Newly appointed CCNZ Executive Councillor Greg Lumsden has had a varied career as a trainer, contractor, industry supplier and small business owner.

He is also a longstanding CCNZ Manawatu Branch Executive Committee member, chairing the branch since 2017, running operations for the CCNZ CablePrice National Excavator Operator Competition, and seeing the Manawatu branch through its transition to become the inaugural Chair of the new CCNZ Manawatū Whanganui Branch.

A passion for contracting and supporting civil contractors has brought Greg to a seat on the CCNZ Executive Council.

The son of drainage and general contractor, Ian Lumsden of Ian Lumsden Ltd, he grew up behind the controls of an excavator.

“My father was a contractor, so I’ve been driving diggers since five or six. If we wanted to spend time with him we went out on the roads with him.”

His relationship with CCNZ started in the late 1990s. He encountered the fledgling National Excavator Operator Competition at Central Districts Field Days through managing his father’s contracting company and was hooked, first through his father’s contracting company. 

He then supported the excavator competition during a stint as Manawatu regional sales manager for pipeline systems supplier Humes from 1996 to the early 2000s, participating in course layout, planning to deliver the competition and the hands-on site setup.

Even when he first got involved, he had an idea that one day he would be running the show.

“It’s certainly gone a lot bigger and has more pizazz these days. Last year, we got more media coverage than ever before. When I first got involved, I had ambitions to organise it, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do. It’s not about me though. We’ve got a bloody good team behind it.”

His involvement with the National Excavator Operator Competition led him to join the CCNZ Manawatu Branch Executive Committee, and he became Manawatu Branch Chair in 2017.

He has since seen the branch through the merger with the Whanganui Branch, becoming the inaugural Branch Chair of the new CCNZ Manawatu Whanganui Branch, and leading efforts to contribute to the Hawke’s Bay East Coat Recovery, including a branch fundraising initiative that raised nearly $30,000 dollars.

Now he has joined the CCNZ Executive Council, with the goal of representing small to medium contractors, company trainers and civil contractors as a whole.

“I thought it would be good to have representation of smaller companies. I want to bring small companies into it and try to involve smaller companies. I want them to get more involved in CCNZ. If we can get these smaller companies involved and to have a voice, we can look after them better.”

He also sees a role for CCNZ as one of the first points of call following national disasters.

“I’d like CCNZ to be one of the first points of call in any national disaster,” Greg says.

“Contractors have all the knowledge and equipment, we have the machinery, and we are the ones cleaning it up. We need to have our feet under the table and be part of decision making. We need to have a say and be there.

“You imagine what contractors can pull together in a short amount of time. That was the main reason I wanted to stand for the Executive Council. To help contractors have more of a say and let the people that know how to do the work get on with it.”

Greg Lumsden at the 2021 National Excavator Operator Competition Prizegiving

The Manawatu Whanganui Branch presenting funds raised to the Bay View Community Charitable Trust (BVCCT).

Pictured [L-R]: Dave Wilson – BVCCT tool library, Klaus Gerding – BVCCT back office and funding, Jenny Dodds – BVCCT funding and community liaison, Bart Mulder – CCNZ Hawke’s Bay Branch Chair, Greg Lumsden – CCNZ Manawatu Whanganui Branch Chair, Grant Radovanovich, CCNZ Central Regional Manager, Jason Cryer – CCNZ Manawatu Whanganui Branch, Viv Moule – BVCCT Project Coordinator, Harvey Burgess – BVCCT Chair.