The_CEO_Magazine_ANZ_-_December_2016

(Greg DeLong) #1

receivership before being acquired by its
largest shareholder, a Singapore-based
company. I didn’t like the direction it was
going in so I left and I went to work for a
pharmaceutical company for six months. That
was until I received a call from the ex-CEO of
Go Vita to see if I was interested in being his
replacement as he was moving on.


You came on board as CEO in October



  1. What were some of the initial issues
    you had to face?


Historically, Go Vita had always had sales and
marketing CEOs in the business; however, the
board had realised the distribution aspect of
the company needed attention, so they sought
somebody with that skill and background.
There were three major issues that I identified
and went to the board with after three
months: the IP or computer system; the
physical space within the building, which we
had outgrown; and the company culture.


We relocated the business several months
ago. We moved into a facility that is twice the
size of where we were previously and we now
have all of the office staff in one area, whereas
before they were in different building units
which didn’t help the culture. It was really
about putting the right person in the right
seat with that culture change; making sure we
had the right people in the team. That was
probably the most challenging aspect of the
past eighteen months. The change in culture
has been great.


The relocation was massive; we did it in a
weekend. We have more than 7,000 individual
items in this business and we shut the
operations down on a Friday before shipping
back out again on the Monday. It was a big
effort by the team, and a lot of hours. Three
months later and things are quite settled. Now
the focus is on our next project, which is
changing the computer system.


A big focus this year is customer service.
We want to be the number one health
distributor in Australia and a lot of that is
going to come down to how we service our


UMF


®
Manuka Honey
The UMF® grading system appraises natural markers
found in Manuka honey and assures purity and quality.


  • Quality assurance and guaranteed ratings.

  • Independent laboratory testing determines the UMF®
    value of every batch after the honey is packed.

  • Scientific certification of origin.

  • Traceability – from hive to pot, every
    batch can be traced back to the original
    specific hives.

  • Made in New Zealand, crafted with care.


http://www.honeynz.co.nz


Ask at your local Go Vita store.
Not available in Western Australia

RANGE


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