Mr Fulton was appointed by the Otago Regional Council (ORC) last week and began work on 1 July, with his first board meeting coming up on 7 July.

ORC Chair of the Port Liaison Working Group, Cr Kevin Malcolm, said the Council was pleased with the appointment.

“Mr Fulton has the experience and know-how to fill the role. He ticked all the right boxes in terms of the skills we were looking for and has a real desire to support Otago. I’m very pleased to be able to appoint him to the Port Otago board.”

The key skills Council and the Board were looking for in this appointment were in infrastructure, construction, project management and health and safety.

Port Otago Chair Paul Rea said he was delighted to have Mr Fulton join the board.

“It’s great to have someone with Bob’s background in engineering at the table, and I’m certain he’ll make an excellent addition to the Board.”

Mr Fulton has extensive management and governance experience in the construction and infrastructure industry, and is a qualified Engineer. He is currently a director of Fulton Hogan Limited, Horokiwi Quarries Limited, Allied FH Limited (Chair), Fulton Hogan Fiji / FHH JV (Chair) and Blackhead Quarries Limited.

ORC owns 100 percent of Port Otago, having done so since the 1989 local government reforms.