Long-time North Shore resident and identity Rod Slater recently celebrated a milestone birthday. At his birthday event held at Olle Restaurant in Milford, family and friends celebrated Rod’s lifetime of achievements. By all accounts, it was a wonderful afternoon. One of his good mates, a mutual friend, told me about the birthday celebration and what he had discovered about Rod’s life achievements. I decided I had to do something for Channel Mag. I caught up with Rod Slater for a chat shortly after his birthday bash in November.

I have known Rod Slater myself for over 25 years, mainly through our mutual involvement with the North Harbour Club. He has also been involved in many other community initiatives where our paths have crossed.
Rod Slater spent his early years in the Mt Albert area. He attended Avondale College, leaving at 15 to work with his father, Des, in his Mt Albert butchers shop, which was located right next door to the family home. This started a career of 60 years in the meat industry.
Young Rod Slater was also keen on Rugby League, playing for the Mt Albert club to senior level. Rod says he was quick, but not big or hard enough. “I played mainly in the second row. I started off in the centres, but as I got slower, I went into the forwards. I loved League and ended up refereeing for many years.”
Rod Slater moved to the Shore when he married Lesley, his wife of 55 years.
“We got married in 1970. Lesley was born in New Zealand but grew up in Australia. We saw the Shore going ahead. It was really opening up in those days, so we bought a section in Chatswood. That section cost $6,000. The house we built on it cost us $15,000!”
By that stage, Rod had completed his butchery apprenticeship, done his ‘OE’, and owned his own butcher shop in New Lynn. He was commuting from Birkenhead to New Lynn for a six o’clock or earlier start.
During his career, Rod became known in the meat business for marketing and innovation. His next business move would have contributed in a big way to that skill set. Rod was an early business partner in The Mad Butcher business with probably New Zealand’s most famous butcher (and League fan), Sir Peter Leitch.
“Peter was already known as the man,” says Rod. “He had the shop in Mangere, Rosella Meats. Many will remember that he used to ring up the radio and banter with Geoff Sinclair and Tim Bickerstaff. They coined the phrase, ‘Here's that bloody mad butcher again’ – and the name stuck.
“During that time, he and I were involved in butchery politics. We were both on the board of the Auckland Master Butchers Association, so we got to know each other. Given his profile then I was keen for Peter to change the name of his business to The Mad Butcher which he eventually agreed to. We opened our first branded shop in Takapuna in 1981.
“Peter was a marketing genius. He didn't know how good he was, but he was brilliant. He did all the promotion. He had the ‘gift of the gab’, and radio announcers on all stations loved him. He was a pioneer. Nowadays, everybody's promoting their own business using themselves. He was one of the first to do that.”
Rod was in partnership with Sir Peter for many years. They grew to have four very good stores when Rod sold out in the early 90s. He then started another career adventure that he enjoyed immensely.
By this time, Rod and Lesley Slater had moved to a property at Holiday Road on Milford Beach and were bringing up a son (Daniel, now 49) and a daughter (Victoria, now 47). They then lived near the lake in Takapuna, then Bayswater and are now back in Takapuna.
“In 1993, I was asked to go into Beef and Lamb NZ, which was an industry group responsible for domestic promotion of beef and lamb. Membership is voluntary, and funding comes from New Zealand farmers, retailers and processors. The organisation represents the whole supply chain: farmers, processors, wholesalers and retailers. When I went in there, they really wanted me to close it down as it wasn’t financially sustainable; there were big issues and no money coming in! The longer I stayed there, the more I realised that there was a future for the organisation. What started as two weeks turned into 27 years!
“I was called in by the chairman of the organisation - they had some trouble with the CEO. And I said, 'Well, look, I'll give you two weeks. I'll go in and do it.' I wasn't doing anything. To be honest, I was looking for another business at the time.
“There was one challenge after another. What I found in the first week, when I went there to close it down, was that the phone didn’t stop ringing from sectors interested in the initiatives that the organisation had championed. I thought, well, you know, the industry thinks that we’re finished, but the consumer doesn't. So we came up with a scheme to seek industry support. I approached the Meat Board and did a deal with them that if I could raise one dollar out of the marketplace, they'd back it up with one dollar. Over the next 12 months, I went around the entire industry, and we got 100% commitment from all the meat producers in the country. I got $1.5 million out of the industry and the same out of the Meat Board - $3 million total. We were on our way.
During his tenure as Beef and Lamb NZ CEO, Rod Slater was responsible for some of New Zealand’s most iconic campaigns and programmes. This included the ‘Iron Maidens’ campaign with Olympic athletes, including the Evers-Swindell twins, Sarah Ulmer, Lisa Carrington and Sarah Walker as 'Red Meat Ambassadors'. The campaigns with Ulmer and the Evers-Swindell sisters literally hit gold when they won gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Rod says there were two great spin-offs from the association with the athletes – young and successful athletic women representing New Zealand products to consumers, and farmers, butchers and meat workers identifying with the sports stars.
Another Rod Slater initiative has been ‘The Butcher's Challenge’. This started as a meat version of the Bledisloe Cup – New Zealand versus Australia – in butchery, and kicked off in Christchurch in 2011.
“I had this idea that we could have a side of beef, a whole lamb, a side of pork and some chickens, and give these competing teams a certain amount of time to turn that into a full window display,” explains Rod. “And the interest was unbelievable. It just caught on with social media. This has been held annually since 2011 and became the “World Butcher's Challenge” in 2015, with the most recent event held in Paris in the same auditorium as the Olympic weightlifting. They had 3000 people watching it, and 18 countries competed.”
At Rod Slater’s birthday event, Tanya Hart, who was Marketing Manager at Beef and Lamb NZ for 14 years, made mention of the ‘Quality Mark’ initiative he introduced.
“One of Rod's pioneering innovations was the introduction of the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Quality Mark back in 1997 – a groundbreaking programme that set rigorous standards for taste, safety, animal welfare and traceability. The 'Mark' assured consumers they were getting the best grass-fed, free-range New Zealand product, debunking myths about 'export-only' quality and building trust in local supermarkets and butchers. Under Rod's guidance, it evolved into a symbol of excellence, with campaigns and retailer partnerships that boosted domestic sales and positioned our meat as world-class right here at home.”
Rod Slater won ‘The Christie Award’ – a lifetime achievement award in 2012. The award is presented to a member of the New Zealand meat industry who has contributed to the promotion, growth and strength of the New Zealand meat industry. The Christie Award is presented to those who stand at the pinnacle of the industry.
Rod’s standing on the world stage is very clear. An award has recently been established called ‘The Slater Award’. Named to honour Rod, this is an international award that will be presented annually to acknowledge outstanding achievement globally in the industry.
While he loved running Beef and Lamb NZ, family has always been big for Rod Slater, as has giving back to many organisations over the years. This has included the meat industry, Murrays Bay Sailing Club, Waterwise, Rotary, Diabetes New Zealand and Yes Disability.
Rod had developed an interest in sailing from the age of 13 when his father, Des, bought him a P-Class. It is an interest he passed on to his son Daniel, who has gone on to forge a career in the sport as a top international sailor and now coach. On the Shore, they first sailed at Takapuna Boating Club (Bayswater) and then at the Murrays Bay Sailing Club. Rod has been on the committee, Commodore and is the current President, which he says is largely an honorary role. Yachting has subsequently taken Rod all over the world. He was the manager of the New Zealand Yachting Team at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1996.
“I learnt that Olympic sailing is very stressful. It’s not until you are in the middle of the Olympics that you realise how much pressure there is on the athletes. It's unbelievable, especially for the favourites for medals.”
He was also a respected yachting commentator for a period.
“That started when I used to call in and report on yachting events to Murray Deaker’s show on ZB on a Saturday. Deaks used to encourage clubs to ‘call in and promote your club’. So I did. I started ringing up on a Saturday, then on Sunday, covering what was happening at Murray's Bay with the racing. I got to know Peter Montgomery as he occasionally stood in for Murray. Then, when the America’s Cup was coming up in San Diego, I got a call one night at home. It was PJ inviting me to go up to San Diego and do the commentating on the radio. I only had to be asked once! As a result, I was probably the go-to guy for yachting on radio in New Zealand for about seven or eight years on Newstalk ZB and a range of other stations. I enjoyed it immensely.”
Rod also did a stint of seven to eight years on the board of the Auckland Maritime Museum prior to it being amalgamated into Auckland Council.
When his kids were at school, he was also on the board of Waterwise North Shore, an organisation founded by his good friend, John Algie. Rod was involved when Waterwise North Shore built a training centre along with a wharf and jetty on the shores of Lake Pupuke. Primary and secondary school children are still taught how to sail and be ‘water-wise’ in this facility today. A highlight of that time was Prince Charles and Lady Diana coming to open the new facility during their visit in 1983. Rod’s job was to look after Lady Diana during that opening event.
Rod has been diabetic for close to 30 years. As is the Rod Slater way, he has contributed a great deal to the diabetes cause over the years. He says his challenge with diabetes began after the 1996 Olympics.
“During the Olympics, I remember the doctor of our team saying to me one day, 'Have you ever been tested for diabetes?' 'No. Why would I do that?' 'I think you should.' So when we came back to New Zealand, I had to do a full medical for a life insurance policy, and that's when it was picked up.
“I was approached around 10 years ago to go on the Auckland diabetes committee. I was hesitant, but I had a specialist who'd been really, really good to me, and I thought if I could give back a little bit, I could pay him back. So I said yes, and that's what happened. I have since joined the Diabetes New Zealand board."
With his yachting contacts, Rod Slater has organised three very successful diabetes fundraisers around the most recent America’s Cup events staged in New Zealand. There were lunches in 2018 and 2019 that each raised around $50,000. The highlight was a third event involving Sir Ben Ainsley, Dean Barker and Jimmy Spittle, which raised over $500,000.
“We couldn’t get access to Team New Zealand, so we called on the challengers – three fantastic guys. Jimmy is one of the most outstanding humans I've ever dealt with. He couldn't do enough. The dinner was held at Shed 10 and ended up raising half a million dollars.”
As a member of Takapuna North Rotary for 15 years, Rod has been involved in many community initiatives. He says he made many lifelong friends through Rotary, and the community projects have been hugely rewarding. One that stands out is the Yes Disability Centre.
“Hugh Stedman and Dave Purdy put the hard word on me to take on the Yes Disability Centre project. I said no at first, then they talked me into it. The challenge was to find $3 million to fund their new building in Albany.”
Rod was the chair of Yes Disability Centre for 10 years and says the big breakthrough came when a young guy called Cam Calkoen got involved.
“Someone said there's this guy with cerebral palsy - he speaks brilliantly - so we approached him, and I can recall, we applied to the ASB Trust for $1 million. We had to go and present to them. Cam came along, I made my speech, and the board was as cold as buggery. Then Cam got up and just had them eating out of his hand, due to the way he delivered his speech. Within a week, we had $1 million!”
Rod has twice been awarded by Rotary as a ‘Paul Harris Fellow’, for services to the community.
Rod Slater retired from Beef and Lamb NZ in 2020. Family remains a big part of his and Lesley’s life. They have four grandkids who are growing up fast. They’ve had a family bach at Te Ngaere Bay in the Far North since 1998, which they escape to as much as they can. He currently serves as Chairman for the National Party North Shore Electorate.
Rod has been a busy boy. We love celebrating Shore people like Rod Slater!