Datacom chief, 46, dies of heart attack

The 46-year-old group chief executive of Datacom, Michael Browne, died of a heart attack on Saturday, less than a fortnight after he was promoted to head the Wellington information technology company.

Datacom, which is one-third owned by New Zealand Post, is one of New Zealand's most successful private businesses.

It employs 3383 staff in New Zealand, Australia and Asia. Last month it reported a 13.8 per cent jump in profit to $30.2 million and a 9.5 per cent rise in sales to $667m.

Mr Browne – based in Sydney – had been responsible for building the company's operations in Australia and Asia.

Chairman John Holdsworth said it was "a really tough moment for all of us. We are sort of working on dealing with what's happened and communicating it to staff".

- © Fairfax NZ News