Sam Fairhall - A Biography

Sam is a highly experienced senior executive and General Manager with a breadth of skills gained from a range of management responsibilities in the television sector

Sam is presently Director of the Business Farm Ltd. He and his associates are successfully providing consultancy and coaching services to small to medium enterprises in New Zealand.

He is a highly experienced senior executive and General Manager with a breadth of skills gained from a range of management responsibilities in the television sector in the UK (ATV), the Middle East (Dubai Television) and New Zealand (TVNZ). Just prior to starting his own business he was Managing Director TVNZ Satellite Services Limited, a company providing world-wide satellite capacity to organisations needing to transport live broadcast video. This was a large, profitable business with a global reach and a worldwide customer base. In 2002 Sam and his team won a Trade New Zealand Export Award.

Sam is well grounded in all aspects of business. He’s had experience in middle and senior corporate management (but didn’t let that get the better of him); he’s been in involved in business development, business start-ups and the marketing of services.

Sam’s career path gave him broad experience in transacting business in a range of cultures in countries such as Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the United States, the Pacific Islands and Australia. Sam travelled extensively over quite a few years. As he says “loved every minute of it, but tough on the family and time to settle down”. Time will tell whether or not that resolution sticks.

Sam has a reputation and a track record for innovation, efficiency and delivery. He is a manager able to operate tactically, operationally and strategically with equal effectiveness.

Sam loves the business of business and he came to Zeald because, for his team’s business consulting clients, he “needed a through the line website provider that was going to be around for the long haul and one that reliably looked after it’s clients from website conception through implementation to long term hosting.”

The path from Sam’s Greymouth birthplace to Auckland and membership of the Zeald team has been slighly circuitous. First of all there was short spell in the technical stuff of New Zealand radio. Then there was a spontaneous decision to take off for a year’s OE in the UK. This resulted in a job in BBC radio, which turned into a job in BBC Television, which turned into a job with the UK’sIndependent Television as a Presentation Director.

After that it was into producing and directing programes for Lew Grade’s ATV and then on to a spell as Programme Controller for Dubai Television.

Before returning from Dubai to the UK to pick up a production contract, a serendipitous trip back to New Zealand to show the UK-born children their real birthright, landed an unanticipated management job at TVNZ. This job morphed into a role developing offshore business for the organisation, which led to some interesting times and experiences and to where he is now.

Sam’s non work interest centres around aeroplanes, cars and a little shooting when the time is available. The children have left home but stay in regular touch. One in Wellington, one in Rome and one in Te Atatu. Sam’s life partner, Joanie, is still at home with him.