World changing Kiwi

In this edition of our World Class New Zealand speaker series, Angela Kearns talks to top performance coach and best selling author Owen Eastwood.

Owen has worked with some of the top teams in the world including the England Men’s Football team, NATO Command, South Africa Cricket, Scotland Rugby, the Royal Ballet, and Team GB. He’s also the author of ‘Belonging: The Ancient Code of Togetherness’ which sets out his methods of unlocking success and looks at how those methods can be adapted to different groups and teams. He talks about how businesses can get the most out of their people no matter their size and why it’s important to create a culture that allows people to thrive.

Watch the full webinar below.

The aim of our speaker series is to highlight the incredible stories of our World Class New Zealanders and inspire other Kiwi to push the boundaries of their own business goals and expectations. Our World Class community are keen to use their insights and learnings to help others achieve the same heights of success that they have experienced

Anthony Romano has an impressive CV, in fact when it comes to business there isn’t much he hasn’t done. These days the Nelson born Kiwi is a CEO, Consultant, Investor and Director living in Milan Italy, but he started his career in Christchurch consulting for Deloitte. He moved with the company to Italy before moving to Timberland to become the CFO, and then to Calvin Klein to eventually become the CEO for the European Headquarters. He was the General Manager for Luna Rossa in the America’s Cup in Valencia, as well as holding a Regional CEO role for Prada and Worldwide CEO role for English luxury Footwear brand Church’s.

Anthony was named on the Walpole Power List as one of the ‘50 Most Influential People in British Luxury.’

In between roles he has consulted to various clients, such as those in fashion, luxury, sports events, and private equity. On the side, along with three business partners, he’s invested in multiple New Zealand Tourism businesses including the Christchurch Gondola, Tram, Punting on the Avon, and Hanmer Springs Attractions, in addition to some investment in property developments. Anthony is also an equity partner in Moffulabs, a seed funding firm focused on technology start-ups. Last year he was named on the Walpole Power List as one of the ‘50 Most Influential People in British Luxury.’

He puts his success down to a lot of hard work and says from very early in his career that he was always proactive in creating the next opportunity.

“People hear what I have done and you get a “wow”, they think I was lucky. The roles I’ve had are great, but behind the beautiful facade there is a lot of hard work going on and luck is not part of the game. You make your own luck by always giving your best whatever you do, putting your hand up and taking that extra assignment, not being afraid, but actively seeking challenges bigger than your age or experience. You need to be bold and create your own opportunities. It is those difficult challenges and situations where we make the most mistakes and learn the most.”

If he could go back and do it all again there are two things he would consider doing differently.

“Firstly I would have engaged with a mentor, I never really had one, and I think they are such a valuable tool. I did have people around me who I admired and observed. Secondly, I think I could have beaten my own drum a bit more, which could have created more opportunities. I think it’s a New Zealand thing, being too humble, the Kiwi upbringing makes it hard to get the balance right. On one hand, you want to stay grounded, but we also need to embrace and celebrate our success and build on it. I was lucky that I had bosses and shareholders who rewarded me for the work I was doing.”

The value that Anthony sees in a mentor for other businesses has led him to volunteer as a solver for Kea, and has also led him to be part of Moffulabs a seed investment fund which is unique in its structure, combining two traditional seed financing models.

“Moffulabs is like a fund in the sense we invest as a single organisation, but we have 60 c-suite executives as shareholders, who take an active role in pre investment evaluations, post investment advice and on-going consulting. This means start-ups benefit from direct access to the experience and network of investors who, in turn, are stimulated and being exposed to new ideas and technology. In the past two years we have invested in some 22 startups and evaluated more than 250. We see a lot of young entrepreneurs and we are able to identify quite quickly those who have what it takes to bring a start-up company to the next level.”

Much of Anthony’s career has been based in Italy, with stints in NZ, Spain, Turkey and England, he has dual citizenship and is proud to be labelled both a Kiwi and an Italian. He has an Italian wife and 2 daughters aged 18 and 9 years old.

“My wife, Diana, has been incredibly supportive and patient. I try to be very efficient with the reduced time I have with my children, and luckily I have a very close relationship with both of them. My eldest has just been accepted into Stanford, Columbia, Princeton, and UCLA – a fantastic achievement for both New Zealand and Italian standards. She has an incredible work ethic and maturity for a high schooler, but whatever she and her sister choose to do, I want them to be stimulated, curious, and to do it with passion.”

Along with hard work Anthony also puts a lot of his success down to growing up in New Zealand.

“I grew up in a large extended family and community, which was supportive, and provided the grounding of who I am, I am proud of New Zealand’s ability to thrive on the world stage. We punch above our weight which I love. If I can help a NZ company or an up-and-coming entrepreneur on their way to success then that’s rewarding for me, it’s stimulating listening to and advising NZ businesses.”

Anthony says there are plenty of great ideas and companies in New Zealand who have had international success, as there are many who have failed internationally. New Zealand cannot rely on what worked in the past, for new ideas and more international success, the country must invest first and foremost in people and give the next generation the opportunity to be competitive internationally.

“We need to get young people into businesses early, encourage them to create their own startups, and help them obtain international exposure. Investing in a world-class forward thinking education system, incentivizing R&D and startups, and encouraging international experience. Successful Kiwis will return, or will support New Zealand from afar.”

Anthony’s own journey is far from over and despite the huge variety of roles he has held and the success he has achieved, true to his mantra he says he still has more to learn.

“I am currently evaluating opportunities, after a career of senior executive roles, board positions, consulting and investing, I am ready to specialise in strategic business consulting, after gaining so much more knowledge in the last 10 years, I know I can help companies in many ways, identify the objectives and required strategies for example. This could be in small startups or larger companies or investment funds. Seed, venture capital or private equity funds is an area I am particularly focussed on right now, but I have also been discussing some business consulting and direct investment projects.”

Anthony is just one of Kea’s many ‘solvers’ – Kiwi who are keen to provide advice and mentoring to other Kiwi businesses through our free Kea Connect service. If you’d like to speak to Anthony or any of our other solvers then get in touch with Kea Connect today

This month Kea spoke to New York based Kiwi Ronnie Peters. Ronnie is one of the internet’s original designers who was working in UX before the job even existed. He is also the Founder and CEO of 360 Design and one of the creators of the Flat White Meetups.

Ronnie has used his UX design and strategy expertise across a number of world leading and cutting edge projects including creating a 3D virtual movie theatre, complete with smell-a-vision for brands such as Disney, AppleTV, Amazon and Hulu during the pandemic and working as Creative Director on the Hyperloop for HyperloopTT a high-speed transportation system in which commuters could travel 650kms (the distance from Auckland to Wellington) in around 1 hour or less.

Ronnie shared his advice and learnings on the future of design and UX and discussed what makes good design and why it’s so important to make it a cornerstone of your business. It was particularly interesting to hear Ronnie’s take on the importance of design for both B2B and B2C businesses. He also discussed the benefits of virtual reality and the rise of the metaverse, and gave some good examples of how these are being explored by businesses.

Watch the full webinar below.

This month Kea spoke to China-based entrepreneur Jennifer Ma, founder of ‘Little Oasis Group’ a family lifestyle and education business which is based on the New Zealand principles of education and play. Her company operates 15 family clubs across 11 locations in China. Recent changes to China’s education policies have meant she has had to pivot her business model to keep up with changes regulating education providers from charging for tutorial based services.
Jennifer is also in the process of launching a children’s beverage line and as part of giving back to her community, works to get Chinese mothers back into work and helps Kiwi businesses understand the tough Chinese market.

Jennifer talks openly and honestly in our latest World Class New Zealander speaker series,
including how she has had to adapt the business with Covid as well as navigate social and political changes in China, and her advice for Kiwi businesses looking to enter the China market.

Watch the full webinar below.

This month Kea spoke to Auckland based entrepreneur Tim Alpe, co-founder of JUCY group. Tim started JUCY rentals with his brother Dan in 2002, and the business quickly grew to include campervans, accommodation and cruises. However from the highest of highs came the lowest of lows when the pandemic decimated two decades of hard work almost overnight.

Tim talks openly and honestly in our latest World Class New Zealander speaker series, about the destruction of his company during the pandemic. He also discusses the huge affect this had on his mental health, what pandemic has taught him as both a CEO and a father and what he thinks the future holds for New Zealand tourism operators.

Watch the full webinar below.

Creating a common language

Jane Henley – Founder, New Zealand Green Building Council, former CEO World Green Building Council, Kea World Class Award winner.

Kea World Class Award Winner Jane Henley — Jane Henley receives her World Class New Zealander Award

If you asked most people in New Zealand how green their homes were they probably couldn’t tell you. After all, when you think about sustainability, buildings are not the first thing that jumps to mind.

Jane Henley is working to change that, she wants all Kiwi to understand not only how sustainable their home can be but also the value that can bring. Jane says increasing people’s awareness comes down to creating a common language which can be used to talk about sustainable buildings and making sure people understand the benefits a green building can bring.

“A building will be there for 50-100 years but our thinking around buildings is often quite short term. We need people to make better decisions now for a long term future. A green sustainable building can drive down long term maintenance and running costs, it can provide a healthier home for you and your family. I think at the moment we treat our built environment like it’s a commodity – easy come easy go, and that needs to change.”

New Zealand still has a long way to go when it comes to embracing green buildings, but Jane says our passion for technology means there are lots of opportunities for innovation in the building industry.

“I want to challenge the building sector to innovate. How can a manufacturing mindset in our building industry drive productivity, efficiency and quality? My real drive is innovation and the opportunities that it brings, innovation is a vehicle for sustainability. If we can talk about decreasing costs and time and increasing efficiency across the sector then you have people’s attention a lot more than if you are just banging on about sustainability, there are so many opportunities for software, IT and automated processes.”

“I just think we can do better. I believe we have been put here to keep evolving and to keep learning and keep changing and the more that we embrace change the more opportunity there is, I challenge people to look around where they are right now and think about what went into putting that building together, how many places it came from and how many people were involved. Think about how just by making some small changes you could improve outcomes for your family and your country.”

The future of the planet is the responsibility of a collection of humans

Rose Challies – Founder Terra Nova Foundation

Rose Challies launched the Terra Nova Foundation (New Earth) in July this year. She set up the non profit foundation after spending the last 20 years working with governments, charities and businesses around the world on social and environmental impact.

The idea for the foundation had been brewing for quite some time as Rose could see many people wanted to do something to help the planet but just didn’t know where to start.

“What we are trying to do is to show people their options and make it easy for people to take that first step. Our process is about empowerment, we are not going to do the work for you but we will show you where to start and connect you to action you can take. We use quite sophisticated data models to track and measure the work that’s being done so people can really see they are making a difference.”

Rose says the biggest problems Aotearoa is facing is the decline of our biodiversity and our native species.

“We need to address how we are living, we have to turn that decline around or else we are imminently going to lose a lot of our natural assets, that’s a big issue. We are also becoming more and more disconnected with the planet so we have to address that. Aotearoa is really lucky in the sense that we have a really strong cultural underpinning to our sustainability story. A lot of global sustainability concepts are captured in Māori values and beliefs. We are so lucky to have these and we need to respect, listen and take guidance from them.”

Rose says there are several things people can do immediately to help the planet.

“The first part is to reduce what we use, then look at what we are producing and using and how we can do that better. We need to take up this opportunity. We need to slow down our consumption; sustainability doesn’t become meaningful until we can come back to one earth – right now we are on track to having a consumption rate requiring five planets worth of resources, it doesn’t add up.”

And when it comes to leading the change in the fight against climate change, Rose doesn’t see any one body or organisation as responsible, rather she takes the view that we should all be engaged.

“I see us as a collection of humans, we all have our own areas of influence and special skills. So for example, if you are in Government or run a business then you can contribute in that way. I think it has to be everyone doing their bit, sharing their resources and maximising their use for the benefit of the planet. If you have no resources but you care, then care really well. I don’t see it as government change or business change per se, I see it as just people change.”

Massive disruption is underway

Jacqui Macalister, Director, Sustainable Finance at Bank of New Zealand

Jacqui started working in sustainability in the early 2000’s first for an NGO and then for McDonalds where she built the sustainability team. She moved from there to become the Global Head of Health and Sustainability at Ikea before coming back to Aotearoa and setting up a consulting business helping SME’s work on their sustainability journey. Then she was approached by BNZ.

“I had never thought about going into sustainable finance as I didn’t have a finance background so being approached for the role was completely unexpected but I quickly realised that green finance is really important. If we are to meet the climate goals we are going to need money.”

Nowadays Jacqui puts her energy into helping businesses achieve their sustainability goals and raising the bar when it comes to what more they can do.

“We are trying to provide more incentive to go further, faster, by providing more finance to help businesses reach their sustainability goals. This can include things like preferential loan rates and financial advice, we find a bit of incentive really galvanises people internally to achieve their goals. It also allows us to take companies a bit beyond their comfort goals to achieve a bit more than they would have normally done.”

Jacqui says that all sectors need to be working towards a more sustainable future because internationally every sector is being disrupted.

“We don’t always see the extent of the disruption here because we are a bit cut off, a bit more remote but there is a massive disruption underway. For a competitive advantage New Zealand business should really stretch themselves and aim for those difficult goals.”

She believes that New Zealand’s entrepreneurial and innovative mindset gives Kiwi businesses a big advantage in leading the charge for sustainable growth.

“I think what New Zealand really has going in its favour is that once we understand something and the penny drops we tend to really go for it. The opportunities for Aotearoa are vast. For example we have one of the best ETS systems for forestry in the world. We have an agricultural industry that’s really hell bent on moving from volume to value so will be producing a better quality product with high environmental standards, and we have lots of opportunities in the field of nutraceuticals – natural products and what can be extracted from those for skincare through to medicine. These are just a few examples off the top of my head but there are many more. We really are uniquely poised to capitalise on these.”

People are hungry for solutions

Rebecca Percasky – Founder Better Packaging

Rebecca has always been passionate about sustainability and has a background in technology. She was working in the ecommerce space when she realised that there had to be a better way to ship products without creating such huge amounts of waste.

“It really started to sit quite heavily on me, the amount of waste that was being created and I couldn’t be a part of that anymore. I started thinking about alternative solutions and over time The Better Packaging Company was born.”

The Better Packaging Co. produces a range of recycled or compostable packaging options, and for the past three years has seen 200% growth year on year. Rebecca attributes that growth to the fact consumers are demanding change and voting with their wallets.

“There aren’t any more excuses. The solutions that we have are so superior to the unsustainable alternatives. Brands have to get on board. But change needs to be easy. Our products are similar to many of the non sustainable ones our businesses are already using – they perform in the same way so it’s easy for them to switch over.”

Rebecca’s company isn’t just looking at reducing waste, they have also recently launched a project which takes sustainability one step further.

“We have just started making packaging out of ocean bound plastics in Indonesia. We are working with communities in disadvantaged areas and paying them a fair wage to collect pollution on the beaches and around the oceans and rivers and then turning that pollution into packaging. So we are using packaging to not only clean up our oceans but also to create sustainable communities and lift people up out of poverty.”

Rebecca says the sustainable packaging industry is fairly new and this provides huge opportunities for New Zealand.

“I can see us creating an innovative packaging hub in New Zealand, the industry is so new, everyone is experimenting and we need all that thinking and technology to make the impact required, it’s an incredible opportunity for some really innovative solutions and for Kiwi to step up and lead the way”

“My hope for the future is a circular model, where we place a value on waste, because once we value it then we will use it a lot more carefully. I think in time we will look back on using virgin plastic in the same way we look back at smoking on airplanes, with disbelief that we ever did that.”

World Expos are held every five years to encourage innovation and cooperation. From October 2021 – March 2022 Expo 2020 will bring together the world’s leading innovators and thought-leaders on themes impacting our planet.

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World changing Kiwi

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