Wellington Airport CEO moves on
July 26th, 2011 at 2:35 pm by David FarrarStuff reports:
Wellington International Airport’s chief executive Steve Fitzgerald is taking up a new position with the airport’s majority shareholder, Infratil.
Fitzgerald fronted the airport’s controversial and subsequently overturned decision to erect a Wellywood sign on hillside land it owns near the Miramar Cutting.
He will take up a role in Sydney with HRL Morrison & Co, which manages Infratil, and will be responsible for airport investment.
This is no surprise. The airport company will take some time to recover from the Wellywood fiasco.
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July 26th, 2011 at 2:57 pm
His next great idea: A huge sign visible from the sky at Sydney airport saying “Sydney: Where Aucklanders wished they lived”.
Vote:July 26th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
hell im selling Infratil
Vote:July 26th, 2011 at 3:45 pm
How do these people get these jobs in the first place?
Vote:July 26th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Steve Fitzgerald was simply a poor CEO – in his case, he was totally out of touch with the region he was charged to represent and when he realised public opinion was against him, he simply dug in his toes further. The directors of WIAL should also feel the heat for this fiasco – after all, they appointed him in the first place and he was accountable to the Board.
This ‘resignation’ is the best result all round.
Vote:July 26th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Hope he doesn’t fly Jetstar/Quantas to his new job or he might still be here in another month or two!
Vote:July 26th, 2011 at 4:50 pm
Geeez You gotta wonder at these bozo CEOs and their bozo Directors. Talk about being outta touch. Reckon he forced the Directors to find him another job in the company and closer to his home as part of not taking them to Court.
He wouldnt have floated the idea without the Directors knowldege and support. He rang it up the flag pole and when no one saluted he had to take the flack and the Directors had to sort out a fix.
Vote:July 26th, 2011 at 5:16 pm
Love how we keep hearing from the greedy classes how we have to pay top dollar to compete with the rest of the world so we can get top class management like this bozo!
Vote:July 26th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
johnboy, companies are full of the idiots at all levels. The most sensible are usually the frontline on the counter staff.
Of course they are usually frustrated by the piss poor leadership they get. Comes from the top and university degree’s.
I should add so are Govt. departments.
Vote:July 26th, 2011 at 6:41 pm
All are promoted to their level of incompetence
Vote:July 26th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
“johnboy, companies are full of the idiots at all levels. ”
Ah. Wondered why I got paid so much for what I do!
Vote:July 27th, 2011 at 12:36 am
I’m happy to be on the same side of the Wellywood debate as positive Wellingtonians like Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, Lloyd Morrison, Sir Michael Fowler, Justin du Fresne and Lindsay Perigo.
And on the other side we have all the usual malcontents – people who would rather we welcomed visitors with a giant plastic weta, the world’s ugliest and most terrifying insect. Yeah that would work – as long as every tourist is Ruud Kleinpaste.
I hope they go ahead with the sign. People forget that it celebrates a local boy who made Hollywood come to him – therefore Hollywood is relevant.
As with the Cake Tin, the grizzlers usually come round in the end.
What are we going to call the Indoor Sports Stadium? Let me see, what would please a bunch of humourless sheep? I know: what about the Indoor Sports Stadium? That should be boring enough for ‘em.
I prefer The Frisbee, The Flounder or The Limpet or something similarly smooth and flat.
Anyway, you were about to abuse me for my impertinence…
Vote:July 27th, 2011 at 5:54 am
Ain’t democracy a bitch, I would have preffered to see the sign go up and watch the entertainment that ensued.
Vote:July 27th, 2011 at 9:45 am
More people will see the sign as they leave. Steve Fitzgerald’s farewell present should be a sign saying “Good Bye”.
As for the Stadium I’ll wait for the effect on local traffic to become evident before deciding whether The Cow Pat is Kerry’s memorial.
Vote:July 27th, 2011 at 12:12 pm
John Ansell you are so correct!
Lets rather have a 60 foot copper Weta eating the end of the 120 foot long Wellywood sign!
I call the indoor wreck centre Kerry’s Folly as it was she who drove it and lied her head off about local sport!
Vote:July 27th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
John Ansell – Do Jackson and Taylor actually support this? Every link I could find prefaced the claim with “according to Kerry Prendergast…”. Michael Fowler has revealed himself to be a bit of feeble minded old dinosaur with a sense of humour from about 1950, which really seems to be the main pro-sign demographic. Who the hell is Justin de Fresne? I suspect Perigo probably supports it only because of the libertarian property rights aspect.
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