User:GeorgiaEllis

Colin Donald Allan Brown (born 9th November 1952) is the Founding Director of TracMap. The John McGlashan Old Collegian attended Lincoln University between 1972 and 1974, graduating with a Bachelor of Ag Commerce. From Lincoln, Colin spent three years with the Rural Bank in Blenheim before heading to Wangaloa, on the coast of South Otago, where he farmed sheep and beef for 10 years. During this time he won the NZ Young Farmer of the Year Award in 1982.

In 1987 Colin changed careers and through the period, 1987 to 2004, was one of New Zealand’s leading agricultural consultants. This included a time as a regional manager for consultancy business Agriculture NZ which eventually morphed into the title of South Island Solutions Manager for Wrightson (prior to the PGG & Wrightson merger) after Wrightson purchased the consultancy business in 1994.

After leaving Wrightson at the end of 2004, Colin bought Dunedin based Thomas Electronics. The electronics company specialised in sales and servicing of GPS and radio electronics and was purchased by Colin to undertake the initial ‘proof of concept’ development of what is now TracMap. Once it became apparent that the TracMap concept was commercially viable he sold the business to a staff member so that he could focus all his energy on developing the TracMap system, and relocated to Mosgiel.

The period 2005 through 2015 saw significant growth in the TracMap business, today it has 70% market share and is New Zealand's largest GPS provider to agriculture. TracMap now has a significant and growing presence in Australia and California, focused on the permanent tree crop market, where the company has established a reputation for its unique job management system.

In May 2015, Colin handed the management of TracMap over to CEO David Glen. This has freed him to focus his entrepreneurial energy on developing new business opportunities for the company.

Awards

• Skellerup Young Farmer of the Year 1982
• Rotary Paul Harris Fellow

Education

Secondary Education

John McGlashan College 1966-1970

Tertiary Education

Lincoln University B AgCom (VFM) 1972-1974

Personal life

Colin has had an active involvement in a number of community organisations, including being a Rotarian since 1990. Two involvements that he is particularly proud of are as Foundation Chair of the Milton Community Health Board in the 1990’s, and a leading role in the successful merger of a number of Taieri schools in the early 2000’s.

Colin is married to Nola Brown and lives in Dunedin, New Zealand. They have two adult children. Colin also had two children, and now grandchildren, with his first wife Maggie, who passed away in 1986.