Lyttelton Port boss walks away with $1.5m for 10 months’ work

Monday, 2 October 2023

Kirstie Gardener was chief executive at Lyttelton Port company for less than a year.

Lyttelton Port’s boss, who quit abruptly earlier this year, banked a salary and golden handshake totalling almost $1.5 million for 10 months’ work.

Kirstie Gardener was chief executive of Lyttelton Port Company (LPC), which is owned by Christchurch ratepayers, until she left in April after less than a year in the job.

Lyttelton Port Company is owned by ratepayers, through Christchurch City Holdings.

Her resignation has never been explained, and was quickly followed by those of the board chairperson Margaret Devlin and two board directors.

The departures came after an independent review raised concerns about the board’s effectiveness, and the directors’ ability to work together to meet the organisation’s needs. A scathing December 2020 review into the port’s workplace culture exposed an environment of bullying and harassment. There were also safety concerns after port worker Donald Grant was killed on the job last year.

Margaret Devlin quit as chairperson of the Lyttelton Port Company board shortly after the resignation of the chief executive.

The revolving door of chief executives at LPC has seen five people fill the role within four years.

LPC’s annual report released on Friday reveals Gardener was paid $1,467,417 for the financial year ending June 2023. This figure included “leave entitlements and other employment compensation amounts“, the company confirmed.

Graeme Sumner, previously head of traffic control agency Airways New Zealand, was recently appointed as Gardener’s permanent replacement with an annual salary of $825,000. Like Gardener, his package does not include bonuses or incentives, after the company canned the practice in 2021.

In between Gardener’s departure and Sumner’s arrival, Jim Quinn, a former board member, filled in as interim chief executive. He was paid $105,750 on a contract basis for his work from mid-April to the end of June.

Another 23 staff at LPC were paid more than $200,000 for the year, of whom six were on over $300,000.

Former Lyttelton Port chief executive Roger Gray, who left to head up Ports of Auckland.

In its annual report last year, Christchurch City Holdings Ltd (CCHL), the parent company of Lyttelton Port and the city council’s other businesses, said it would “actively endorse the expectation” that “restraint is exercised in relation to the level of senior executive remuneration” at the trading companies.

“CCHL will encourage its subsidiaries to report on and work to show a narrowing of the gap between the highest and lowest remuneration in each company,” the report said.

In the previous financial year, LPC paid a total of $890,680 in chief executive salaries. This comprised $584,649 for Roger Gray, who left partway through the year to head up Ports of Auckland, and $306,031 to Gardener who came in as acting chief executive.

23 staff at LPC were paid more than $200,000 for the year, of whom six were on over $300,000.

Gardener now describes herself as a freelance experienced senior leader.

The port company reported an after-tax profit of $18.9m for the year to June, the same as the previous year, and revenue growth of just over 12%

Peter Davie was the company’s chief executive for 16 years until he retired at the end of 2019. Grey took over in early 2020, to be followed by Gardener, Quinn, and then Sumner.

Annual salaries for other council-owned trading company chief executives are now lower than at the port.

The port company reported an after-tax profit of $18.9m for the year to June, the same as the previous year, and revenue growth of just over 12%.

Christchurch Airport in the financial year to June paid its chief executive $780,250, made up of a base salary of $675,000, KiwiSaver contributions of $20,250, and bonuses and/or incentives of $85,000. The role was filled by Malcolm Johns until the start of the year, when Justin Watson replaced him.

The previous year the airport company paid Johns $982,620, including $200,000 in bonuses.

At lines company Orion, chief executive Nigel Barbour was paid a total of $799,000 in the year to March, up from $613,000 the previous year.

Details of the salary of fibre network company Enable’s chief executive, Johnathan Eele, are not yet available. His total salary package for the previous year was $469,317.

Christchurch City Council chief executive Dawn Baxendale’s salary for this year is $548,548.