Forestry services firm PF Olsen Ltd has announced a replacement CEO for Peter Clark when he steps down at the end of September this year.

Te Kapunga Dewes will join PF Olsen Ltd, the Rotorua headquartered company as CEO. Mr Dewes has a strong background in forestry and wood processing and for 7 years was the NZ General Manager for Contract Resources, a substantial firm servicing the energy sector. He has a degree in Forestry from Canterbury University, and an MBA with distinction from Waikato University.

PF Olsen has 200 staff and employs hundreds of contractors servicing forest establishment and harvesting operations across Australia and New Zealand. The company was founded in 1971 by the late Peter Olsen. Peter Clark joined it in 1979 and became CEO in 1999.

Mr Dewes will be just the third CEO in the 47-year history of the firm. He joins at a time when the forest industry is in a growth phase. There is an expanding harvest profile based on extensive plantings during the 1990’s and recognition that planting more trees is a cost effective domestic response needed to meet New Zealand’s international climate change commitments.