Dick Hubbard, one of New Zealand's most successful businessman brings a refreshing approach to business. On October 9, 2004 he became Mayor of Auckland City.

Dick Hubbard is a Food Technologist with a B.Tech (Food) degree from Massey University. His first job was as a Research Scientist for the N Z Co-op Dairy Co Ltd in Hamilton developing specialised powders for the baking trade. Two years there (working under a bond) he left having learnt that (a) He didn’t want to be a Research Scientist and (b) He didn’t want to work for a large corporate for forty years.

In 1971 he was faced with the decision of accepting a job offer as a lecturer in dairy technology at Massey University (safe option) or accepting a position as Project Manager to set up a tropical fruit processing factory on Niue (unsafe option). He chose the latter! The experience on Niue was profoundly satisfying, as he had to build a tropical fruit processing Company from scratch in a very isolated environment. It was akin to building his own Company but with someone else’s money. This project had social as well as financial aims and this is where he became interested in running enterprises with combined financial and social objectives. He became very interested in mechanisms for the practical interfacing of these twin objectives to an organisation. This laid the groundwork for some of his thinking on Social Responsibility in Business.

In 1975 Dick returned to New Zealand after the three year term and took up the position of Assistant General Manager to Tasti Products Ltd. This Company was relatively small in 1975 (turnover $1 million). It had a low profitability and a tenuous existence. Over a 13 year period he assisted to build this Company up to a turnover of $16 million in 1987. In the last four years of employment (1984 to 1988), he was Chief Executive.

In 1987 he made the decision to leave paid employment and set up Hubbard Foods Ltd. The rest as they say, is history!

In 2002 he offered four $6000 Food Technology scholarships to Massey University students in a bid to feed an industry desperately short of qualified talent.


TRACK RECORD

(a) HONORARY AWARDS
1999 (i) Hon. Doctorate (Massey University)
1998 (ii) Samoan Matai Title (Galumalemana)
2000 (iii) ONZM (For Services to Business)
1994 (iv) J.C. Andrews Award for Eminence in Food Science
1995 (v) Muriel Bell Award for Services to Nutrition.
2000 (vi) N.Z. Toastmasters – Communicator of the Year
1993 (vii) Fellow – NZIFST
1997 (viii) Fellow – NZIM

(b) PAST INVOLVEMENT – COMMUNITY AND PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS
1975-1977 Chairman - Auckland Branch NZIFST
1979-1981 National Chairman - NZIFST
1995-1997 Chairman - Business Grow NZ
1997-2000 Board Member – Business in the Community
1993-1997 Board member – NZ Nutrition Foundation
1982-1996 Chairman – NZ Food Standards Committee (14 years)
1992-1995 Board member – Australian Food Standards
Committee
1990-1992 Chairman – St Georges Scout Committee
1994-1995 President – Epsom Kiwanis
2000-2001 Board Member – N.Z. Life Sciences Institute
2002 Patron of Police Wing 208

( c ) PRESENT INVOLVEMENT – COMMUNITY and PROFESSIONAL
ORGANISATIONS
1997 - Founding Chairman – N.Z. Businesses for Social Responsibility (BSR)
1999 - Board member – N.Z. Business Council for Sustainable
Development (NZBCSD)
2000 - Chairman - N.Z. National Parks & Conservation Foundation
2001 - 2003 Chairman – N.Z.Grocery Marketers Assn. (GMA)
2000 - Board Member – Outward Bound of N.Z.