IoD recognises Canterbury’s Cory Bedford and Helen Andrews as emerging directors with business leadership skills
Cory Bedford and Helen Andrews have been named the Institute of Directors’ (IoD) Canterbury branch Emerging Directors 2019.
Helen and her husband Mark own and operate MD and HL Andrews Partnership, a farming business they launched in 2004. Helen is responsible for monitoring the business’ strategic direction, finance and compliance. She has successfully grown the business, which now produces over 10,000 free-farmed pigs and up to 500 head of cattle per year.
She sits on the board of New Zealand Pork, and is chair of its audit committee.
In choosing Helen for the award, the judges said that she is organised, engaging and professional.
“She was able to respect others while also challenging them to get the best result for stakeholders. Helen sees the bigger picture and understands the impact of decisions,” the judges said.
Helen says that she is particularly looking forward to working alongside a mentor as part of the emerging director programme. “For me, this is absolute gold,” she says.
Her passions lie in agriculture, animals and helping others to get involved within the farming industry and she feels that her experience being a farmer has provided her with a host of practical skills that are applicable in the boardroom.
“Building a business from the ground up has given me a fantastic perspective on how decisions made around a board table can affect grass roots production. I believe my strengths are the ability to ask difficult questions and consider a range of views. I find my personal qualities of honesty and integrity are strong as I am often approached for an honest opinion.”
Cory Bedford is the managing director of Constructure Ltd, which provides structural engineering services to a variety of public, private and institutional clients. He established the business in 2008. Cory is a qualified structural engineer and has completed a BEng (Hons) from Loughborough University in the UK.
In addition, Cory sits on the high performance subcommittee of the Canterbury United Football Club. He has recently retired from his role as the chair of the Waimairi School Board of Trustees and is a former trustee of the Christchurch Civic Trust.
In choosing Cory for the award, the judges said that he is thorough and focused. “Cory knows his stuff and is aware of what’s going on. He takes a measured approach and hears all sides of the story before making a decision,” the judges said.
Cory hopes the award will help him to broaden his governance experience.
The opportunity of a mentoring session with an experienced director to assist me in planning my directorship pathway is extremely exciting and invaluable,” he says.
“The emerging director award provides a fantastic opportunity for me to be exposed to a larger corporate governance board environment, which is a governance career path I ultimately want to head towards.”