You have to love your job to commute more than two hours to your office. Karen Preston does, and as a car enthusiast who revels in hitting the open road, the drive is just another perk of her Administration Manager role at Royal Wolf.
Karen has been in the business of shipping containers for about 20 years, spending the last three and a half at Royal Wolf, Auckland.
“I started out working with Pinnacle Containers here in New Zealand and after moving around different roles within the business eventually worked for their leasing arm, Spacewise,” she says. “Royal Wolf then acquired Spacewise.”
Karen didn’t think twice before accepting a role with the company. “Royal Wolf was and still is the number one in the business in New Zealand,” she says. “They had all the big flashy containers, they had hoardings, they had all sorts of exciting products, so they have always been idolised within the industry.
“I always joke that I was the most expensive part of the acquisition though.”
MAKING THINGS WORK
Karen brought with her a devotion and talent for improving business processes. She joined the team as Assistant Admin Manager and was promoted to Administration Manager within only six months. The diversity of this role sees Karen and her team doing everything from account keeping and contract conversion to organising conferences and work travel arrangements. Problem solving, she says, is often at the centre of it all.
Most recently she was proud to be part of the team that introduced a centralised conversion process to Royal Wolf, streamlining and simplifying customer account keeping and ensuring information flowed easily between business units.
“It means that we've got more information so we are prepared for auditors, our accounts are in order and we see early on what we need to chase,” Karen says.
“It allows us to provide a better level of service for our customers.”
ON HER NEED FOR SPEED
When she’s not improving processes at Royal Wolf, Karen is at home with her partner tinkering with their vintage Fords or watching Formula One racing. With a mechanic father and a mum who got her thrills racing motorbikes, Karen says she found a passion for automobiles early on.
“I’ve always had cars around me,” Karen says.
“My partner and I own three little Fords, similar to Model Ts, ranging in make from about 1939 to 1945. We like to take them out on the weekend for picnics and go on group runs with the car enthusiast group we belong to, the Ford 8 & 10 Car Club."
A TEAM BUILT FOR SUCCESS
Karen’s management position at Royal Wolf allows her to work with both her own tight-knit team and the wider Royal Wolf cohort. She credits them all for the ongoing success of the business, and the satisfaction of its staff.
“I just love working with the people here,” she says.
“There’s such a diversity of nationalities and life experience - they're young, they're old, they've got babies, they've got grandchildren, they've got children who are teenagers. We all bring a different perspective on everything, and it works so well. They’re very supportive of each other, and our customers. It’s a very respectful environment.”
“Royal Wolf was and still is the number one in the business in New Zealand. They had all the big flashy containers, they had hoardings, they had all sorts of exciting products, so they have always been idolised within the industry.”
