Mark, our GM, has what you might call an eclectic CV. He originally studied economics, but realised that path led straight to a bank job, and swerved into marketing communications – then photography (back when that meant dark rooms and chemical trays) and journalism (back when that meant learning shorthand).
Since then he’s sold flat screens for a Japanese tech company, power stations and light rail for a French multinational, and rounds of golf in Queenstown – despite being a passionate non-golfer. There’s also been freelance photojournalism, a few years touring Australia with a film festival, and a stint on lead guitar in an indie covers band.
He’d been in the Studio’s orbit for years before taking the GM role in early 2020 – just before the Covid lockdowns hit. He compares the job to being navigator on a pirate ship: mostly poring over charts and numbers to advise the officers, but occasionally swinging a sabre or manning the pumps when the situation calls for it.
Outside work he goes wherever the wind blows – literally. He picked up wing-foiling a few years back, so if his phone’s going to voicemail, he’s probably out on the lake trying to nail an upwind 360.