Distinguished achiever, Mark Stewart
Cantabrian Mark Stewart was recently awarded an honorary Doctor of Commerce by the University of Canterbury.
Lynda Papesch finds out more about a man who makes his mark as an international businessman, master of diplomacy, and a philanthropist.
The first in his family to attend university, YBhg Datuk Mark James Stewart PJN (Kehormat), MNZM, FNZIM, has just added another title to his already lengthy list.
His alma mater’s honorary doctorate recognises not only his original 1984 Bachelor of Commerce degree (with a major in Business Administration), it also pays tribute to his highly successful business career.
“I was destined for a career in the family business, and I easily could’ve had a job straight out of school, but there was no doubt I would go on to the University of Canterbury,” he says.
“I wanted to go to university. It was something I could earn myself, which wasn’t ‘the boss’s son being anointed,’ so to speak. For me, it was a great maturity exercise. I was like many typical students, especially in those times, who had a great social time. You come out of university with a lifelong set of friends that you grew up with and matured with. They’re quite formative years – especially when you’ve come out of an all-boys boarding school. You’re learning through that period, not only about academia but about life, about people and about what you want to do.”
The son of the late manufacturing pioneer Sir Robertson Stewart, and Dame Adrienne Stewart, Mark recalls he wanted to take the summer off after his final exams, but that wasn’t going to happen, he says.
“My final exam was a Friday in early November, and I was going to take off until the end of January, and then start working for the family business. My dad said to me: ‘Sorry son, you start on Monday’. So literally had the weekend off and straight into work, and I don’t think I’ve ever stopped working since.”
Mark left New Zealand in 1985, aged 22, to work in Malaysia. “Those were the days before cell phones. The fax machine had only just been invented.”
He has served as Honorary Consul for Malaysia and received a PJN (Distinguished Order of Meritorious Service), bestowing him the title of Datuk, the equivalent of a knighthood from the Malaysian King, for outstanding service to the country.
Over a 40-year commercial career, Mark has been a director of a number of publicly listed companies and, through his family investment company Masthead Ltd, has extensive investments across a range of different industries.
“When you get something like an honorary doctorate, you look back and realise you don’t have to be the brightest guy in the class, you’ve just got to work hard and take the opportunities as they come,” he says.
A common thread throughout his life and career is a desire to give back. In 2016, he generously supported University of Canterbury (UC) students by funding a US Study Abroad programme, and provided support for the UC Business School’s 21-Day Challenge.
This challenge gathered teams of students from across the university to solve a problem in a Pacific nation.
He was named the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme – Canterbury Mentor of the Year in 2006, and was also a mentor for the UC 21-Day Challenge programme in 2015.
“I’m a great believer in giving back to the community, especially if you’re successful.
It has been instilled in me my entire life.
“My parents were like that, and as a family we like to do that.”
The last 20 years have seen Mark involved with a lot of community ventures. He led the Hororata Community Trust in 2010, which created the Hororata Highland Games and Hororata Night Glow Balloon Festival as a way of fundraising for the local community after the September 2010 earthquake hit the district hard.
Currently chair of the Antarctic Heritage Trust, the ChristChurch Cathedral Reinstatement project, and of TAB NZ Ltd, he is also the Honorary Consul for Malaysia, a trustee of the NZ Olympic Foundation, the Hororata Community Trust, and the NZ Dementia Prevention Trust.
Other accolades include a New Zealand Order of Merit for services to sport and the community, and an impressive list of business positions.
