Queenstown Airport CEO preparing to sail the seas

Queenstown Airport Corporation chief executive Glen Sowry has revealed he will be leaving planes in favour of boats - and one boat in particular.

Mr Sowry announced on Tuesday he will be retiring from the top job at the airport in June at the end of the company's financial year.

"After over 25 years in corporate executive roles, including the last 12 as CEO, I have decided to change gears after I leave QAC and I am not leaving to take on another executive role," he tells Crux.

"My partner and I have a new boat being built in France and our intention is to spend time on that in the Med over the summer season for the next few years. In my earlier career I was a professional sailor for over 10 years, so I am looking forward to reconnecting with that passion."

But it won't just be plain sailing for the former Olympic yachtsman and Olympic selector.

He is already on the board of the New Zealand Olympic Committee and marine export business Doyle Sails, and he says he will be looking to take on more governance roles.

"I am planning on expanding that further to do more work in this area in the next phase of my career. I consider this next phase as rewiring, rather than retiring. We will continue to spend most of our year in New Zealand and the majority of that time will continue to be spent in Queenstown, which we have come to enjoy very much."

Mr Sowry took on the leadership role at Queenstown Airport in 2021, in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, before overseeing a period of recovery and the development of two important long-term planning documents to guide future development.

In a statement on Tuesday, outgoing airport board chair Adrienne Young-Cooper commended Mr Sowry's strong leadership and communication skills for having "firmly established Queenstown Airport’s reputation as a listening and transparent organisation that is committed to serving its communities’ best interests".

Mr Sowry's flagged departure did not come as a surprise, with Ms Young-Cooper saying the board had been discussing "succession planning" for some months.

Mr Sowry is a former chief executive of Housing New Zealand and Metlifecare.

Main image (Supplied): Queenstown Airport Corporation chief executive Glen Sowry announced on Tuesday he will be retiring from the airport role at the end of the financial year in June.