The Port of Auckland was hit hard by years of delays, disputes and even deaths, and Roger Gray had a significant challenge ahead of him as he stepped up to take over.  

Gray took over the Port of Auckland in 2022, and he revealed to Kerre Woodham on the Bosses Unfiltered podcast that he had to evolve and grow to take on the project. 

“Probably the biggest change for me was coming to New Zealand from Australia. Whilst Australians see New Zealand as the 7th state, things are very different and work’s done very differently, much less aggressively, much more on relationships.” 

He knew he was in for a challenge, and he revealed to Kerre that he had to adjust to a unique working environment. He’s led major organisations across maritime, aviation and logistics across both sides of the Tasman and he’s observed several key differences between both nations. 

“New Zealanders are very strongly passive-aggressive and they are silent disagreers. We’ll often sit in a room and think everything’s fine, you’ll leave and they’ll just give you the middle finger and move on. Whereas in Australia, they tell you to your face.” 

Gray was also well aware of the risks that came with the role - beyond maintaining employee relationships. He told Kerre he appreciated the opportunity to take on the role, because he could see the safety issues impacting the Port and its workers.  

“Let’s not kid ourselves, the Port sector is a challenging place to work. You’re out there in the rain, at night, lifting 30 kilos…it’s hard work. You’re near containers lifting up 40 tons, it is a dangerous place to work. And often, safety isn’t necessarily, it’s unsafe, it’s - I just don’t feel safe right now, something’s different. It just doesn’t feel right. You’ve got to give them the benefit of the doubt.” 

Luckily, Gray knew that you needed to possess a necessary kind of confidence to get ahead in the business world. He revealed to Kerre that he’s quite extroverted, and he likes having fun, but he had to reflect and adjust as he grew into the role. 

“In the end, people are looking at you, watching you, they’re waiting for you to blink. And you can’t. So you’ve got to have that confidence. I do think- some would say you don’t get to this level unless there’s a sort of morbidly weird sort of personality as well.” 

What’s next on Roger Gray’s agenda? He explained to Kerre Woodham that he’s hoping to grow the Port of Auckland to help give the ratepayers more value and deliver a sustainable return to the city. 

“Ratepayers have $1.6 billion of assets sitting down there at the port. And you know, we haven’t traditionally paid them a fair return, and it’s the job of the port executive, the board, to give that cash back to the city to pay for the investment that they made. And that’s what we’re gonna do.”

And Gray’s looking forward to making this happen - and he’s not eyeing off any big new roles in the near future. He’s admitted to having a fascination with politics, but he’s not interested in following former colleague Chris Luxon’s lead at this stage. 

“Let’s be honest, it’s a big transition from management and aviation or FMCG, where Christopher was before, into politics. One of the things I’d say about Christopher is - he’s one of the most voracious learners that I know. He is a perpetual learner who has a true X-Factor about wanting to get better, and I think people will see him continue to understand the whole craft of politics.” 

What does Roger Gray like to do to unwind from the business pressures? He revealed to Kerre that he has an unexpected guilty pleasure he enjoys for stress relief. 

“I watch really bad television… I was watching And Just Like That two nights ago, and then there’s an app called Tubi, which has all this schlock 60’s and 50’s horror movies and things on it, I watch that religiously.” 

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