Find a career that will send you new places.

“There really is a lot of opportunity for creativity and innovation, which I really enjoy.”

Richard attended King’s College in Auckland where he took Maths, English, History and Spanish in Year 13.

He then completed a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing and Information Systems at the University of Auckland, graduating in 2018.

He was one of 12 graduates taken on by Countdown in their 2019 graduate programme. Richard was in the digital stream, focusing on the online side of the business.

“I didn’t know anything about the world of logistics until I started the graduate programme. I came in with a marketing background and mindset.

“The idea of being able to try something new and challenge myself in a different way was really appealing about the grad programme. I did rotations within teams across multiple parts of the business for about six months and then thought, ‘Yes, this is what I want to do’.

“It is a massively growing area of the business right now, that delivery-to-consumer or last mile experience, especially as customers go and opt for more and more kind of convenience experiences.”

Richard’s advice to school leavers is that you never quite know what you will or won’t enjoy until you give it a go.

“Don’t count things out because you think it may be boring.

“It is by exposing yourself to those challenges and new experiences that you get the opportunity to discover something that you really enjoy.”

KEY FACTS

■ RICHARD LEE HAS A BACHELOR OF COMMERCE MAJORING IN MARKETING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND

■ HE WORKS AT COUNTDOWN AS A PRODUCT MANAGER FOR DELIVERY EXPERIENCE, HAVING RECENTLY FINISHED UP AS THE TEAM LEAD FOR eCOMMERCE LOGISTICS ROUTING AND OPTIMISATION

■ RICHARD STARTED HIS CAREER AT COUNTDOWN IN THEIR GRADUATE PROGRAMME, WHERE HE COMPLETED ROTATIONS IN TEAMS ACROSS MULTIPLE PARTS OF THE BUSINESS.