An experienced management educator and change agent, Mike had joined the New Zealand Army just prior to New Zealand’s involvement in the Vietnam War. He was posted to Vietnam and was quickly promoted to Captain. Deeply affected by his war experiences, Mike became opposed to New Zealand’s involvement in the Vietnam conflict. He resigned his commission in 1967.
Growth and Development
Mike was snapped up by New Zealand's Security Intelligence Service (SIS) in 1967, but he was already developing an interest in the business world and was soon acting as an employers’ senior advocate with the New Zealand Employers’ Federation.
He represented New Zealand at the International Labour Organisation conference in Geneva in 1972, and from 1973 to 1979, held executive personnel management positions in major NZ companies. In 1979, he founded his own specialised consulting group, focused on organisational development, systematic management and behaviour change.
Promana takes shape
Dissatisfied with the behavioural assessment tools available at the time, and discounting any that were based on ‘personality’ concepts, he set about developing a suite of surveys and reports that he called Profiles for People (PfP).
He later launched The Professional Management Consulting Group Ltd in 1979.
PfP quickly gained popularity in the New Zealand corporate sector, with executive uptake by organisations small and large, including Telecom NZ, the Ministry of Maori Development, and Air New Zealand. The PfP system provided a compelling consulting backbone that underpinned the firm’s offerings for thirteen years. During this period, Mike also served three terms as Vice President of the New Zealand Institute of Management.
