Malcolm Johns

Prior to his appointment as Chief Executive of Genesis Energy, University of Waikato alumnus Malcolm Johns spent almost 10 years as Chief Executive of Christchurch International Airport. During his tenure, he shared his memories of his time at Waikato Management School and what the Bachelor of Management Studies taught him.

Malcolm Johns is proud to be Chief Executive of Christchurch International Airport; the world’s first airport to become ‘climate positive’ in April 2022, having previously achieved carbon neutral status.

The Waikato Management School alumnus is widely recognised as a global strategic leader on sustainability issues. “I’m deeply passionate about climate change,” he says. “Not just for my business, but championing it at a national and international level too.”

Christchurch Airport has flourished under Malcolm’s helm since 2014, despite having to deal with earthquakes, a terrorist attack, and a pandemic.

A focus on sustainable growth

In the past eight years the airport’s market value has increased to over $2.5 billion, it has set new records for passenger growth, and reduced carbon emissions by 90%.

Digitisation has been a key part of the airport’s growth strategy. The airport’s energy system is run by artificial intelligence, and its horizontal infrastructure has sensors that notify staff by text if there is a critical issue to deal with.

I’m deeply passionate about climate change. Not just for my business, but championing it at a national and international level too.

For someone who has achieved so much in their business career, Malcolm says that during his school days at Waihi College, he struggled with reading and exams due to undiagnosed dyslexia.

He only decided to come to the University of Waikato because his friends were; so he was hoping to have a good time. Malcolm enrolled in the Bachelor of Management Studies, majoring in marketing and accounting.

The BMS opened my eyes to the wonderful, exciting world of management,” he says. “We had guest speakers, often former students, who were doing amazing things all over the world, and I was energised by that.

A career in management takes off

In his second year at university, he was shocked to discover he was dyslexic, but now describes it as one of his greatest gifts.

“People like me think in pictures, and pictures have a thousand words in them! It unlocked my ability to see things in images, take lots of complex information, and explain things simply.”

The BMS opened my eyes to the wonderful, exciting world of management. We had guest speakers, often former students, who were doing amazing things all over the world, and I was energised by that.

After graduating with his BMS degree in 1994, Malcolm joined the corporate trainee programme at Hyatt International Hotels and Resorts.

This decision launched his management career in the travel and tourism sector for the next 10 years, including a three-year stint dividing his time between Vancouver and Auckland.

On returning to New Zealand in his early 30s, Malcolm began to think seriously about his future career. He was completing a six-month contract with InterCity Group in 2004 when they asked him to stay on as Chief Executive.

“I said if I could create a five-year strategy for the company and implement it, I would stay. It was only then that I finally understood what a career was, that I’d have to spend some time shaping it.”

During his 10 years at InterCity, Malcolm also served as Deputy Chair of the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand, and then Deputy Chair of Tourism New Zealand.

In 2020, Malcolm was appointed by the Prime Minister as one of three New Zealand delegates on the APEC Business Advisory Council, where he chairs its climate change work programme.

He is also a board member of the Sustainable Business Council and the Climate Leaders Coalition.