Chris Quin
2010 Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader Award Recipient
Gen-i is today considered to be a leader in the ICT industry in New Zealand, and Chief Executive for Australasia, Chris Quin is the man widely credited with its success. He is also part of the executive team at Telecom New Zealand – one of this country’s largest companies.
In 2004, Chris drove Telecom’s acquisitions of IT services companies, Gen-i and Computerland to form the new business now known as Gen-i. In leading the merger of these three previously competing teams, he helped transform what was essentially a start-up within the Telecom Group into one of New Zealand’s leading ICT service providers.
Chris realised that the success of Gen-i had to be founded on the strength of its 3,000 employees. To achieve this, he first had to bring together a melting pot of companies each with an individual culture and processes in order to create one cohesive organisation based on strong values. ‘Project Fusion’ was his response to this challenge, and employees throughout the organisation were involved in creating the common values they wished to retain and cultivate in the new company.
As a large and dispersed organisation, Chris has created a culture of open communication, transparency and connectedness at Gen-i. From weekly personal emails, to monthly teleconferences and regular tours of sites throughout Australasia, he demonstrates to staff that he recognises the part each employee plays in the future success of the company.
“An organisation can sustain success only if its leadership creates the culture of the organisation through its conversations. That means an authentic connection, strong communication, gathering feedback and just delivering people the challenge, development and reward that engages them and creates the organisational brand.”
Six years on from the merger, Chris’s emphasis on developing people and strong team behaviours continues, with all employees involved in ongoing development and workshops aimed at collaboration. His commitment to empowering staff is also manifest in the number of professional development programmes and recognition mechanisms he has put in place at Gen-i and his insistence that budgets for these remained intact during the recession. Chris has also led the development of a Leadership Programme and dedicates time to mentoring a number of employees.
Chris’s leadership at Gen-i is based on action and example; his extraordinary drive and commitment inspires those around him and his personal integrity and honesty shapes the culture of the organisation from the top down.
A passionate advocate for the role ICT technology can play in delivering better outcomes for New Zealand, Chris’s involvement in the industry association NZICT reflects his commitment to helping realise this potential.
Chris gives his time as a member of the advisory board of the Centre for Social Innovation and as a mentor for OMEGA, an initiative which addresses the engagement of skilled immigrants to address workplace shortages. He is also a board member of THE ICEHOUSE, a former Trustee of the Marram Trust and actively involved with developing KartSport in New Zealand.