Connecting with staff and customers across the country has kept the new Winstone Wallboards General Manager, Mike Arthur, extremely busy in the first months since taking up the role – but he says he wouldn’t want it any other way. 

“I’m a collaborative leader. I’m big on partnerships and engaging with people and I see that as a really important part of the success of the business” he says. 

Mike is no stranger to the construction industry, prior to joining Winstone Wallboards in March, he had been working within the Fletcher family for the past eight years with the New Zealand divisions of Iplex and Laminex. He takes over the Winstone Wallboards helm following the retirement of David Thomas, who had been with organisation for 28 years.   

Mike acknowledges that David has left an incredible legacy and has positioned the organisation well for its next phase.  

“With the new Tauranga plant now operational we’re in a good place, and we’ve got capacity to respond to the market exceptionally well. It also gives us the opportunity to be able to innovate in the future,” he says. 

“I’ve really appreciated the team’s strong focus on our customers, and working alongside them when we innovate, which we will continue to build upon. 

“To me success is about having great people around you, and I feel very fortunate to have a team who are genuinely focused on providing superior products and building systems.”  

Looking ahead, Mike says that while there’s been a recent softening of new builds in the residential market, he is staying positive and sees the opportunity for growth in the near future. 

“We are seeing green shoots in some areas, and I think there’s still plenty to be optimistic about. We’ve also seen continued commercial project demand” he says. 

Mike has a varied and interesting career history, having worked in research before completing a degree in science. He then moved on to commercial sales in the energy and chemical distribution industries before bringing his skill set to the construction sector.   

His eventual shift to Construction and Building Products may seem like an unconventional step, but Mike says the best advice he received was to look at career progression as more like a ‘jungle gym’ rather than a ladder. 

“Meaning, you need to be adaptable and willing to move across or down to progress.  Throughout my career, I’ve had to take the odd step back to move into a totally new industry – that has kept things interesting and exciting.  

“When I reflect it was never long before I got the opportunity to progress further, and I value those opportunities” he says. 

Since joining the company Mike says what’s really impressed him about Winstone Wallboards has been the depth of technical knowledge and expertise across the business and how that is used to support customers via our customer service team and technical helpline. 

“What I’m hearing from customers is that it’s really valued, and I’m impressed about how much the team invests in wrap around advice and support,” he says. 

“I think that exists right across our business whether it’s in product development right through to operations.  It holds us in good stead for what’s to come.” 

Outside of work, Mike and his wife Lara are keen on hiking and walking around the Auckland region on the weekend and enjoy taking in the scenic views from Takarunga (Mount Victoria) and Maungauika (North Head) at sunrise.