Skyline Enterprises appoints Sarah Ottrey to board of directors

New Zealand tourism and property company Skyline Enterprises has appointed experienced governance professional Sarah Ottrey as an independent director to the board.

Ottrey, who also has an extensive executive career in multinational marketing with Unilever and Heineken International and DB Breweries, began her role yesterday (2nd November).

A Chartered Member of the NZ Institute of Directors (IoD), she was approached by Skyline to join the board after giving a presentation on business growth for the IoD earlier this year.

Ottrey explains “I wanted to be part of something that is local and carries a lot of pride within its company culture.

“There are Southern businesses doing fantastic things and Skyline is right at the top of that group. I want to see – and be part of – Southern entities being world-class.

“Queenstown is so fortunate to have a visionary company like Skyline invest heavily in its community with its tourism products. The Skyline Gondola is part of NZ’s marketing persona and imagery. There are cities and towns around the world that would love to have that contribution from such an organisation.”

Ottrey’s current board appointments are NZX-listed companies EBOS Group Ltd (NZ’s third-largest company by revenue) and Comvita Ltd, plus private company Whitestone Cheese Ltd. She is also an external member of Inland Revenue’s Risk and Assurance Committee.

Previous directorships have included NZ Public Trust, Smiths City Group and Blue Sky Meats Ltd, as well as various community and school trustee roles.

Her career highlights include creating the now-famous ‘Yeah Right’ brand strategy campaign for Tui beer in 1994 at DB Breweries, and in 2013 being involved in a $1.1 billion deal to buy Australian pharmaceutical wholesaler and distributor Symbion, while at EBOS Group.

Hailing from west Otago and spending several years working overseas, Ottrey has been living in Queenstown for almost a year. No stranger to Queenstown, she spent much of her youth holidaying in the resort and worked summers at Skyline’s old cafeteria as a university student in the mid-1980s.

She added “I plan to combine my marketing experience and my growth-governance experience to facilitate continued growth in Skyline.

“But that growth has to be sustainable – so someone who comes on to the board in 10-15 years’ time is going to be thankful for decisions made now.”

Skyline Enterprises Chairman Mark Quickfall adds “with Skyline Enterprises experiencing continued growth, it’s essential to have sound marketing and governance expertise across all our businesses.

“We are confident Sarah will add real value with a strong independent voice on the Skyline board and board committees.”

Image: Skyline Enterprises Director Sarah Ottrey at Skyline Queenstown

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