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Foodstuffs CFO best in the country

David Stewart won the 2015 award for his work in the merger between Foodstuffs' Auckland and Wellington businesses.

Hamish McNicol
Thu, 12 Mar 2015

Foodstuffs North Island chief financial officer David Stewart has been named the country's top CFO (chief financial officer).

He took the overall award at the annual CFO Summit in Auckland yesterday, ahead of Abano Healthcare’s Richard Keys and Kiwi Income Property Trust’s Gavin Parker.

The judges were impressed by Mr Stewart's work in the merger between Foodstuffs Auckland and Foodstuffs Wellington, which had cut overheads and created a new entity with $7 billion of revenue.

CFO Awards judge Chye Heng says Mr Stewart is an astute CFO who is not only impressive because of his results but because of how he achieves them.

“He established credibility and trust with key stakeholders and acted transparently in the interests of both cooperatives, displaying a wonderful blend of confidence, competence and humility.”

Other winners include Genesis Energy as finance team of the year, largely due to its $738 million listing on the NZX last year, the largest of 2014.

My Food Bag chief financial officer Keiran Andersen took the small-to-medium enterprise financial leader award, for bringing process and rigour to the grocery delivery company.

The Warehouse Group's CFO Mark Conelly was recognised for his 30 years’ involvement with a range of community service groups and charities.

Westpac’s Jing Liu won young financial manager of the year because of her “infectious enthusiasm,” teamwork and commitment to process.

The CFO Summit’s focus this year was on the broadening role of the CFO, with LEGO Group CFO John Goodwin the keynote speaker yesterday.

There was a record number of entries in this year’s awards, with judges saying they were impressed by the “high calibre.”

Abano’s Mr Keys had earlier yesterday led a team in a “tongue-in-cheek” debate arguing CFOs would run organisations better than chief executives, which the CFO Summit audience voted in favour of.

Hamish McNicol
Thu, 12 Mar 2015
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Foodstuffs CFO best in the country
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