Tom Crozier grew up in the south-east of England with the dream of being a professional rugby player and after achieving that, his ambitions now lie in the field of asset management in New Zealand’s South Island.
It has been an “interesting and diverse pathway” for Crozier, who is currently the Facilities Asset Planner at Christchurch City Council, and the chair of Young IPWEA in New Zealand.
These days, his involvement with rugby extends to some coaching with much of his time taken up with family life with his soon to be wife, “two kids and a dog and a mortgage.”
“After COVID I had a long conversation with my partner, soon to be wife, and I had a few opportunities to go back into professional rugby,” says Crozier.
“I played because I loved it and because of the camaraderie and the friendships and I thought the game in the UK had lost sight of that a bit, so I knew it was probably time ‘to get a proper job’.
“And after having to promise everyone in the UK that I’d go back home, I also realised that home for me now was New Zealand so we decided to stay.”
Crozier’s first main job out of professional sport was as operations manager at a coffee distribution company in Christchurch.
“I started off in marketing but quite soon I was running operations, and it was a fascinating and intricate job with many different parts to it,” he says.
“I was managing machines around the country, negotiating leases, writing up financial contracts and organising the shipping and roasting of beans.
“I loved running around with my boots on and calling that a job but I always knew that I would move into a different area of leadership, and I wanted to be part of a larger organisation and put my stamp on it and that led to where I am now.”
Starting off at Christchurch City Council in their People and Capability unit, Crozier began in HR as well as managing the council’s contractors.
Prior to Council “I was moving around the country among the countries assets, managing machinery, people and contracts and tendering processes,” he says.
“I was interested in project management and I was able to bring everything into the role I have at the moment and then everything just clicked.”
Crozier has embraced IPWEA’s professional training and completed the AM 101 Introduction to Asset Management and AM 430 Effective Management Plans.
As Facilities Asset Manager, he manages the council’s portfolio of around 100 community facilities as well as community housing partnerships and libraries.
“No two days are the same,” says Crozier. “Today I was up on a roof checking work permits, and this afternoon I’ll be delving into capital planning and ensuring that my asset management plans align.
“We have the Te Kaha stadium and other large buildings coming along, so the opportunities are endless, and my role is growing.”
While sport and asset management might seem worlds apart, Crozier says they have one thing in common and that is community.
His dissertation at Loughorough University in the UK was entitled ‘Too Big to Fail’ and compared the financial instability of English Premier League football clubs with that of financial institutions at the time of the Global Financial Crisis in 2008.
“It was clear to me that there were offshore funding sources available to professional sporting organisations, but these were ultimately tied back into the social fabric of sport,” says Crozier.
“A business might be allowed to fail but that is very hard for a sporting team which has a social following and especially at a time of crisis one thing people really need is community.
“Communities need sport, and it is a key to keeping them together.”
Communities are also “too big to fail,” which gives a very different status to the assets which serve them.
“If I’m able to be doing something that I’m passionate about and giving back in some shape or form then that is something which really resonates with me,” says Crozier.
“This is what eventually led me to apply for the Young IPWEA chair role, because I’ve had a very diverse career in sport and in business and if I can pass on anything from my experience then that would be hugely gratifying for me.”
Crozier has also found a new community through IPWEA, where he has met people at conferences and meetings “I am now very fortunate to call friends.”
“I’m able to pick up the phone and talk to them about work, but also their lives and families and that is the community element which I think we really need to put to the fore,” he says.
“Having seen the opportunities in asset management and in IPWEA I also think there’s an opportunity for young people to move into our niche area, and the potential is almost untapped at present.
“What we do is vital and we need more people in our industry, and if I’m able to play a small part in growing our base then I will feel like I have done something pretty decent.”
