Manager knows his place

Lathem Broadstock in the Warkworth trade hall.

Warkworth branch manager Lathem Broadstock has been a PlaceMakers person since he left Orewa College in his teens.

“I started at PlaceMakers Whangaparaoa straight out of school,” he says. “All I was allowed to do for 12 months was sweep and make the coffee.”

His first break came when a staff member failed to show up one Saturday.

“The boss said can you drive a ute, I said yes, and I was allowed to make a delivery. Then, on another Saturday, someone else didn’t turn up and they threw me in the showroom and I got to serve customers. I literally fell into roles from then, it’s been really cool.”

Since then, he’s moved up through the company, including managing the Silverdale and Mangawhai branches. Lathem gives a lot of credit for his career path to his mentor, John Gair, who is PlaceMakers’ northern hub manager.

“John is an incredible guy, who has a passion to work with people and get them into their own roles,” he says. “He’s really serious about people, and has helped me personally many times. I feel so in debt to him.”

Lathem, who has a partner, Tara, and three young daughters, is keen to move to Warkworth as soon as he can – and it won’t be the first time he’s lived here.

“We used to live in Warkworth, but when the Silverdale opportunity came up we moved to Kaukapakapa, and then I got the Mangawhai job, so we’re looking to move to Warkworth.”

He says he loves the area, its people and the new store.

“I’ve been here two months setting up and it still feels amazing,” he says. “I feel very spoilt.”