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HamiltonJet has appointed Sam Hamilton as chairman of its board of directors, marking the fourth generation of the founding Hamilton family to lead the New Zealand waterjet propulsion manufacturer.
Sam, the great-grandson of founder Sir Bill Hamilton, succeeds his father, Mike Hamilton, who has held the chairmanship since 2000 and has been involved with the company for 50 years.
The handover took place at an extraordinary board meeting at Irishman Creek Station in the Mackenzie Basin, South Island, where Bill Hamilton founded the business in 1939. The site also hosted the company’s first annual general meeting in 1946.
The chair has now passed directly from father to son through four generations: Bill, Jon, Mike and Sam. Mike will remain on the board as governing director, retaining his experience and supporting the transition, following the same arrangement adopted by his father, Jon.
“My father had the role land on him with very little warning,” said Mike Hamilton. “I wanted Sam to take it on while I am still here to support him. He has the Board, the leadership team and the family behind him.”
Sam has served on the board since 2019 and is HamiltonJet’s technical director. He said the company’s founding principles would continue to guide its future.
“HamiltonJet is a family business, and will remain that way,” he said. “Bill built this company on resourcefulness, trustworthy engineering, resilience and looking after people. Those values have carried us for more than eighty years, and can be seen in the way people here design, make and back our products every day.
“Dad remaining as governing director means we keep his experience while I learn the chair role, and I'm grateful for that. I intend to keep building on what he, the generations before him, and everyone working here today have made.”
Managing director Ben Reed said the succession reflected the company’s long-term approach.
“Four generations of family leadership is rare anywhere in the world,” he said. “Our customers, our distributors and our people value the stability that comes with it. Family ownership lets us plan in decades, not quarters, and that is exactly how we intend to keep operating.”
Privately owned and primarily held by the Hamilton family, the company has remained under New Zealand ownership throughout its history. Sam will chair the Board from HamiltonJet’s new Christchurch office, opening this month on a site the company has occupied since 1944.
Founded in 1939, HamiltonJet designs and manufactures waterjet propulsion systems and vessel controls for commercial, defence, rescue and patrol craft. The company operates internationally through regional offices and a global distributor network, and is also a Seawork exhibitor.
