The new South Port chief executive is back where his love for the sector began. Derek Nind, who grew up in Invercargill, has succeeded Nigel Gear in the role. Mr Gear left in May after about eight years in the top job. It was on trip to Bluff when he was a school boy that he realised the importance of the port to the economy and he was drawn to be a part of that, Mr Nind said. “Without it, the imports and the exports have difficulty getting to market.” There was a strong relationship between the port and the Southland economy. “The port’s almost a barometer of the economy and we’re very tightly connected. “The economic activity of the province of Southland is closely connected to the performance of the port.” He was a Southern boy at heart, he said. “I’m a port person and I’m a Southland boy, so you kind of put the two together, you can’t beat it. “It’s a real privilege to have the opportunity to come and work as the chief executive of Southport and I’m excited and I’m really looking forward to getting into it.” He had worked at the port previously. “I did work in Bluff in the mid-90s, which is kind of where you get to get a feel for a place. “The opportunity to come back and do some more near the end of my career, that’s one that I was keen to take.” He had also worked at the Lyttelton Port Company and was chief executive of Centreport in Wellington. Prior to his appointment he had been appointed a South Port director in October last year but has since resigned the position. It was an exciting time to be at South Port while the Southland economy was doing well, he said. He wanted to keep up the momentum his predecessors at the port had achieved. One of his key concerns was safety. “Safety is very, very important and we’ve got a very strong focus on it.”
