If you’re with the same company for 23 years, chances are it's got something to do with the company you keep. Here’s Deane Finance Manager Ray Mason (centre) with Inventory & Supply Officer Annabelle Wang (left) and Assistant Accountant Sandhya Prabhakar (right). Photo: Robert Mak.

If you’re with the same company for 23 years, chances are it's got something to do with the company you keep. Here’s Deane Finance Manager Ray Mason (centre) with Inventory & Supply Officer Annabelle Wang (left) and Assistant Accountant Sandhya Prabhakar (right). Photo: Robert Mak.

You've Been At Deane How Long?

11/05/2022

We often refer to Deane as a family, in part because so many staff have been with us since dial-up internet was a novelty. When we asked around, though, even we were surprised at just how long some of the Deane team have served.

One of them is Raylene Mason (Taupo, Ngati Tuwharetoa), our Finance Manager. Ray joined Deane as a credit control and wages clerk in 1998, and she’s been with us in various finance roles ever since. Deane was a handy choice at the time because the office, then in Lambie Drive in Manukau, South Auckland, was close to home and to her two sons, then four and two. The boys are now 27 and 25, and Deane has moved to Plunket Avenue, but Ray and her family are still in the same house and Ray is still making sense of Deane’s numbers.

“When I joined I honestly didn’t think I’d still be here in 23 years,” she chuckles. “Why am I? Well, the office is still only five to 10 minutes from home on a good day and that’s really convenient, but it’s more than that. Deane has allowed me to progress – it put me through MIT to get my New Zealand Diploma in Business and then my degree in applied management, majoring in accounting. And it’s a really supportive environment and the people are the best; just a great company to work for. If Deane was a human being, you’d describe it as hard working and family-oriented.”

Don’t expect Ray to be at Deane for another 23 years. “I’ve got a few years yet,” she says, “but the ultimate aim is to eventually move to Taupo”.

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