.
My maternal great grandparents arrived in New Zealand at Port Lyttelton in 1863 aboard the British Crown — a direct journey from Liverpool that took 103 days during which 12 people died and 9 were born. They were part of a New Zealand Government initiative providing free passage for millhands laid-off during the Lancashire Cotton Famine caused by over production and American Civil War disruption to cotton imports. My maternal great grandfathers worked on the Lyttelton rail tunnel, local road projects, and held many jobs including in the mining industry — one sluicing for gold at Gillespies Beach on the West Coast and mining for coal in Northland and another mining for gold in the Waihi Mine where he died in an underground accident aged 40.
My parents moved to the West Coast after they were married — seeking an independent life away from family religious prejudice — and both my sister and I were born there. My father worked as a retail and textile salesperson and my mother as a retail salesperson and factory seamstress. Their lives revolved around the drama club, the church, charity work, and the local pub. I attended primary school at Star of the Sea School in Sumner (founded by my maternal grandparents) and secondary school at Christchurch Boys’ High School and Auckland Grammar School.
I met Wendy the day after I returned from my ‘OE’ and we married just four months later. We have three children and one grandchild and have been together for over 40 years. Our individual and family journeys living and working in New Zealand, Australia, Guatemala, Italy, Spain, and England have influenced our non-judgemental, secular and social inclusivity perspectives on life. We now enjoy living in the Bay of Islands with its small town, yet cosmopolitan, vibe and much warmer climate — and I get to wear shorts and my favourite ‘loud’ shirts most of the year!
With the uninvited arrival of Covid 19 here in early 2020 and my Auckland development consulting work evaporating, I took the opportunity to have a self-funded sabbatical. I learned how to install post and wire fencing and completely re-fenced and pest-proofed our small farm, taught myself how to use two e-commerce platforms and successfully championed a local community initiative leveraging online campaign platform change.org. I also dived deep into my family ancestry and DNA and have become very interested in Celtic history — to the extent I changed my first name back to the original Old Irish version! I’ve traced one paternal family line back ≈765 years to 1260. My DNA is mostly Celtic — Scottish, Irish, and Welsh. There is also a very evident Scandinavian component — resulting from a long history of settlement and trade in the northern regions of Ireland and Scotland. Mayson family members have lived in the Newlands Valley in Cumbria continuously since at least the 15th century, with many born at Uzzicar Farm (a name originating from Viking farmers) and I have ancestors from northeast Scotland in Fife, Aberdeenshire, and Orkney Islands.
My life is my teacher — and I’m still learning.
With a long and varied career I’ve built a rich portfolio of commercial experiences — as an employee, self-employed consultant and entrepreneur. A key strength is my ability to think laterally. I have advanced skills in project financial modelling using DCF analysis and I’m self-taught in the use of a broad variety of productivity software including accounting, payroll, data management, work-flow, CRM, website content management, e-commerce, SEO, mind mapping, project management, database, and social. I’ve experimented with AI and have a positive view on its future potential — especially in health science.
Married life and parenthood have hugely influenced my values and how I think about many things. I know I’m a better person now than at the start of my journey because of the important people in my life. I have a more balanced outlook and I’m very interested in improving community and wider societal outcomes. I’m continually learning and striving to improve. I keep fit with isometric exercises, working on our farm, stand-up paddle boarding, and walking in our beautiful natural environment whenever I can.