b'A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWNEstablishing the board It was becoming a recurrent theme everycome to know. Max had built a state-of-the-art time D&H met with the banks, recalls Mike. Atfacility in Brisbane and was known for being a In the late 1990s, banks were becomingone such business lunch he made his viewpointprogressive thinker and doing things differently. concerned about the number of largeclear: The best boards have one person onHe brought plenty of drive and experience to the businesses that, having begun as smallthem and its me.table, right up till he retired from the boardenterprises in the 70s and 80s, lacked goodBut the seed had been sown in Mikes mind.in 2020.governance. D&H Steel was one of them. By the 2000s, D&H was becoming a significantThe three independent directors were joined business, and it continued to grow and grow.by Mike, Wayne Carson and Jim Denham, and Mike realised that, to ensure the ongoingthe formal board was established in 2009. When A lot of businesses at thesupport of the banks, the company would needJim departed in 2012, Dean Pouwhare took his time were like our own to establish a formal board.seat at the table.Mike turned his attention towards identifyingIn his role as Chair, Nick brought thethey had started out small,the right people and quickly set his sights ondesired governance structure to the boardexperienced massive growthNick Calavrias. The pair had been on the Steeland taught us a lot of tricks, says Mike.Construction New Zealand board together andHaving someone of Nicks standing on the board and become market leaders,Nick had just retired from Steel & Tube. It didntalso gave D&H huge kudos in the market.but hadnt implemented goodtake long for Nick to agree after Mike asked himThey all became firm friends, and Mike recalls governance practices. if he would be interested in forming a board their last board meeting with wives and partners of directors. at Kingfish Lodge in Whangaroa. We had a great MIKE SULLIVANNext, Mike invited two further independenttrip up there.directors to join the board. Rowan Chapman wasSadly, while Mike was away training for the appointed as the financial expert. Rowan knewCoast to Coast in 2017, he received word that the company inside out, having looked after theNick had lost his life in a cycling accident in companys finances first in Bobs time then, afterTaup. That was real left field and devastating a brief hiatus, during Mikes tenure. Max Pearsonfor us all.was an industry player in Australia that Mike had 82'