Alexander swings into HP action

Imaging and Printing Group country manager is a golf fanatic

By Hamish Barwick, Auckland | Friday, 13 August 2010
If Hamish Alexander had his way, he would play golf all the time.

The Imaging and Printing Group (IPG) country manager is a self-confessed golf fanatic with a handicap of eight.

“It’s hard to play golf in the winter but even if it’s raining I will go and play.”

He has played with Tiger Woods’ caddie Steve Williams in Christchurch and his favourite golf course is in Helensville, Auckland. This is closely followed by Callum Heights in Queenstown.

“The scenery is up there with the overseas courses, it’s not so much about the course.”

When Alexander was living in Sydney, his family was still based in New Zealand so he would play on Saturday and Sunday.

Alexander also enjoys fishing for snapper and rock fishing. If it’s a hard to reach place that takes an hour to walk to, he will happily go along.

He even managed to spend the night on a rock with three mates at a spot near Piha after misjudging when the tide was coming back in.

“We had a bottle of whiskey with us so we were okay,” he laughs.

“Everyone was looking for us the next day but we were fine.”

After 14 years in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, Alexander is a relative latecomer to IT.

He worked in a number of FMCG divisions including pharmacy, grocery and hair salons.

Among his FMCG roles was a memorable stint at Japanese health and beauty company Shiseido, as a regional director.

“I travelled with three Japanese gentlemen acting as an interpreter for them as their English was non-existent. We travelled throughout New Zealand, Australia and the US.”

After this, he worked for pharmaceutical firm BDM Grange.

He says switching to IT was opportunistic, as he wanted to see what IT was all about.

Alexander made the transition during his time at Nutech, now a division of local stationery company Croxley, whose agencies include Brother and HP.

“All the disciplines from FMCG are very different, so it took awhile to adapt and adjust.”

However, Alexander says both FMCG and IT are intense, quickly-changing sectors.