Chris Ramsay has been appointed to the helm of the Invercargill Licensing Trust.
The current sales and marketing manager, Ramsay will replace Greg Mulvey as chief executive, effective from December 31, 2017. After an impressive career spanning 40 years with the Trust, Mulvey announced his intention to retire in July.
Ramsay said he was “humbled” to be chosen to lead the organisation into the future.
“I’ve worked in a lot of different roles but there’s never been one as enriching as my current one and without a doubt the future one as well. It’s pretty rare you get to work in the corporate world and return every dollar you make back to the community you love. It’s unique,” he said.
Ramsay is a third generation Trust employee – his grandad Raymond was a barman at the Avenal and his mother Marjorie waitressed at the Ascot Park Hotel.
“I have great pride in the Trust and respect the role it plays in our community which stems from not only my Invercargill ties but also my family ties to the Trust itself. I understand the responsibility of the role I’ve been chosen for.
“I’ve always insisted I have the second-best job in the world – the best being Greg’s – so naturally I aspired to it. I just love what the Trust does for the city and the positive impact we can continue to have and I want to be a part of that.”
Succeeding a leader of Mulvey’s calibre was an honour, Ramsay said.
“He’s been an incredible mentor and will continue to be someone who I call on regularly. There’s a lot of history which goes before me and I want to continue to respect that while also making sure we have a forward-thinking future focus on what’s good for the ILT and the city.”
Married to Praneeta, the couple have three children – sons Samuel, 6, and George, 4, and daughter Mae, 2.
“An opportunity like this is only possible because of fantastic support on the home front and Praneeta has been integral to my career reaching this point. I’m excited to see our young family grow up in the city Praneeta and I grew up in and it makes me passionate about future-proofing Invercargill for generations to come,” Ramsay said.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time for Invercargill and Southland given the large-scale collaboration that’s happening around the SoRDS initiative and our most recent contribution to the city in the new hotel.”
Board chairman Alan Dennis said Ramsay emerged as the top candidate following a robust recruitment process which was managed externally by EQI Global.
“There was a high level of interest in the role from throughout the country,” he said. “Chris had to prove himself against a quality field of candidates and his abilities certainly stacked up favourably.
“It’s very satisfying that we’ve been able to make an internal appointment. Greg undoubtedly leaves the proverbial big shoes to fill but Chris has worked closely with the senior management team so I’m confident it will be a relatively smooth transition.
“As a board, we have every confidence in Chris – he’s an outstanding individual who is already well-respected in the community, he understands the history of the Trust and has the ability to move it forward from a strong foundation created by Greg and his management team over many years.
Mulvey said he was “personally delighted” to learn of his successor.
“Chris has a deep understanding of the ILT’s role in the community and, most importantly, how that might evolve in the future. He’s got a natural empathy with this community having been raised here himself,” he said.
“He will bring a new energy, vision and direction which is critical to address inevitable change as the world itself changes.”
Recruitment for a new Sales and Marketing Manager would now begin in earnest, Ramsay said.
“I’m incredibly lucky to have a stable and extremely talented executive in place. The priority now is finding my replacement who will complement our existing team.”