Staff Profile: Brad Stevens
Name: Brad Stevens
Role: Branch Manager - Bay of Plenty
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I grew up in a small town called Ashhurst, just out of Palmerston North. Throughout High School, I always enjoyed horticulture and that naturally lead to me completing a Bachelor of Applied Science (Horticulture) at Massey University. In 2000, upon completing my degree, I made the move to Katikati in the Bay of Plenty, where I was sampling kiwifruit by day and testing them by night. That move to Katikati and kiwifruit set me up for a career in the kiwifruit industry. My partner and I have 3 children that are growing up fast. This sees me on the football sideline in the winter and at the beach through summer as they participate in surf lifesaving at Waihi Beach.
What does your role involve?
Our Bay of Plenty Branch is dedicated to kiwifruit sampling and maturity testing. In my role, I serve as the link between our customers and our sampling and lab teams, supporting our managers to get the best out of their teams and deliver on our customers' expectations. I like to keep close to our operations supporting quality, health and safety, productivity and culture. During our kiwifruit season, I start my day reviewing and reporting results to ensure we meet the tight turnaround times required. Off season, I spend a lot of time planning for the next season alongside continuous improvement initiatives and supporting the wider business.
What first drew you to the type of work you do?
I always had an interest in horticulture. We had family friends that owned orchards and packing facilities in the Hawkes Bay. That looked like a good lifestyle and a good way to make a living, and I thought I might become an orchard manager. I always said I didn't mind what area of horticulture I ended up in so long as it was not cut flowers!
What part of your job do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy seeing each new season come to life going from six key staff year-round to over 200 for the kiwifruit season, who we get to see go from knowing little about their role to becoming proficient. I also enjoy the satisfaction of closing each day's samples out from a list of requests late afternoon, to samples collected and tested the following day and results reported the next morning. Seeing our team achieve this day after day is truly rewarding.
What skills or qualities help you the most in your work?
I'm a practical problem solver that likes to use data and technology to support continuous improvement. I have a strong attention to detail and a strong focus on meeting or exceeding expectations. I consider the big picture and plan well ahead but are also adaptable to situations as they arise.
What are you most passionate about in the sector or area you work in?
Delivering on time and in spec - I pride myself on ensuring we do all that we can to ensure that we deliver accurate and timely results. Our managers and I work hard each season to plan and build a team around us that do exactly that. And when things don't go quite right, we work hard to find ways to intervene so we can still meet our customers' expectations.
What do you find most rewarding about your career so far?
Whilst some may say that maturity sampling and testing hasn't changed much in the last 25 years, I've been part of solving problems and continuous improvement in this space as the industry has continued to scale. It's been rewarding to see improvements I have been a part of come to fruition - for example, GPS tracking of samplers or productivity improvements in the lab. A highlight would have to be the establishment of Hill Labs BOP branch, something that we pulled off with very tight timeframes in time to be ready for the kiwifruit season.
