Kieran Stuart

16 Mar

Survey Team Lead | Senior Licensed Cadastral SUrveyor

Like generations of Kiwi kids, Kieran Stuart grew up idolising the All Blacks. He could barely have imagined that after finishing his survey degree at Otago University, his first “real job” was helping the team construct the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. #dreamjob

Kieran grew up in the deep south on a sheep and beef farm in Wrights Bush, Southland. He spent his early life rambling around the farm and surrounding areas with family and friends, loving anything active and getting outside at any opportunity.

Sports: playing, watching, and thinking about the next game, next season, and next training session was at the heart of Kieran’s childhood. As well as the mighty ABs, he remembers looking up to a neighbour who represented New Zealand in clay-target shooting.

Showing an early keen work ethic to get out and earn a crust, Kieran set up a sheep shearing and crutching gang with his mates at age 14. He also went hunting at any opportunity.

Architecture was his original goal, but noting his love of the outdoors, his secondary school maths teacher suggested he look at surveying. Kieran headed for Otago University, enjoying all the southern university city had to offer: the infamous pubs of the time, ‘The Bowler’ and ‘The Gardies’, as well as the terraces at Carisbrook, and the ‘scarfie’ hangouts of Castle Street.

Over the university years, he continued to run his own shearing gang during the summer breaks and then came his first real taste for surveying with the Dunedin stadium.

Kieran started at the Envelope Christchurch office in 2026, leading survey work in Canterbury and the greater South Island.

Early on, he noticed the mindset with team members at Envelope was the different: in short, “it stands out”. The absolute openness to doing things differently, an open-door policy, and the commitment to creating a strong team environment is refreshing and energising.

Outside of work, Kieran spends time with his young family and friends – where else? Outdoors. Fishing, hunting, boating, hiking, biking, running, camping – you name it, he’s there with boots on. And introducing his son to the wilds of the South Island is nothing short of awesome.

And while he might like some delicate Southland sushi for ‘smoko’, you can’t take the boy out of Otago – and a cold ale will always be what he reaches for after a hard day’s yakka.

As a southern man in a certain 1990s Speight’s ad campaign once famously said, Good on ya, mate.