Who is Dean Hamilton and is he up to the Ryman challenge?

Dean Hamilton has a remarkably low profile but I suspect it will be raised several notches now that he has stepped into the hot seat at Ryman Healthcare.

Hamilton has only been on Ryman's board since June last year and became chair on Aug 1.

While he remains chair as he steps into the chief executive role, a subcommittee of three independent directors led by Paula Jeffs will oversee him.

He isn't someone I've come across before, but I've heard only good things about him.

One factor Ryman shareholders should note is that Hamilton's last executive role was as chief executive of Silver Fern Farms, which he left at the end of 2017.

When his departure was announced in July 2017, SFF co-chair Rob Hewett said Hamilton “will leave the company in its strongest ever financial position, with a clear strategic direction and a very capable leadership team.”