The corporate lawyer discusses the sudden move that led to him running a tech business
In June, Mark Heine made his return to Hudson Gavin Martin and to private practice when he commenced with the firm as a special counsel in its corporate practice. Heine had started as a litigator and competition lawyer before shifting to corporate and then in-house, joining up with NZX/ASX-listed IoT and SaaS company EROAD as its general counsel.
But a sudden vacancy led to Heine taking on a much bigger role.
In the first part of this interview, Heine tells NZ Lawyer about going through a crash course in running a tech company and what it was like building a team in a foreign environment.
What made you choose a career in law, and what's your favourite part of the job?
It is hard to pinpoint any one moment that made me choose law. However, my youth spent watching LA Law, constant arguing with my five siblings and teachers, combined with a deep fascination with commerce, technology, and justice, was a perfect foundation.
My favourite part of the job is coming up with practical solutions for clients – there is nothing more satisfying than taking a problem off their plate and giving them peace of mind.
What in your opinion has been the most memorable event of your career to date?
The most memorable event in my career was becoming CEO of a $115m technology business when the founder unexpectedly stepped down. I was the general counsel of the listed technology company EROAD, and the board asked me to step in as CEO when our founder left suddenly in early 2022, just after we bought our largest competitor. It gave me a crash course in investor relations, go-to-market and sales across the US and Australia, and in how to run an engineering function while also being the public face of the business.
I really enjoyed growing the business to almost $200m and launching new products, including an AI-powered dashcam. The skills I learned there have been directly transferable to my legal practice and have helped me directly understand the challenges my clients face.
What in your opinion was the most important thing you got involved in over the past year?
The most important thing I was involved in over the past year was setting up an engineering and customer service hub in Manila for my former company. Within nine months, we went from no staff to having 150 Filipino team members, whom we recruited from some of the largest tech companies in the world. The joy, connection and dedication that the team had working for a Kiwi tech company was great to see. Also, having to build a team from the ground up in a challenging and foreign environment meant we had to be creative and flexible in our approach at times – which made it a lot of fun.
If you could relive one day in your life, which day would it be and why?
This is a hard one. The birth of each of my kids was very special – particularly as a dad when you have no idea what to do on day one, and you have a massive learning curve that just continues as they grow. I am also a sporting tragic, so it’s hard to go past the 2015 Cricket World Cup semi-final – Black Caps v South Africa. It was an incredible game of cricket from both teams, with all players performing at their peak. The stadium was electric, especially when Grant Elliott scored the winning runs.
