Kiwi returns home to become Chief Executive of new ITO
New Zealander Dean Minchington has been appointed to head the newly formed Service Skills Institute (SSI). SSI is a new
Industry Training Organisation (ITOs), uniting three key ITOs in the service sector, covering aviation, tourism, travel,
hospitality, retail and wholesale.
Mr Minchington is currently CEO of Entello Group Pty Ltd in Brisbane. Announcing his appointment, SSI Chair Rick Bettle
said the Board is very pleased to welcome Dean to the role, given his strong track record in senior management and
strategic leadership. The SSI Board was looking for visionary leadership to drive the merger of three successful
organisations and transition the business to better promote industry training interests.
“Dean is a very experienced and skillful Chief Executive who blends real strategic capability with what we see as an
innovative and practical approach. The Board has great confidence in what Dean will bring to SSI. We feel fortunate to
have someone of his calibre to lead our new ITO.”
Prior to his role with Entello, Dean served as Chief Operating Officer with CareFlight Queensland, was GM Business
Development with Aviation Australia, and held earlier management positions in both Australia and New Zealand. His last
role in New Zealand was with Origin Pacific Airways, and he started his career in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as an
aircraft engineer.
He is also a company director, a former member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the New Zealand
Institute of Management. In several of his roles, Dean has had direct involvement in industry skills training, working
with or alongside registered training organisations and the Industry Skills Council in Australia.
Mr Minchington is pleased to be returning to New Zealand to take on the CEO role in the new ITO, one that will have a
strong voice in the service sector; a sector that employs around one in five New Zealanders.
“It’s very clear SSI knows where it wants to go and its Board, management and team will work hard to get it there. I
look forward to working with the SSI team to deliver successful skills training to the industry sectors we represent.”
Mr Minchington, who was chosen from a field of 39 applicants, all with a wide range of experience, takes up his new role
on 11 February 2013.
Mr Ken Harris, who did not apply for the new merged entity CEO role and is currently the Chief Executive of one of the
three merging ITOs, the Hospitality Standards Institute, will be the transitional CE of SSI from 1 December until the
end of February.
Hospitality Standards Institute