Meet the Team - Gary Lindsay

Gary’s working life started at the Bank of New South Wales, but banking wasn’t for him – six months was more than enough. He swapped the banking desk for the hills of Hawke’s Bay, taking up shepherding and mustering. After growing up on a large sheep station, it was work he particularly loved.

Then Gary’s father suggested he become a meat inspector, joking that they “get paid heaps and do very little.” That was enough to convince Gary, who went on to spend two years training which included a stint at Lincoln University, which, he admits, felt more like a holiday at the time.

At just 17, Gary took his first role in the meat industry as a meat inspector with Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Meat Company. He stayed there for five years before heading back to the big stations for another four years of shepherding and mustering which was still his dream job at the time.

By 1983, Gary was back in processing, joining the Dawn Meat/Richmond joint venture at Oringi. He then held a variety of compliance roles with MQM (now MPI).

In March 1999, he joined ANZCO Foods’ Eltham site (then Riverlands Eltham) as Inventory Manager – and in December 1999 he was asked to take over the site compliance, a role he only agreed to cover for 12 months.

Some 26 years later, he’s still here.

During his time with ANZCO Foods, Gary has worn many hats: he held a number of roles at Eltham before becoming General Manager at ANZCO Foods Marlborough (then CMP Marlborough) in 2009. In 2014, he relocated to Christchurch to head up compliance for the ANZCO Foods Group.

Reflecting on his career, Gary says, “Coming to ANZCO was the best move I ever made. This company has always been about the people, and it really does feel like one big family.”

Away from work, Gary is married to Julie and absolutely dotes on their four granddaughters. Carrying on the farming tradition, his daughter and son-in-law are milking 650 cows on a dairy farm in Dannevirke. A self-confessed petrolhead, Gary loves fast cars (Mustangs), a bit of DIY and landscaping, and in the summer months you’ll often find him enjoying twilight golf after work or making use of his impressive home gym setup.

Fun facts:

• Favourite food: 
  Easily meat in general – but nothing beats a great steak, especially an OP rib ribeye.
• Favourite drink:
  Once a rum man, now whisky (thanks to Tonesy’s influence). Fittingly, Gary’s grandfather’s name was Johnny Walker.