When Shona married HWR founder Bill Richardson in 1965, the business just consisted of Southern Transport. Neither of them envisaged how significantly the business would grow in the years to come. Shona continues to take an active interest in HWR Group, and is proud of the way it keeps evolving while maintaining the principles that Bill instigated. She hopes HWR will continue on as a family business that looks after its people, and gives good service to its customers.
Joc is a Director of HWR Group, taking on this governance role in the family-owned business after the death of her father, Bill, in 2005. Joc cares deeply about the family business and ensures the values it was built on are reflected in today’s Group of Companies. She spearheaded the redevelopment of Bill’s truck collection and the result is Bill Richardson Transport World which opened to the public late in 2015. Joc oversees many projects in the Tourism division of the business, including The Lodges, Motorcycle Mecca and Dig This. She is married to fellow Director Scott, and they have three children together.
Scott is a Director of the HWR Group and was previously Managing Director of the Group from 2006 to 2015. In addition to his directorship, Scott spearheads the HWR Group Property portfolio that is responsible for various projects across New Zealand. He served as Acting CEO of HWR from June 2020 for 18 months, until Anthony Jones’ appointment as Group CEO. He is currently the Acting General Manager for Allied Petroleum. Scott has led HWR Group through a decade of considerable growth, in both company size, business growth and diversification. Scott is married to Joc, and they have three children.
Albert was appointed as Chairman of HWR Group in October 2019, having previously sat on the Board as an Independent Director. Trained as an engineer and geologist, during the past 40 years he has led the construction and operation of large-scale oil and gas, mining and utility assets throughout the world. His previous roles include Chief Executive of Ōtākaro Limited and Chief Executive of Genesis Energy. He held similar roles in New Zealand for OceanaGold and L&M Mining. He now concentrates on governance roles, particularly in agriculture services and local government. A Canadian, Albert is married to a New Zealander and has been a Canterbury resident for more than 30 years.
Anthony joined HWR as CEO in December 2021. He is a skilled and highly motivated leader with more than 20 years’ experience working in the transport and logistics industries. His impressive track record, passion for company culture and inclusive leadership style are guiding pillars in enabling HWR to be constantly working towards its vision of being a game changing company. Previously based in Sydney, Anthony and his family made the move to Invercargill and are now enjoying everything the region and its lifestyle pace have to offer.
Peter joined HWR in 2011 as Executive Director of Finance. During his tenure, he has been a part of the significant growth in the Group including several key acquisitions. Peter is a Fellow Chartered Accountant and a Chartered Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors. He also holds external roles in the Southland region, including being a Trustee of Southland Hospice and a Director of Great South.
Hans started as the Group General Manager of Concrete in December 2021, having spent the previous eight years leading Holcim Australia’s Concrete business, as well as being a Director of HWR's joint venture Allied Milburn (AML) board. Hans has more than 20 years’ executive experience in the concrete and aggregates industry. This extensive knowledge, expertise and hands-on leadership complements HWR’s passion for growth through Great Gear, Great People and Great Mates.
Grace was appointed to the new role of HWR Group General Manager Marketing and Communications in 2020. Prior to this she was the HWR Group Marketing and Communications Manager. She is responsible for planning, developing and implementing all HWR marketing and communication strategies both internally and externally and coordinating the strategic and operational activities for the Group. She has more than 15 years’ experience in the marketing, public relations and communications fields and has a background in journalism.
Elliott joined HWR in February 2021. His role encompasses strategy creation and implementation to enhance the complete employee experience at HWR. Elliott’s professional background includes employment relations law in New Zealand and abroad, before turning his focus to HR consulting. He is passionate about leadership development, especially high performing teams and strengthening employee engagement culture. Elliott holds a Bachelor of Law and Arts from the University of Otago.
Rick joined HWR as Chief Information Officer in May 2020, based in Invercargill. In his role, Rick has overall responsibility for the provision of the Group’s Information Services, including IT operations and Servicedesk, cyber security, application support, project support and reporting functions. Prior to joining the Group, he held IT management and CIO roles with Holcim NZ, Gough Group and Westland Milk. Rick holds a BSC in Computing and NZIM Advanced Management qualification.
Appointed to this newly created role in 2022, as CCO David works closely with the Group’s businesses to deliver on HWR’s strategy, identify opportunities, and to strengthen relationships with our large and varied customer base. He is also responsible for HWR’s Petroleum business across New Zealand and Australia. David joined HWR in 2010 and most recently was General Manager of both the Petroleum and Concrete divisions. Prior to these roles, David was HWR’s General Manager of Business Growth, leading and integrating a number of acquisitions made by HWR.
Gavin joined HWR in 2022, bringing with him more than 20 years of specialised experience in the health, safety and emergency preparedness fields. Throughout his career, Gavin has helped high-risk organisations internationally develop and implement processes and systems to keep people safe and ensure everyone gets home. He began his career in Australia in the mining industry, before moving to New Zealand where he has held senior and executive health and safety roles for companies including Oceana Gold and Port Otago.
Chris is the General Manager of fuel and lubricant distribution business, Pacific Fuel Solutions, formally operating separately as Petrogas and Pacific Petroleum. Their operations span Australia’s Queensland, Victoria and South Australia states. Prior to taking on this role, he was Petrogas’ Financial Controller for five years. Based in Melbourne, Chris has long standing family ties to the fuel industry. Before joining Petrogas, he held a variety of other roles within the fuel wholesale and retail industry, as well as a large corporate accounting firm.
Dean is the General Manager of the HWR Contracting division and is responsible for nearly 400 staff across four companies, including SouthRoads. He has 15 years’ experience in the engineering and contracting industries with a background in civil engineering. Dean joined the HWR Group in 2004 working as an operator and studied part-time to gain his Diploma in Civil Engineering. Since then, he has held several roles prior to being appointed General Manager in 2018.
Peter is Managing Director of Dynes Transport, which formed a joint venture partnership with HWR Group in December 2016. Peter took over management of Dynes in 1997, having spent his younger years as a driver. His vision for the future is to have systems, IT and great people in place that will improve efficiencies and deliver great service for clients. By understanding people to develop solutions that work for them, Peter believes this creates inclusivity amongst clients, staff and shareholders.
Reece is the Acting Group General Manager Transport, having stepped into the role in February 2022. Reece has been with the Group since 2013, initially as Group Financial Controller, before taking on a secondment in 2021 as the Interim CEO of Blue Sky Meats. Reece’s background prior to HWR included roles within investment banking and public practice accounting firms.
As head of Specialised Transport, Dale is responsible for four individual companies encompassing 11 different brands in HWR’s Transport division, providing niche transport and storage solutions to the marketplace nationwide. Dale has extensive knowledge of both the transport industry and HWR, having started as a truck driver with Freight Haulage in 1993. During the years he has held a variety of roles and was appointed as a general manager in 2007.
More commonly known by everyone as Ox, he oversees HWR’s joint venture companies. He is responsible for 13 transport companies and one lime quarry in various locations throughout New Zealand. Ox has been in the transport business for more than 40 years, with 32 of those spent at HWR joint venture transport company Ryal Bush Transport. Appointed to this role in 2007, Ox’s extensive knowledge of the transport industry encompasses all aspects of the sector.