James Fletcher joins from October 1, 2021.
DLA Piper in New Zealand has announced the appointment of James Fletcher as NZ chief operating officer with effect from October 1, 2021.
In making the announcement country managing partner, Martin Wiseman said: “James is a leader for the times, experienced at CEO level, forward thinking and at home leading in a global matrix environment.”
Fletcher is a senior executive with broad experience spanning a range of industries including construction, facilities management, legal and financial services, and the aviation and healthcare sectors. He said “the feel and the fit” of working for a global law firm seemed good.
Fletcher has been the interim CEO of New Zealand Growth Capital Partners, a Crown-owned entity that invests in early-stage technology startups. He was brought in to transform the organisation by re-building culture, re-shaping the management team and implementing a strategic plan with supporting policies, practices and structure.
Fletcher has previously been CEO of Treescape, a $100m arboriculture, horticulture and landscaping business with 640 employees in Australia and New Zealand. He transformed that business strategically and operationally as he led it through the first wave of Covid-19. Earlier, he led OCS’ and Spotless Facility Services’ NZ operations, with many thousands of staff providing a broad range of facilities management services to sectors such as aviation, defence, education and healthcare.
“DLA Piper is already a fabulous organisation,” Fletcher said, “very well-run and embracing of change … it has been consistently ahead of the pack with well-grounded inclusivity and diversity policies and has taken a leadership position in gender equity and social mobility … I am especially looking forward to helping embed DLA Piper’s sustainability and ESG strategy.”
Fletcher and his wife Victoria have two teen daughters rounding out a very sporty family. He is on the board of Kings School and a trustee at Fletcher Trust. He says he has a professional and private passion for education. He is also on the board of WorkSafe and a member of the Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum.
Wiseman has thanked interim COO, Libby Irwin and noted that she will continue as the head of HR for New Zealand.
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