South Port New Zealand Ltd. announced the appointment of Nigel Gear as the Company's new Chief Executive, effective immediately. Nigel Gear is currently the Commercial Manager of the Port and has also held management positions in Operations, Warehousing and Finance in addition to previous roles within the fuel and meat processing sectors. Mr. Gear will fill the vacancy left by Mark O'Connor who is stepping aside after 24 years with the Port, 18 of which were as Chief Executive. Mark O'Connor will officially hand over to Nigel Gear on 1 October 2017 but will remain at the Port until early November 2017.