He started in the role on July 1 but the official handover and powhiri was held yesterday. He leads Te Kei, encompassing Otago and Southland and until recently called Region 5.
The 61-year-old previously managed Fenz rural operations in Otago and Southland for two years. Before that, he was chief executive and principal rural fire officer for the Southern Rural Fire Authority. His background is in forestry and conservation, including land and fire management.
Mr Grant said the amalgamated structure of Fenz had been a long time coming.
''When I first shifted south to Invercargill in 1996, the forestry company that I was working for and the Fire Service at the time had a vision of better collaboration of working together. They tried that but it fell apart because the organisations weren't ready for it. This is where we were trying to land 23 years ago.''
