Top job at Peak ski area

A native Southlander who was schooled in Dunedin and was previously Westfield Australia's national operations manager has been appointed NZSki's new Coronet Peak ski area manager.

Ross Copland (33) will start with NZSki on April 22. Coronet Peak opens on June 8. Mr Copland will move to Queenstown with his wife and young children.

NZSki chief executive James Coddington said Mr Copland was brought up in rural Southland and gained commercial and engineering degrees in Auckland.

He said Mr Copland, having grown up in the South, had been an avid guest of skifields ''since about 3 years old'' but had not worked on the mountains.

He was chosen for his ''breadth'' of commercial experience, hands-on retail experience, engineering background and sustainability experience, Mr Coddington said.

The Coronet Peak role was left vacant when Hamish McCrostie left for a career change after 32 years.