As managing director of the family’s construction, manufacturing and subcontracting businesses, John has a wealth of experience in the construction industry.
After completing an engineering degree at Canterbury University in 1974, John joined a Wellington based consulting engineering firm where he gained his registration after four years of working as a structural engineer. Following a period of study in the UK, John returned to New Zealand in 1980 and joined McMillan & Lockwood as their company engineer, then branch manager and ultimately, managing director.
John is one of the few people in the industry that has worked as a consulting engineer, builder, subcontractor and supplier. He is a qualified arbitrator and adjudicator and has previously sat on New Zealand Standard committees. John has completed a significant number of commercial projects for the group and has experience in all areas of the construction industry including development and design build work.
McMillan and Lockwood carries a long and respected history, beginning in 1887 with the McMillan family in Dunedin and later joined by the Lockwood family in the North Island. Today, as a 100% Māoriowned company, the company remains committed to embedding a strong sense of Whānau into every construction project undertaken.
This approach guides all McMillan and Lockwood work, and it becomes especially meaningful when partnering with iwi across Aotearoa. The company’s Amotai registration reflects this commitment, helping connect clients with Māori and Pasifikaowned businesses and supporting supplier diversity and development throughout the country.
John is very proud to honour his roots, which trace back to the Pakanae Marae in the Hokianga. Completing his pepeha was a deeply moving experience for John, one that reaffirmed his connection to the land, the community, and the whānau who shaped him.
“Ko Te Ramaroa a Kupe te Maunga
Ko Hokianga te Moana
Ko Tokimatawhaorua te Waka
Ko Pakanae te Marae
Ko Maraeroa te Whare Tupuna
Ko Whiria te pā, te paiaka o te riri, te kawa o Rāhiri
Ko Matariki te rere e rere mai ana
Ko Rahiri te Tangata
Ko Ngāti Korokoro, ko Ngāti Wharara, ko Te Pouka
Ngā hapū o te wahapū o Hokianga
Ko ngā hapu o ngā Puhi raua ko Te Rarawa ōku iwi
Ko John Webster rāua Emily (nee Russell) ōku mātua tīpuna, I tipu mai ia ki Opononi,
Ko Robert (Bob) Lockwood OBE toku pāpā
Ko John Lockwood ahau, ko te Rangatira o McMillan and Lockwood ahau”
