Following the CCNZ conference in Christchurch this month (August) Napier business consultant and former Gair Contracting managing director Bailey Gair was elected unopposed at the association’s 2022 AGM.
Bailey replaces outgoing president Tony Pike from Downer and has been on the association’s executive council since 2015, serving her most recent term as vice president. She has previously served on the executive committee of the Hawke’s Bay East Coast Branch, including as its chair, from 2012 until 2014.
Bailey acknowledges the immense efforts of Tony during a particularly challenging few years for civil contractors.
“Tony has done a great job setting the executive up for success and helping to guide CCNZ and our industry though the lockdowns and changes brought by the pandemic. It has been a turbulent couple of years and his leadership has been outstanding.”
Bailey says she is proud to be CCNZ’s first female president (and the first in its 78-year history) and says the industry had come a long way from the days when it was rare to see women on worksites.
“Kudos to the men in our industry, as well as the efforts of the women. The industry has become much more inclusive and there are a lot more women in highly visible roles these days. Women have always had significant roles behind the scenes in civil contracting companies, particularly in SMEs, but they weren’t always on the front lines or in the kinds of management roles where you see them today.”
Bailey has been in civil construction since 2008, when she joined her parents’ business to provide temporary cover when the contracts manager at the time resigned and became managing director in 2016.
Gair Contracting was sold to Goodman Contractors in 2020, and Bailey remained in the industry as a business consultant through her current business Roundview.
There were no other changes to the members of the CCNZ executive council at this year’s AGM. David Howard, from Wellington business Construction Contracts will step into the role of vice president while Tony Pike stays on the executive council as its immediate past president.