Component 2020 To trust your people too, to give them the responsibility. Prior to joining Air New Zealand, he held range of senior management positions both within New Zealand and overseas, including roles with the National Australia Bank, Bank of New Zealand, Telecom NZ and ITV Group in the UK. Where should we open next? Don: Theres been lots of things actually, like electric forklifts, the use of solar power Heres a good example: in New Zealand weve never had time clocks. Kiwis know the firm largely through its blue trucks that ply our highways, but the company also utilises sea, train and air freight to transport goods around the world. Hes the right man for the job at just the right time. You know, people arrive when they arrive and they leave when they leave. He's got plenty of charm if he wants to have it and his leadership skills just stand out - people want to stand next to him.". Mainfreight boss Don Braid sees fresh opportunities in China's Belt and Road initiative, writes Bill Bennett. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Share Your Design Ideas, New JerseysMurphy Defends $10 Billion Rainy Day Fund as States Economy Slows, What Led to Europes Deadliest Train Crash in a Decade, This Week in Crypto: Ukraine War, Marathon Digital, FTX. He is highly respected and success-driven executive who has made Kiwibank fly when many thought it would struggle to get off the ground. And then its about exploring the long game. As a Government Minister, Richard was responsible for creating SOEs, deregulating telecommunications and broadcasting, reforming ports, airports, railways and aviation. Mainfreight's net profit rose by $40.1m to $188.1m. The lawsuit claimed that Wim Bosman, the former owner, had prior knowledge of a large client, Giant Bicycles, intentions to end corporate ties with the group. [4] This operation was expanded with depots in Melbourne and Brisbane. Terms of use Don has over 40 years' experience in the freight industry, including 26 with Mainfreight. In 2006 the New Zealand Mainfreight International and Owens International businesses were also merged to make Mainfreight Owens International Ltd (now Mainfreight International). Braid goes to great lengths to stress that the company's success is the result of the efforts of its entire, 5167-member "team" around the world. The firm's shares have been one of the best performing stocks on the NZX, returning more than. | Today he chairs a group of telecommunication companies. He has led the company in strengthening its global logistics business and ensuring an increased diversification of revenue streams across many countries, trade lanes and activities provides Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world. He runs the businesses with consciously egalitarian slant and is no fan of bureaucracy or the trappings of hierarchies. "He never moans about the currency and is always positive.". "He's sporting and tough and makes decisions quite fast," Plested says. So weve got eight and a half thousand people and 282 locations. A table of ten booking is available for $1000.00, subject to availability at the time of booking. Zac: Whats a bit of business advice you can share? "I don't think any of those things are really of interest to this," he says. He believes in fostering an innovative culture in the organisation and encourages top performances from his teams. Her knowledge of high-tech companies is a welcome addition to the Boards capabilities, as is her familiarity with the complexities of acquisitions, and steering companies through growth and change. As Group Managing Director of Mainfreight Limited - one of New Zealands largest freight companies - Don Braid joins us to share key insights for directors into the changing patterns of these chains and what the future may hold. Under his guidance, the freight and logistics company has grown and expanded to now run operations in New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the United States. Mainfreight shareholders would be similarly pleased. I guess whats annoying is that we have got to wait for an election year to get this kind of stuff. Biography Don Braid, Group Managing Director of Mainfreight Limited, was educated at Timaru Boys' High School and has over 30 years' experience in freight forwarding and logistics both New Zealand and internationally.. So youre not only giving them a responsibility for the P&L, but youre also giving them the responsibility of whos going to join our family. [11], Since 2011, Mainfreight, under the Wim Bosman name, have opened new branches in Bergen op Zoom in The Netherlands, Cluj-Napoca in Romania, Frankfurt and Gelsenkirchen in Germany, London in United Kingdom, and Pozna/Lubo in Poland. In that respect, NZ was the worst effected with weekly revenues during April 2020 down by about 40% on average levels. So you need to make sure youve got succession planning to be able to work on the dream that youre creating. Whilst describing the foundation of Mainfreight in 2000, Plested said to the New Zealand Herald, "We moved all our freight by sea between Auckland, and Christchurch and Dunedin, and we worked weekend shifts to make sure we loaded and unloaded the ship using the whole of the seven days - we found that was faster and more reliable than our big competitors."[4]. What are their requirements? Don: What we do is measure profit before tax at the branch level and that includes interest and depreciation. Some people dont want any more responsibility they find their own ceiling and thats fine. It's interesting to note that Mainfreight allocates a smaller portion of compensation to salary in comparison to the broader industry. And sometimes, particularly so in New Zealand, they see the market ultimately being as quite small, when in fact their product or service is good enough to take to the world. So Don, my first question is whats been your main focus the past two months during Covid times and leading Mainfreight and global business? Don Braid is Managing Director/CEO at Mainfreight Ltd. See Don Braid's compensation, career history, education, & memberships. The company is growing EPS and total shareholder returns have been pleasing. We asked Group Managing Director Don Braid how Mainfreight has become one of New Zealand's most successful companies. I think with a driverless truck, well lose that ability of interaction with the customer on pickup or on delivery. Don: Its been interesting! This is vitally important for all business to remain financially viable and it is where more than often we see business failures and especially in the Building Construction Industries which I was involved in. Out of that, I think weve got the culture really starting to develop. The Asian business saw profits more than double to US$7m, driven by increases in market share and rate increases from both air and see freight, the firm said. Insurers support an immediate managed retreat for recent flood victims. It now has 22 company depots in Australia and relies on agents and third parties in the Northern Territory, Tasmania and some of regional Australia. Insight and analysis of top stories from our award winning magazine "Bloomberg Businessweek". Braid said Mainfreight was on track to push close to the $2 billion sales mark by March next year. Mainfreight is the fourth largest company in NZ, doing over $3 billion in sales and over $300 million in EBITDA, with physical assets of $1.5 billion and debt of less than $200 million. In the 12 months to March 31, Mainfreight - which has been one of the top performing stocks on the NZX this year - posted record sales of $1.34 billion. Its a huge level of success and theres satisfaction you get from that. 5 November 2019 - Mainfreight's Don Braid has reinforced his reputation as one of New Zealand's most successful executives, being named Executive of the Decade at the 2019 Deloitte Top 200 Awards in Auckland tonight (5 December 2019).Mainfreight was also named Company of the Year, sponsored by Deloitte Digital and Marsh. So it doesnt matter whether youre loading freight, taking customer service calls, out making sales calls, or an operations transport manager, you understand those disciplines early on in the piece. Managing director Don Braid said Covid-19 fully tested Mainfreight's resilience, but it also necessitated some fundamental commitments. Privacy policy Don Braid has been with freight and logistics company Mainfreight since 1994, after joining the firm as part of the acquisition of Daily Freightways (where he had been for 16 years). He is unquestionably our Deloitte/Management magazine Top 200 Executive of the Year. Previously, Don was a Political Columnist at Calgary Herald. For us its about pushing the decision-making as close to the customer as possible, getting those people to make decisions rather than pushing them upstairs for someone else to make. You can be profitable and not collect the cash and go broke. By becoming a supporter, you'll be helping us expand our independent journalism for the business community. Dogged determination, drive and eternal optimism - they're all qualities Don Braid exudes. Don: Um, I think its recognising good people. He has also lent his considerable support to not-for-profit organisations such as the Starship Foundation. He is 100 percent dedicated to Mainfreight and its future and has led the company in consolidating its position as an international business, progress which will bring rewards not only for that company but for New Zealand as it continues to expand offshore. For further information, please contact Don Braid, Group Managing Director, telephone +64 9 259 5503, +64 274 961 637 or email don@mainfreight.com. The Biosecurity Business Pledge group has launched two new biosecurity guides. "You can imagine what they need to eat, drink and use," says Braid in the boardroom of Mainfreight's building in Otahuhu. Zac: Lets talk more about those weekly P&Ls. Another attribute is straight talking. "I think we're a better business because of adverse economic conditions, there's no doubt about that," he says. [5] When deregulation of land transport occurred in October 1982, Mainfreight quickly took advantage of the opportunities presented and won a large share of the freight market. Braid, who joined Mainfreight through its purchase of Daily Freightways, says the company hasn't let the last few years of economic upheaval dull its ambitions. His leadership is underpinned by a strong belief in Mainfreight's global competency and capabilities to provide high-quality supply chain solutions for our customers. He delivers on Mainfreights bold and expansive strategy while still bringing home the bacon for his shareholders. Richard Prebble is by profession a lawyer. Other Current Significant Directorships and Trusteeships: BUPA ANZ Pty Limited (Chairman), Adherium Limited, Clearspan Limited, Thinxtra Australia, Starship Foundation, Massey University Foundation. Plested says that within a few months of the firm's acquisition of Daily Freightways, which became Daily Freight under Mainfreight ownership, he came to recognise Braid's strengths.