World changing Kiwi

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In this edition of our World Class New Zealand speaker series, Helen Klisser During talks to Kea about how the art world is using technology to create a stronger future, she will also discuss the importance of curating community and how “arts can trigger a conversation” This online event is a must for anyone who is looking to gain a deeper understanding of the art world or wants to take the first steps into learning about the ways in which art can provide opportunities.

Helen is an art advisor, curator, and photojournalist who has championed global art projects for over 25 years. She is the Ambassador of AUT and co-founder of the AUT ArtLAB, a cross-disciplinary group of creatives, academics and developers working at the intersection of art, technology and science. She is passionate about creating, documenting and fostering cultural exchange to promote understanding and address issues of social justice.

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

Geoff was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland and Wellington as his father was in the Air Force. At 16 years old he joined the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) serving for a decade on the HMS Rotoiti, Taranaki, Philomel, and Blackpool. Following this, he farmed in the Waikato for a decade before moving to New York to coach the New York Rugby Club. He also held a number of business positions in the US including representing the export division of Wrightson NMA, Fletcher Fishing, the Fishing Co-Op of Iceland, the NZ Lamb Co-op, and was the US Regional Director for Kea New Zealand.

But his wife Nancy Gallagher says the true love of his life was rugby.

“When Geoff was little he used to sleep with a rugby ball. He used to say that all his opportunities came from rugby. It was a big part of his Navy career and he played for a number of different clubs and then it was rugby that brought him to the US. Rugby was what he was good at and what he understood and what allowed him to connect.”

Former All Blacks coach Graeme Henry knew Geoff for 20 years and says he was a man that just ‘collected Kiwi’.

“I first met Geoff when he rang my wife when we were in Wales asking for rugby tickets. He was a marvellous guy. He just collected New Zealanders from all around the world and supported them and helped them and it was fantastic. I had about three trips to New York and he looked after us each time, organising events and bringing other Kiwi along, he had a fantastic way of just bringing people together.”

World Class New Zealander and friend Kirstin Neville-Manning remembers Geoff as the ‘most amazing connector.’

“Soon after meeting Geoff for the first time he emailed me asking if we would host Josh Emmett, himself and other Kiwi in our home to hear about Josh’s career and aspirations. This was the first of many events over the years with Geoff. Any prominent Kiwi that was coming to New York, ranging from Helen Clark to Karen Walker, to John Henry, Sean Fitzpatrick, Kirsty Graham, and Sarah Robb O’Hagen, he would convince them to speak and spend some time with the community and inspire them and let them know what was happening back home in New Zealand or beyond. The other thing Geoff was amazing at was connecting people that weren’t known in their careers yet and who were just starting out and hitting New York. He would try and connect them with people that had been in the city a little bit longer to help make inroads.”

Geoff was a convenor or co-convenor of a multitude of New Zealand events in New York City over many years, building a large database of Kiwi in the USA and publishing a regular newsletter. He hosted tables at Irish pubs in New York for Saturday morning All Black matches and was the instigator of the New York City Dawn Service on Anzac Day at Battery Park. He also started a traditional Kiwi picnic that included lolly scrambles and tug-of-war and still runs to this day. Nancy remembers frequently coming home to find her living room strewn with travelling Kiwi.

“I would come back from work on Friday night and there would be all these Kiwi in the living room for the weekend. We would take them out to dinner one night and then make the roast lamb the next. I would say over the years we’ve probably had several hundred Kiwis who slept in our one bedroom apartment in Manhattan, including Graham Henry’s son and daughter on separate occasions. We’ve had people who, I think someone’s third cousin’s mailman knew Geoff or something. It’s like, his name was out there and everyone knew he was the person to come to.”

“He got his sense of community from his mother. She would meet tourists on the bus in New Zealand and invite them to dinner at her house. When she stayed with us in New York, we had to explain that ‘one really didn’t do that in New York’ but she ignored us and brought someone back once anyway, a lovely young man who offered to walk her home. It was just what his family did.”

Geoff met Nancy, who works in television, in a bar in the US in 1984 and the couple were married at Lake Tahoe and spent most of their time in New York. They were married for 34 years before Geoff’s death last year. 

“We would have these get-togethers with all the Kiwi men and their American wives and I remember one of the favourite topics was complaining about the men leaving vegemite in the butter! Geoff was so outgoing and he loved everybody. I remember this one time he went out to have a drink in a pub in Scotland and I stayed behind because I was unwell. After a while, he came back and told me he met this guy in the bar who has been stationed on the ship next to his in Hong Kong. I just thought how does this even come up in conversation? But that was Geoff, he connected with everyone in about 5 minutes.”

Another Kiwi Geoff was a big supporter of, was racing car driver Scott Dixon. The two first met in 2008 after Scott won the Indianapolis 500. Scott says Geoff was always ready to rally the expat community to support a fellow Kiwi.

“Part of the Indianapolis 500 tour was going to New York and, and hitting some of the media outlets, and Geoff was kind enough to put on an event at a local pub with a bunch of Kiwis and then later he went on to organise a big dinner for the whole team in upstate New York. What he did for the expat community was just amazing. He was a dear friend and someone that I definitely miss.”

Geoff’s desire to connect and support people never stopped and Nancy says even during the pandemic he continued to do what he could to lift people’s spirits, including posting a joke each day on his local community webpage. 

“When the jokes stopped a man from the page got in touch to ask what happened and I had to explain that Geoff had passed away. This man put a little message out on the community page saying what had happened and more than 50 people, all of whom Geoff had never met in his life, got in touch to say they were sorry and how the jokes really got them through Covid and the lockdowns and how they had looked forward to his bad jokes every morning. And I thought that was a lovely testament from people who wouldn’t have known him if they sat next to him.”

Nancy says Geoff would have been both embarrassed and proud to receive a World Class New Zealand Award and that despite all the wonderful things he did he wasn’t a man who liked the limelight. Geoff’s legacy to connect the Kiwi community and to support our offshore Kiwi will no doubt live on for a long time to come. 

For Arama Kukutai, the challenge of using technology to change the future of food production while creating a more sustainable economy is what gets him out of bed in the morning. Since he was a boy growing up in the heart of New Zealand’s farming country he’s always been passionate about agriculture and his Māori values of Kaitiakitanga – how people connect to and are guardians of the land.

“I’ve always been really interested in innovation and technology, in particular how technology can reinvent industries like agriculture. I’ve also always been really interested in the use of land and sustainability, in part because of the ties that we as Māori have back to Whenua or the land.”

Growing up near Hamilton, Arama has spent his career working in trade investment and agriculture. After graduating from Victoria University in Wellington he started a job with Westpac at a time when Māori organisations were beginning to actively develop forestry, farming, and fishing assets. He was elected to the Board of PKW Incorporation and worked there before moving to the USA to take up the role of Senior Trade Representative for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise based in Los Angeles.

Paul Morgan, Chair of the Wakatū Incorporation, has known Arama for 30 years since he started out in New Zealand and says what really sets him apart is his ability to form connections with people from all walks of life. 

“I first met Arama when he was just starting out in his career and I remember him as a person who at that time was just developing his skills and networks. I would say he was quite unique because not only did he have a powerful intellect, but he was also a good strategist, a great networker with people and he maintained his Māori values and he’s used all those skills to really develop his career.”

After finishing up his role at NZTE, Arama decided to stay in the US and together with his friend and mentor Dr Jerry Caulder, he founded Finistere, a pioneering venture capital firm aimed at bringing change to industrialised value chains, especially with respect to food production. Over the last 15 years Finistere has invested in more than 40 companies, including seven in New Zealand, and has grown a global agritech community that stretches from New Zealand to Israel to Ireland and everywhere in between connecting some of the leading minds across the world. 

One of the companies Finistere has invested in is Kiwi biotechnology startup ZeaKal. Using technology, ZeaKal aims to help crops capture more carbon and sunlight, leading to healthier, nutrient-rich food. CEO Han Chen is a long term friend of Aramas and says what makes him stand out is his ability to not just grow a business but also to grow the people within it. 

“I feel like as a financial investor, you know, people always talk about the bottom line, but Arama’s ultimate, quadruple bottom line really is the success of his entrepreneurs and his companies. He is there to be a resource in any way he can. He’s a shoulder to cry on, he’s that person that wants to take you out and celebrate your successes, and he’s the guy that’s gonna be pushing that boulder up the hill right next to you every step of the way.”

Along with his role at Finistere, Arama is also the CEO of Plenty, a vertical farming company that is rewriting the rules of agriculture and making sustainability integral to the way in which food is produced.

“As the planet warms up and as the population grows, we need more solutions for how to feed people in a more sustainable way. Plenty is really a technology company figuring out ways in which we can grow fruits and vegetables, economically, and with a much more gentle footprint on the earth. We’re also doing it in a way where we have the freshest of flavours, great nutrition, and a wide range of food, and where food is grown close to the consumer. We want to be harvesting today and on the shelf tomorrow, which is something that really hasn’t been possible until now.”

Plenty’s first indoor vertical farm was built in San Francisco and the company is currently working to start a second operation in the South California city of Compton. Arama wants this farm to be strongly integrated with the local community providing both jobs and fresh produce to an area which has traditionally struggled with crime, poverty and unemployment.

“I think we have an obligation and a moral responsibility to recruit and train locals. Community engagement is really important to us. Also, you don’t become a master grower overnight so we will be investing heavily in education and training. Our objective over time is to bring the cost of fresh good food down, to make it more affordable and accessible, it’s not just about fancy lettuces for Michelin star restaurants.” 

Connecting with the community has always been important to Arama and he credits much of his own success to the strong agricultural community he has back in New Zealand and around the world. 

“I think of the famous Newton quote, ‘If you’ve seen further it’s because you stood on the shoulders of giants.’ That was certainly the case for me. All the credit for my career goes to the folks who’ve supported me, whether that was in the Māori community, my family, or business mentors and now I want to focus on paying it forward.”

“I am working to launch an internship program for Maori STEM and business graduates to get exposure to Silicon Valley and to our wider global network. There is so much talent in New Zealand and this is an interesting and challenging time for the agriculture industry. The way that we use technology to shape and change our industry in Aotearoa is going to become really crucial and we need to be quite brave to seize that challenge, but I believe we have the people and the know-how to do it.”

Dave Ferguson went from studying at university to working with Intel to developing algorithms for NASA’s Mars rovers, all while in his 20s. These days he’s the co-founder and CEO of Nuro, the most well-funded autonomous vehicle startup in the United States. But despite his obvious aptitude for robotics, Dave says as a kid he wasn’t into computers at all and spent more time outside climbing trees. His father was a Diplomat so the family spent time in the US before returning to New Zealand to finish high school. From there he applied to the University of Otago and was encouraged by one of his professors, Dr Willem Labuschagne, to pursue computer science. After graduating from Otago he moved to the US to do a PhD at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania or what he calls the “Disney World of robotics.”

“During my first year at Carnegie Mellon, I worked on a robot that was designed to go in and map abandoned coal mines. This project idea came about after an accident in the US where some miners accidentally drilled into a neighbouring abandoned coal mine and got trapped because that mine hadn’t been accurately mapped. The concept of being able to provide enough intelligence and enough capability to another agent to go do very real things that no one had ever done before and that was really quite dangerous was incredibly exciting to me.”

After working for several other companies including Intel and Google, Dave and his friend Jiajun Zhu(JZ) decided to start their own company and Nuro was born. 

“JZ and I both recognised we are going to see a pretty significant shift in how we interact in the physical world over the next two to three decades. If you look back the last 30 years or so, we’ve seen this tremendous shift in how we interact in the digital world, everything from PCs to the internet and smartphones, but the way we interact in the physical world, the cars we drive, how we get around, how we sit around tables, how we live in our, in our homes, is largely unchanged and we definitely see that changing over the next 30 years or so. Creating Nuro allows us to accelerate some of the really positive elements that will be driving the change of our physical environment in the future.

Dave says he has two big drivers for his work, one is the ability to create a more sustainable economy and the other is to give people more time to connect with the people and things they love. He hopes that by developing robots to take over the more mundane parts of people’s lives it will free them up to spend more time doing the things they want to do. 

“We’d like to apply robotics to a range of applications. So obviously the first thing that we’re working on is transforming local commerce through having self-driving local delivery. We think that’s a massive opportunity to improve lives, give people their time back, improve sustainability, safety and strengthen local communities.”

“So that’s a really important application, but looking longer term we believe that the tech we are building is going to be general purpose enough to apply it to a range of different applications. So everything from perhaps automated manufacturing all the way through to the home robots of the Jetsons.”

Dave’s business partner Jiajun Zhu says part of what makes Dave so successful is because he is so passionate about what he does.

“In the last six years, I’ve seen him work really hard on both topics. Nero has made a lot of great progress under Dave’s leadership and now we are working on the third generation of vehicles that could really help millions of people save a lot of time and also create a safer, greener future.”

Dave says the last few years really challenged Nuro to really think about how contactless delivery could play a part in the pandemic response. 

“In particular we really want to help out with some of the efforts that were going into supporting our first responders. So one of the things we did was to deploy our robots to deliver both supplies and food to COVID patients that were being housed at two different locations, one in Sacramento and one in San Mateo near our headquarters. It was a really special opportunity for the team to really feel like they were a part of something bigger than just us building for future application.”

“Through the pandemic, we recognised that the fact that we can minimise the number of touch points from a good being produced, in some cases all the way through to it getting to the consumer, and the value of being able to do that is actually greater than we initially realised. We’re very excited about what this means in terms of our ability to contribute going forwards. Hopefully, we get past this pandemic sooner rather than later, but the convenience aspect and the safety elements of this work will be long lasting.”

Along with his world leading work in the robotics industry, Dave is also keen to encourage more Kiwi into careers in technology. Otago University’s Professor Brendan McCane says before Dave even founded Nuro he was an inspiration to students. 

“It’s quite amazing really, he went from here to the US for his PhD and some of the code he developed during that is being used by the Mars Rovers. So this is amazing, right? We have code from an Otago University student now on Mars. So we try to use that to inspire our students about what is possible, even when you come from a very small country at the bottom of the world.” 

Dave’s building on that inspiration by launching a scholarship in memory of his late professor and mentor Dr Willem Labuschagne, who Dave says was a remarkable man and a remarkable scholar. 

“At Otago, I worked with Dr Labuschagne during my undergraduate year and he was a big inspiration to me, not just in terms of dedicating myself to the work and research I do, but I’d say, more importantly, the way that he approached life and the people in it. For example, he learnt everyone’s name in the first year, and in an undergraduate class that is just insane. He passed away a few years ago and in his honour, I wanted to create a scholarship to help students to continue to pursue study and commemorate Dr Labuschagne in the process.”

Dave says looking into the future there are a number of opportunities that New Zealand is uniquely positioned to capitalise on and he’s excited about what the next few decades could hold.

“New Zealand is in some ways uniquely positioned, if you look post Covid we’re in a new working model where being remote is far less of a big deal than it was five or ten years ago, and that breaks down a lot of the barriers that we may have had in terms our ability to really interact and operate on the world stage. I think we’re also seeing some new industries that are going to be massive, coming down the pipe, and I personally believe New Zealand is really well positioned to take advantage of them – for example, carbon dioxide removal.”

“I think New Zealand has such tremendous advantages. We have incredible universities with incredible professors. As a student, I never felt like I didn’t have all of the keys that I needed to go do whatever the heck I wanted to do, and I think that remains true. To young Kiwi who are interested in doing something overseas or starting a company or doing something else crazy, I’d say there’s no reason that you can’t do it, there’s really nothing holding you back. You have every opportunity, you have a setup as good as anyone in the world. It’s up to you to take those gifts and go do something big and bold with them.”

Guled was born into the height of the Somali Civil War. The seventh of nine children, he was just two years old when his mother decided that a war zone was no place to raise her family and so she packed up and fled to neighbouring Kenya. Guled’s father remained in Somalia but was later killed when a mortar shell hit their family home. 

The family briefly lived in a refugee camp before moving to the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Guled and his family were resettled in Hamilton, New Zealand when he was six years old. For a child with little to no grasp of the English language, Guled says landing in Hamilton was quite the culture shock. 

“I remember at the time it felt like a big adventure. We arrived in September so it was cold but not super cold. The biggest difference was what you could see, all the green landscape and of course the change in demographics.”

While Guled has good memories of primary school in New Zealand things got more difficult when he entered High School. After being kicked out of his first high school at 14, he enrolled at another before eventually dropping out altogether at just 16.

“I had a rough time at secondary school, I didn’t fit in, I didn’t have any sort of mentors or teachers who guided me. Teachers told me again and again that University wasn’t for people like me and I wouldn’t amount to much. These were the messages that were relaid to me over and over again.”

After leaving school Guled travelled for a while, returning to Kenya to visit family still living in the refugee camps. He began to realise how different his life could have turned out and how much his mother had given up for their life in New Zealand.

“When you come from a refugee background, your parents have restarted their whole lives just for you. It really motivates you. This was what eventually drove me back to New Zealand and back to study. My mother was my biggest driver. I really wanted to show her that all she has sacrificed is worth it. My mother has become a catalyst for everything I do.”

Upon returning to New Zealand he enrolled in public policy at AUT and after passing with flying colours, he spent the next seven years working for the New Zealand Government in various policy areas including diversity and inclusion and pay equity. He has spoken on behalf of New Zealand at the UN and chaired conversations with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He has also appeared on Sesame Street, alongside Grover in a special programme about refugee children. Following the Christchurch Mosque shootings, he became a spokesperson for the Muslim community, visiting those affected and helping them cope with the aftermath of the attacks. 

Guled’s former colleague Mervin Singham, Chief Executive of the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, Te Tari Mātāwaka, says Guled is a natural born leader. 

“Guled listens to everybody. He makes sure he listens to the most vulnerable voices respectfully and with empathy. He tries to take everybody along with him and he’s got a real passion for diversity and inclusion, which he has demonstrated during his career. The thing that inspires me most about Guled is his tenacity. He is somebody who has faced adversity in his life, and he’s used his career as a platform to make sure that people are included.”

Guled is also a passionate advocate for refugee rights and an advocate for Muslims in New Zealand. He has recently taken up a new position with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE)  where he hopes to share the learnings from his time in the US.

“I think it’s important for us as a country to not repeat the mistakes that perhaps others have. I was able to immerse myself in courses that allowed me to explore that, alongside world class leading scholars and future global leaders. Being in classrooms, amongst like-minded individuals who themselves are committed to helping shape their society, has really been the best part. Making those connections, which I am sure will be advantageous, not just for me but for those I work with, for many years to come was really the most valuable part.”

New Zealand MBIE Chief Executive, Carolyn Tremain says Guled is a true advocate at all times for things to be better. 

“He’s taking away some of the barriers that perhaps we, as Pākehā New Zealanders, don’t see. He challenges the status quo. He’s passionate at all times about issues that affect ethnic communities or faiths. And he’s a terrific ambassador for wanting to aspire for things to be better for the communities he represents and for New Zealand as a whole.”

Guled says being presented with a World Class New Zealand Award reconfirms the notion that this is his home and he hopes his recognition will inspire other young refugees. 

“Winning this award really means a lot because I never really would’ve imagined in a million years that I would be here being recognised alongside people whom I very much admire and look up to. I think it’s in some ways bigger than me. I hope that it can serve as a sense of inspiration for young refugees that are growing up in New Zealand, that they too belong and that they too can one day become a World Class New Zealander.”

And while he acknowledges New Zealand still has work to do when it comes to diversity and inclusion, he says that New Zealand is a country, which on the whole, likes to give people a fair go.

“I would like to see a New Zealand where it doesn’t matter where you come from, your race, your ethnicity, your background. I want to see a society where all New Zealanders have a strong sense of belonging and are valued integral members of society. I think Aotearoa has a real opportunity to be a world leader in this space and I will continue to use my voice and my platform to help spur and influence change.”