Winepress - August 2024

Full steam ahead

Elite rower Angus McFarlane sets a new course as sustainability champion at Indevin

KAT PICKFORD

AFTER “FALLING” into the wine industry as a human resources intern for Indevin in late 2020, Angus McFarlane has progressed quickly within the company, thriving on the challenge that each new role has presented.

As a former professional rower with the goal of representing New Zealand at the Olympics, Angus, who grew up in Marlborough, learned a lot about the focus and diligence required to succeed at a high level. But after five years of intensive training and progressing through the Rowing New Zealand U21s, U23s, and elite teams, including weeks of solo training on a rowing machine during Covid lockdowns, Angus decided he’d had enough of rowing and started looking for other opportunities.

He had left Marlborough Boys’ College with no idea about a career and dabbled in studying finance and management while training with Rowing New Zealand in Cambridge. When an opportunity came up in his hometown with Indevin, Angus decided to give it a shot. It wasn’t long before he progressed to the position of dry goods co-ordinator in Marlborough, responsible for planning, production and procurement. After 18 months he was shoulder-tapped to move to Auckland, where he managed the Villa Maria finished goods warehouse for 13 months, before progressing to logistics and customer operations manager of the wider Indevin Group.

“Initially I’d thought why on earth would I want to move to Auckland?” Angus says. “I love Marlborough – the boating, the fishing, the short commute – it’s the best place in the world. But I’m glad I did, because that was where I cut my teeth in management. I really flourished with the bigger roles and a change of scenery.”

He was just settling in when another opportunity arose – the position of sustainability manager for Indevin. “I try not to dwell on things for too long, so I thought about it overnight, and while at first I had thought it was a bit of a specialist role, after doing my research I realised sustainability actually spans across the entire business and is critical to the success of the company going forward,” he says. “Nine months in and I’m loving it. I work within every facet of the business from the vineyards, to production,

to transport and logistics, distribution, right through to marketing, with the strategic objective of planning, coordinating and implementing sustainable business practices across the entire value chain.”

As New Zealand’s largest wine producer, Indevin has a responsibility to be an industry leader in sustainability. “For Indevin, sustainability is about giving back more than we take,” he says. “It’s not just about planting more trees, it’s about giving back to our people, our community, and our customers, protecting and enhancing our natural resources, and just doing the right thing.” Through his management roles, Angus feels as though he’s found his calling and has ambitions to one day be CEO of a large New Zealand export company – not so surprising considering his father, Duncan McFarlane, was the founder and CEO of Indevin from 20032024.

And as for his dreams of going to the Olympics? He gets to fulfill that goal this month, supporting his partner Jackie Gowler in her quest for gold when she rows in the New Zealand Women’s Coxless Four at the Paris Olympics.