Livingstone’s new Chief Executive brings with him a leadership style that puts people first. We sat down with Ash Burkhart to discover what drives him to build excellence.
Although he’s more at home on a hockey turf than a rugby field, when it comes to leadership, Ash looks to former All Blacks’ captains, Kieran Read and Richie McCaw, when asked to describe his own leadership style.
“They were both men of few words but they put a huge amount of effort into their own game to ensure they could support the people around them,” Ash says. “Leadership is about rolling up your sleeves and being there when the times are tough and the work needs to get done.”
Having joined Livingstone’s in 2022 as a Regional Manager, Ash has overseen some of our highest-value projects in recent years, including Te Kete Aronui Rototuna Library and the Laminex OSB plant in Taupō for Fletcher Wood Products, but it’s the people at ‘Livi’s’ who have really brought enjoyment to his work.
“We have a unique blend of family values at a corporate scale here at Livi’s; not many other companies have that. I want to ensure that Livi’s is the employer of choice, so when people see a Livingstone car out on the roads, they say, that’s who I want to work for.”
“That means keeping our company culture across all our sites, having a box of beer among the teams, celebrating the wins together.”
So what will Livi’s look like going forward with Ash at the helm?
“It’s been a really tough three years but we’re looking at how we can do things differently, technology, products, how we can value-engineer things for our clients. We have a five-year strategy of growing revenue and we want to grow our partnerships. We offer something pretty special and want to work with those align with our values of trust, honesty and transparency.”
Ash also wants to ensure that those we work with recognise the value our team brings.
“I want to be known as a person who backs our team, builds strong relationships internally and externally, a person who listens, who collectively rolls their sleeves up when there are tough challenges, and wins and celebrates together. That’s a big one for me. I want the team to get the praise they’ve earned.”
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