Lance is an independent consultant providing management, strategy, growth and valuation consulting to industrial, media and internet based businesses. He writes here and has a Q&A column in idealog.
Lance’s is founder and director of PowerKiwi, supplying Flower Power, Tree Power and carbon neutralised Green Power to Powershop, an online electricity retailer. Lance is also a director of Texmate NZ, an Auckland based electronics OEM designer and manufacturer and producer of meters and mini-PLCs, and Lingopal Limited, a Perth based mobile translation venture capital funded start-up.
Right now Lance is part of and helping a few other companies, including two exciting Kiwi start-ups – a tourism application and a marketplace for journalists and editors.
In addition he has small investments in and occasionally advises Taggle (formerly Widentifi), Valuecruncher and Chanui Tea. He is also part of an informal advisory board for PlanHQ.
Lance is part of Equip Design, one of three accredited Design360 teams that perform the design assessment and planning phases of the Better by Design programme.
Lance has consulted to a number of small New Zealand and Australian clients, in the media, e-commerce and entertainment industries.
In 2007 and 2008 Lance worked with BHP Billiton Stainless Steel Materials in Perth, through Lodestone, a consulting group that specializes in operational improvement work. Lance led a team to help Kwinana Nickel Refinery add almost 10,000 tonnes of Nickel to their annual production, and then led another team to simplify and speed up improvement efforts at other BHPB Nickel assets. More recently Lance spent almost 2 months in Mozambique consulting to BHP Billiton’s Mozal Aluminium smelter.
In 2007 Lance acted as Head of Group Digital at Fairfax Media NZ, New Zealand’s largest media company, transforming the pace and scope of the organisation, then handing over to the very capable Bernard Hickey.
Prior to working at Fairfax Lance was the sole adviser to CEO Sam Morgan and Board Chair Richard Abbott on Trade Me’s sale to Fairfax Media for NZ $750m. Lance was an adviser to Trade Me since early 2004, helping with ongoing valuations, pricing, strategy and coping with growth. Lance also led the analytics team at Trade Me at various times since 2004.
Lance was the site leader for 10 months on a successful business turnaround effort at BHP Billiton’s (BHPB) Bayside aluminium smelter in South Africa. He has also in recent years consulted to a Lloyds Underwriter/Broker, turned around several small companies in New Zealand through restructuring and implementing financial controls, consulted at Mount Isa, and advised on strategy to a number of other companies.
Prior to returning to NZ Lance was an engagement manager for McKinsey & Company in Washington DC, where he led several different projects, from underfunded non profits to those billions and tens of billions of dollars, and at clients across a variety of sectors. He also led to completion a 3-year, $US 5 million, McKinsey research effort relating corporate performance and management practices.
While studying for an MBA (MPPM) at Yale University Lance was a summer associate for Dallas private Equity Firm The Hampstead Group, and prior to that he was at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and founded Panic Music in Montreal.
Lance’s career started with Mobil Oil New Zealand and Mobil Oil Australia, where he was, amongst other things, territory manager for the top third of the South Island, and a member of the team that rolled out EFT-POS at Mobil service stations in Australia and NZ.
Academic
Lance was awarded an Honours degree in Technology in 1989 at Massey University (Product Development). In 1998 he completed an MBA in Strategy and Finance at Yale University, and was a McKinsey MMBA corporate finance faculty tutor in 2000.
Motorcycle Travel
Lance has ridden on several major motorcycle trips, starting in 1996, and including around Europe, Europe to Singapore, North and South America, New Zealand, Southern Africa, and big parts of Australia.
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If you’d like to contact Lance then simply fill out the form or call the number on the contact Lance page. Lance is available for consulting work across New Zealand and Australia, and, it seems, parts of Africa.
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