Nous Autumn 2012

Formerly known as Scope | Business innovation, inspiration and insight

AUTUMN 2012

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External assets: How our best and brightest contribute from afar Brain gain: International education dividends

Sir Ray Avery:

Artist of innovation

autumn 2012 In this issue: Home and away

Flying the coop Staying connected with New Zealanders overseas creates tremendous opportunities.

By Dawn Tuffery PAGE 14

“There are very few organisations in the world that do what we do.”

From the outside in Export education provides a brain gain that can match and maybe even surpass the exodus of young New Zealanders around the globe.

By Vicki Annison PAGE 23

It’s a wrap Admark Visual Imaging makes the world’s most sophisticated (and biggest) sticky labels.

By Vicki Annison PAGE 11

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Proudly supported by FORMAT PRINT

autumn 2012 PROFILE

Sir Ray Avery is our most trusted New Zealander, and a legend in the worlds of business and science.

By Greg Bruce PAGE 8

Private practice Braemar Hospital is preparing to meet increased demand for healthcare.

By Nina Fowler PAGE 20

Know your velocity

Managing editor: Katie Foley Assistant editor: Nina Fowler Journalists: Vicki Annison, Greg Bruce, Paul Kendon, Dawn Tuffery Contributors: Infovision, Brian Sweeney, Richard White Photographers: Justin Aitken, Anne Challinor, Dave Lashlie, Libby Higson, Aaron Sami Web: Dave Chisholm, Crescendo Multimedia

Torpedo7 resisted the temptation to move away from Waikato. But that hasn’t slowed their growth.

By Dawn Tuffery PAGE 26

Designer/media coordinator: Rebecca Walthall

INFOGRAPHIC

Proofing: Sue Traveller, Ellie van Baaren

Results from the Kea New Zealand Every Kiwi Counts survey.

PAGE 18

OPINION

NZTE’s Richard White says we’re on the cusp of a new era of incubation.

PAGE 29 We can’t command expats to return, says Brian Sweeney. We need to connect, create and care.

PAGE 34

GALLERY

Wayne Walford’s farewell Nurse educators’ conference Technopolicy Network conference PAGE 30

Design: Richard Thomson Scott Thomson Media

Publisher: Tim Collins Contact: Nous Magazine www.nousmagazine.co.nz Feedback: editor@nousmagazine.co.nz Advertising enquiries: advertising@nousmagazine.co.nz ISSN 2253–2374 (print) 2253–2382 (online) Published in partnership with IN-Business Media www.in-business.co.nz

FROM THE DESK OF . . .

Ora. Three sisters have created a uniquely Maori skincare brand.

As told to Paul Kendon PAGE 32

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New Zealand Stock Library.co.nz

welcome

Ties that bind

Many successful expats still consider Hamilton “home”.

Welcome to Nous, the magazine formerly known as Scope. This edition, we take a look at some of the Waikato’s illustrious expats, as well as regional companies trading on the movement of people and goods across our borders.

It’s said that if all our expats gathered in one place, it’d make New Zealand’s largest city.

Wrong. As we discover on page 14, with a population of 600,000 odd, it’d merely be our second largest.

Chances are it’d be a fairly smart city. A 2005 OECD survey found 24 per cent of our highly skilled native-born workforce lived overseas, a higher rate than anywhere else in the world. For overall migration abroad, we ranked second only to Ireland.

Are those that leave helping keep New Zealand in the economic slow lane? Perhaps.

But we need to stop treating our expat population as a loss and start treating it as an asset.

We can’t force people to return home when they’ve picked up

And the iPad winner is . . .

After much deliberation and pushed along by some brilliant reader suggestions, we’ve settled on a new name. Nous, as in business nous: insight, initiative and practical intelligence.

Thanks to everyone who entered our competition to help choose a new name – and congratulations to Trish Searle, who won the draw for the iPad 2.

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just enough international skills, insight and contacts to be useful back here. Apparently, we can’t even effectively encourage them. In 2005, the government launched a $1 million a year campaign to entice expats home, including tug-at-your-heartstrings posters in the London underground. Two years later, even fewer Kiwis were coming home each year.

What we can do is encourage our best and brightest to contribute from afar.

The latest Kiwi Expatriates Association (Kea) census asked expats if they had contacts who would be interested in closer economic ties with New Zealand.

About 3000 said yes. On top of that, expats are an attractive potential source of investment

capital (see page 18 for what’s stopping them).

And let’s not forget the brilliant minds who migrate here, like Sir Ray Avery (page 8) – dubbed the Reader’s Digest Most Trusted New Zealander for 2011.

Cheryl Reynolds, who spends her working days at the helm of Hamilton’s SODA Inc, is another such “inpat”.

So embrace those who come (wherever they come from), get in touch with those who have left, and make the most of our position as a much-loved country on the edge of the world.

Happy reading.

NINA FOWLER ASSISTANT EDITOR

Healthy reading We’re giving away a copy of The Village on the Hill: Celebrating 125 Years of Waikato Hospital, courtesy of the Waikato DHB. It’s a worthy addition to your office reception reading: with 6000 employees and annual turnover of $1.1 billion, the Waikato DHB is the region’s biggest business.

To go in the draw, email us at editor@nousmagazine.co.nz before the end of February with feedback on any aspect of this edition. Feedback can be as short as you like. Visit www. villageonthehill.co.nz for interviews with hospital employees and more info on the project, a collaboration between the Waikato DHB, Wintec and Hamilton’s Print House.

in association with Nous magazine is a quarterly publication focused on leading edge technology and business innovation in the Waikato region. Our purpose is to provide insights, connections and inspiration to business decisionmakers. This is a unique initiative supported by partners with a shared goal: to stimulate and support Waikato business growth. We acknowledge our foundation partners – Wintec, BNZ, Mainzeal and Gallagher – and associate partner Prolife Foods.

Foundation Partners “To be an integral part of the community, we partner with many different organisations and businesses throughout the region. Nous is about showcasing innovation in the Waikato and providing credible insights, connections and inspiration to our businesses, industry groups and organisations. Having a wide range of stories to inspire people and stimulate growth in our region is key to our commitment to this magazine.”

Mark Flowers, CEO, Wintec

“Large, small or in-between, Waikato BNZ Partners offers businesses the support they need to grow and prosper. We believe there is no substitute for local knowledge and experience, which is why we provide access to local business specialists who can help you expand into new markets, manage foreign exchange, or simply enhance your cashflow – amongst many other things. Because, like the publishers of Nous, Bank of New Zealand is dedicated to the growth and success of the Waikato business sector.”

Phil McKinstry, Managing Partner, BNZ Waikato

“Mainzeal has a proud history of constructing some of New Zealand’s most iconic buildings and the Waikato is no exception. The Gallagher building, Tainui Novotel, Braemar Hospital and Wintec House are fine examples of Mainzeal partnering to build a better Waikato. We support Nous in stimulating business and innovation in the Waikato.”

Finlay Irwin, Manager, Mainzeal Waikato

“We’re strongly of the belief that this particular medium reaches all organisations with a passion for doing the best in business, and we’re delighted to be involved. We see sponsorship as one of our core principles. It’s our commitment to the community. We’re always delighted when we find a sponsorship that fits all our criteria: the community, our staff and our stakeholders.”

Margaret Comer, Corporate Services Executive, Gallagher Group

Associate Partner

“Prolife Foods is a major supplier of quality food products in the Waikato region. We believe, as we obtain our revenue from the greater community, we have a social and commercial responsibility to invest back in that community. Accordingly, Nous magazine is a tremendous opportunity to communicate with the Waikato business world by celebrating Waikato successes and promoting topical commercial issues.“ Bernie Crosby, Prolife Foods

We also appreciate support from: New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, SODA, Opportunity Hamilton, Global Entrepreneurship Week and Blue Star.

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Sir Ray Avery was named New Zealander of the Year in 2010 and Most Trusted New Zealander in 2011, but he’s hardly known outside the scientific and business worlds, where he is a legend.

Beautiful mind Sir Ray Avery may not have been born in New Zealand, but his expertise and investment has done much to change the country’s business landscape for the better. The perfect inversion of the brain drain: talent in, product out.

Story by Greg Bruce Photographs by Justin Aitken

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he first thing you notice about Sir Ray Avery is his manner of speaking. Not only is it faster than most people, but it’s also thicker with thoughts.

So many words packed into each moment; so many ideas packed into each sentence.

The next thing you notice is that he thinks in pictures. He has a Sharpie and a sheaf of blank A4 sheets on his desk and he hardly has a thought he doesn’t draw. By the end of our interview, he has covered sheets of paper

“The reality is that when somebody gets their sight back from cataracts, they see a million pictures in a week, versus 3000 people that might see a painting that I’ve painted. So it just doesn’t add up from a logistical perspective.” with sketches illustrating bad design (a Russell Hobbs kettle), customer-centric design (a fridge you open with your feet), recirculated air (a spiralling circle), and something I didn’t quite grasp (the underside view of a boat) among 20, maybe 30, other sketches.

In another life he may have been an artist. In this one, there’s a simple calculus that destroyed that idea and drove him to become one of this country’s most important innovators.

“I love art. I love painting,” he says. “It’s a wonderful mistress.

When I get into a painting, I really love it. But the reality is that when somebody gets their sight back from cataracts, they see a million pictures in a week, versus 3000 people that might see a painting that I’ve painted.

So it just doesn’t add up from a logistical perspective.

“Some people, particularly those people that have bought my paintings in the past, say ‘you must start painting again,

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you’re so good’. They say ‘maybe when you retire’, but the reality is that there are so many more new challenges to get involved in, whether it’s our nutritional products, the low cost incubator or whatever – I know that I never will because there’s too much at stake.”

In an interview last year, he estimated he had 7000–10,000 days of life left. If it were a holiday in Seattle, he said, there would be an itinerary. Who else in the world thinks like that? But it’s what drives Sir Ray to want to change the world: calculating the importance of his actions and dividing them by the days he has left to achieve them.

He was New Zealander of the Year 2010 and Most Trusted New Zealander 2011, but he’s hardly known outside the scientific and business worlds, where he is a legend. Born to abusive parents, he slept rough in London for nine months as a 14-year-old.

He discovered science while keeping warm in libraries, got an education, and eventually arrived in New Zealand where he became one of our most brilliant scientists.

Under the Fred Hollows Foundation banner he helped give sight to 16 million people with his low-cost intraocular lenses. Now he’s working on a nutritional bar that could save the lives of millions of starving children, and a low cost, high-tech incubator, which could do the same for millions of babies.

Sir Ray’s lab smells of lemongrass because his wife Anna grows plants in Nepal and converts them into high-end aromatic oils, which are kept in one of the fridges there. An enormous square of mechanically deboned meat sits in the fridge next to it, the base protein for Sir Ray’s nutritional bars.

He is always saying the names of people who are making his projects a reality. People such as Hugh Green who rang him up one day and said: “Ray. Hugh Green here. I like what you do and I want to give you some

money.” And handed over half a million dollars.

“What I like about him,” Sir Ray says of Green, “is that he’s sort of a micro version of us.

He came to New Zealand as an immigrant and he went to the post office and saw a tender for putting in all the electrical cabling for the lights in Queen Street. So armed with nothing at all, he went in and got the tender forms and filled them all in and just got a bunch of his Irish navy friends and they went to the hardware store and they just started with picks and shovels.”

Neither Sir Ray nor Green were born in New Zealand, but their combined expertise and investment have done much to change the business landscape of New Zealand. They are now doing the same internationally – the perfect inversion of the brain drain: talent in, product out.

Sir Ray’s brilliance is complex.

It is difficult to fully comprehend the combination of creativity and drive it takes to completely rethink something as important and omnipresent as an incubator.

“What I do,” he says, “is find the statement of need and then I find the tools to do it. And they’re always there. Or there’s always somebody who’s the expert.”

He says he’s a ringmaster, bringing together the right people, marshalling their ideas and keeping them on the right track: “I don’t think I’m particularly clever.”

It sounds easy. It’s not. It takes drive, creativity, and a dense intelligence. In Sir Ray, these things have converged.

And fortunately for us, they’ve converged here, rather than on the streets of London.

IT’S A WRAP Story by Vicki Annison Photographs by Aaron Sami

They were the first company in the world to fully wrap a commercial jetliner with graphics, and their work turns up in the skies, on the road and in your supermarket. Hamilton company Admark Visual Imaging Ltd is only getting better.

Managing director Laurie Pilling got so excited about visual printing that he sold his other companies to focus on Admark.

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Hamilton company is winning gold medals around the world and you have probably already seen their work. You may have walked past it in the supermarket, driven past it on the high street, or it may have driven or flown past you.

That’s because Admark Visual Imaging Ltd prints graphics that adorn many aircraft, vehicles, buildings and supermarket products.

The company has more than 50 staff and turned over an estimated $12.5–13 million in 2011.

Laurie Pilling MBE, Admark’s managing director, speaks with paternal pride about the company that last year celebrated its fortieth birthday. He admits that they are doing very well in this economic climate with a growth rate of 10 per cent.

He is a progressive leader, keen to keep pushing the boundary and keep the company on its toes. “I live outside the square box and as a result the company does too. We have a very strong culture and that’s what really drives us.”

Pilling, who was awarded an MBE for his military service, became a selfconfessed entrepreneur after he retired

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from the army and in 1978 he helped establish Waingaro Hot Springs. He was then involved in many businesses including the Waipa Delta riverboat and Lost World Adventures at Waitomo.

He bought into Admark, formed in 1971 by Robin Cuff, in 1991 when it was having problems. Pilling was so excited about visual printing that he sold his other companies to concentrate on Admark, then bought out his partner in 1996.

During the 1980s, in the pre-digital days of screen and label printing, Admark started to print and apply small graphics and signage on aircraft.

The company’s first foray into large scale digital printing was in 1997 when they received delivery of the first large format 3M Scotchprint machine in Australasia.

Within three weeks of installing the machine Admark had done the world’s first full wrap of a commercial jetliner. It was cutting edge technology that required 3M’s specially developed aviation graphics.

“They are the most sophisticated sticky labels in the world,” Pilling says.

The graphics need to stay put on an aircraft travelling at 1000km per hour, as well as sustain a massive temperature

range – sitting on the tarmac in a hot country they may heat up to 60ºC while at cruising altitudes the temperature can drop down to –70ºC. Pressure is also a major factor. When the plane is at an altitude of 12,800km, there is a substantial differential between the outside and inside, and the graphics therefore need tiny perforations to allow air to escape.

Admark has now applied images to more than 50 aircraft including four Lord of the Rings themed Air New Zealand planes.

Although Pilling says it gets easier after a few planes – “when you get to know what you are doing” – he acknowledges that it is quite a complex procedure that requires a tremendous amount of planning.

He thinks his specialist staff members’ efficient graphics application is a major selling point for airlines that are understandably uneasy about any aircraft downtime – if a plane is not in the air it is not earning anything.

With Admark often completing jobs overseas, the logistics are also an enormous factor; they have to get it right first time. “We make sure everything is labelled, preferably twice,” he says.

Some smaller graphics can be done

overnight, while the aircraft is in for a scheduled maintenance check, but it takes 48 hours to do a full wrap of a Boeing 737 or Airbus A320, while the jumbo Boeing 747 needs five or six days.

Admark has offices in Wellington, Auckland, Rotorua and Sydney and, while the aviation team travel globally to work on planes, production is based at the Kahikatea Drive head office in Hamilton.

Designers work on images which are progressively sized to fit the plane, taking

building in Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games. The images were bigger than a rugby field and the size of the computer file was 150 GB. The company also prints labels, tags and signs for many everyday items and has a client list that includes Kapiti cheese, Comvita honey, Wild Bean Cafe, BP, Mainland cheese, Fonterra and RD1.

Pilling is extremely proud of his staff and gives them full credit for the fantastic work that has won the company a large

“I live outside the square box and as a result the company does too. We have a very strong culture and that’s what really drives us.” care with the positioning and scale. The graphic is then split into small sections and printed in 1.2 x 2 metre pieces ready for application.

Pilling says it is like wallpapering but with very special products. “Give me something and I’ll wallpaper it – we have done boats, buses, trains, buildings,” he says.

For one particular contract they applied huge graphics to a 22 storey waterfront

number of international awards.

The boardroom walls adorned with medal-winning certificates are proof that the printing company is among the best in the world and although there does not appear to be any space left, Pilling is determined the company can continue to get better.

He says they will do this by constantly moving forward and taking on challenges; such as the very difficult specialist graphics

just printed for an Auckland motorway over-bridge.

The company has also identified a growth market producing in-mould labels, an area in which they already excel. The labels are printed on clear material and moulded into the container when it is made – giving an end product that has shelf appeal with vibrant glossy colours and a label that cannot be peeled off.

Pilling also pushes the company to take on challenging new strategies and systems and is overjoyed with the massive benefits he has seen since introducing the continuous improvement processes of lean manufacturing. “We don’t hold people’s hands here, we lead them to manage themselves and to empower them to get on and do things.” Although, he adds, this only works if it comes from the top.

The company has a gold award in the enviro-mark scheme and is ISO 9001:2008 accredited. “Quality is everything,” says Pilling, “We don’t take short cuts, we do it properly.”

The working strategies are all part of a journey for Admark and while they continue to aim high, Pilling hints that next year will be very exciting for aircraft – so keep your eyes on the sky.

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Joe Harris is the executive creative director for branding agency PENCIL in Guangzhou.

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Photo: Richard@PENCIL

Growing up in New Zealand means many people feel the need to spread their wings overseas at some stage in their career, but is that such a bad thing? Have we really lost them for good?

Story by Dawn Tuffery

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n 1982 Split Enz sang: ‘‘Spirit of a sailor, circumnavigates the globe . . . The lust of a pioneer will acknowledge no frontier.” It’s a good description of New Zealanders. While we love our country, a good proportion of us also love leaving it to explore new pastures. The big overseas experience (OE) is ingrained in the Kiwi lexicon and, for many, staying away becomes a long-term proposition.

So why do we go, and what effect does it have on those who stay? The Kiwi Expatriates Association (Kea New Zealand) recently released Every Kiwi Counts 2011, a survey on our elusive expats that gathered information from more than 15,000 respondents living offshore. It suggests the number of New Zealanders resident overseas to be around 600,000 or 13.5 per cent of the total population. Not quite enough to qualify as our apocryphal largest city, but it would come a sizeable second.

Nowadays, career advancement often means having the passport ready and migration is fluid. “Highly skilled talent is highly mobile talent,” says Kea’s global CEO Sue Watson. “We’re working now in a global talent marketplace – it’s not like 20 years ago when it was a really big deal to go overseas.”

Job prospects are the main reason for living away from New Zealand, according to a third of the survey respondents. Salaries are a significant motivator, with 46 per cent earning more than $100,000 per annum. Twenty-three per cent cite family connections, while excitement and experiencing another culture motivates another 19 per cent.

For many, it can be a combination. Employment with Suzuki brought Joe Harris to China eight years ago and he decided on the spur of the moment to stay. After studying at Wintec and working in London and Australia, the significant cultural difference appealed to him. “It’s an amazing place,” says Harris, awardwinning executive creative director for branding agency PENCIL. “It’s had double-digit growth over the last decade and isn’t poised

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From left: IT and business consultant Roger Sinel; Kea CEO Sue Watson; Livestock Improvement Corporation CEO Mark Dewdney.

surroundings with different eyes”. Success in Sinel’s apprenticeship study earned him a scholarship to Switzerland and in 1992 he sold his Holden to buy a one-way ticket.

While he loves the environment, belonging to two worlds can be bittersweet. “I don’t always fit in, and that’s okay. I’m a Waikato boy from Hamilton at heart, even after 19 years away and [being] totally integrated into another culture and language. That’s what being an expat means for me.”

It’s not all one-way traffic, of course. The Census in 2006 showed 23 per cent of people living in New Zealand were born overseas, an increase from 17.5 per cent in 1996.

to slow down, so it’s also an exciting place to be from a business standpoint.”

One thing Harris does miss in Guangzhou is boutique beer, and proper meat pies. He hopes to one day buy a “little place in Otago”, and sees our trend to travel as a positive. “Look at the wine and the coffee industries – all those people at the forefront have lived overseas and brought those skills back.”

Big brother Australia and mother England attract 35 and 27 per cent of expats respectively. Photographer Adam Firth studied ew Zealand’s Diaspora and Overseas-born in Hamilton and worked in Auckland before heading off on an Population’, a Treasury paper from 2004 by archetypal OE – “working in London while trying to see as many Bryant and Law, suggests that the percentage countries in Europe as possible”. He lived there for seven years of New Zealanders resident overseas is before meeting his now-wife during a Colorado snowboarding relatively consistent in an international context. In contrast, it break. The couple considered returning to New Zealand but suggests the potential benefits from people coming here may decided to try Australia for now as an “in-between”. be underestimated. “Not only is the reverse diaspora large by “Also we felt there would be greater opportunity in Sydney,” says international standards, but it can link New Zealand to a strikingly Firth. He is happy with the choice – “there’s so much coastline wide range of countries.” close to the city, and the weather is normally amazing.”

“Inpat” Cheryl Reynolds, chief executive of talent incubator The Kea survey indicates settling in Australia rather than SODA Inc and originally from England, is an example of that New Zealand is common reverse traffic. Her diverse among expats. Over half the background includes business “We’re working now in a global talent respondents indicated they startups, running art galleries would be likely to consider it as a marketplace – it’s not like 20 years and a digital technology permanent home. company. ago when it was a really big deal to go Firth is pragmatic about the Reynolds’ journey here was inevitability of people leaving. fairly spontaneous – after overseas.”

“It’s going to happen no matter visiting 10 years ago, she fell what. New Zealand is a small country with only so many opportuin love and decided to stay. A job at Wintec’s Creative Industries nities to offer.” New Zealand’s geographic isolation is another key Research Centre led to the development of SODA Inc, of which element in our urge to wander. To quote Split Enz again: “Tyranny Reynolds became founding CEO. “I think Soda’s got a big role to of distance didn’t stop the cavalier, so why should it stop me?” play in attracting expats back to the Waikato,” she says. “It’s also The Waikato region has long been a springboard for high fliers such an exciting region to be living in at the moment because we’ve to explore the world. Creator of cult musical The Rocky Horror Picture got all the right ingredients for making a uniquely special worldShow, Richard O’Brien, left Hamilton in 1964 for a working holiday class place. We’ve all got a part to play in that.” in England. The man who brought the ‘Time Warp’ to the world She would like to see more publicity about Waikato successes, to remains one of the most famous Waikato expats, despite battling combat tall poppy syndrome and attract innovative talent. for some time to officially become a New Zealand citizen.

Many agree that the win-win scenario is when New Zealanders O’Brien describes himself as “kind of lost” when he left, with leave and return, bringing with them experience, contacts and no ambition to be famous. “I just knew I didn’t want to stay cutting family. hair for the rest of my life.” His rural New Zealand background You could call Mark Dewdney an ex-expat. The CEO of opened doors for him to ride horses in films. “Then life took over Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) returned to the Waikato and I got locked there, as opposed to coming back home again.” in 2006 after spending nearly five years offshore for Fonterra in There wasn’t anywhere better to be in the world than London in Asia. Dewdney enjoyed the pace and challenges offered by the role. the ’60s, he says. “It was swinging. The Beatles had happened, the “It had a lot of growth, a lot of expansion, and opportunities to deal Rolling Stones, Mary Quant; everything was groovy.” with customers from many different countries and cultures.” At Experiencing new places is the best part of being an expat, times he travelled 130 days a year, using Tokyo as a base. says Roger Sinel, an IT and business consultant living in Sweden.

The chief executive opportunity at LIC was a key factor in He enjoys “the feeling of being on holiday as one looks at the bringing Dewdney back to the Waikato, he says. It came at a time

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Adam Firth Photography

Michael Jeans

when his young family had spent almost five years in Asia and he was weighing up whether to accept a posting in China.

“We wanted our children to grow up with an understanding of what being a rural Kiwi’s all about,” Dewdney says. “So it was the combination of a fantastic career opportunity and a great time for us to reconnect with New Zealand from a family perspective.”

He believes Waikato has enormous amounts to offer returning expats, including great schooling, location, lifestyle and an excellent business community.

A quarter of the expats surveyed by Kea plan to return, with another 48 per cent either likely to or undecided. Confidence in the country is wavering, however, with half of respondents believing that New Zealand will not reach its potential in the next 10 years.

Given the numbers, is the New Zealand diaspora a threat or a gain overall? It represents both, Sue Watson says.

“It’s a threat if we don’t maintain our connections, but it’s a tremendous opportunity if we can stay connected and put opportunities for them to contribute to New Zealand’s economic growth in front of them.” This might include business investment or mentoring.

One survey finding she considers compelling is that one in five respondents are interested in having a greater economic relationship with New Zealand from offshore, counteracting the perception that once people have left, they’re gone.

It also all depends how people leverage their experience, Watson says. “There’s plenty of evidence of people who have come back and used that market intelligence to get something started here that has a global aspiration.” Another promising finding was that one in four people are seeking a New Zealand job for themselves or someone else.

From left: Rocky Horror Picture Show creator Richard O’Brien; SODA Inc CEO Cheryl Reynolds; photographer Adam Firth.

The ”brain drain” term appears to be based on fact, with those who leave being more than seven times as likely to have a postgraduate qualification than those who stay, for instance. But while the talent is departing, they’re also arriving or returning, and most people agreed that the global perspective gained has the potential to be highly beneficial.

O’Brien considers that the cost of living overseas often balances out high salaries, but can understand why people want to stretch their wings. He notes that expats are also great ambassadors. “It’s a good thing, because we’re spreading our culture around the world.”

We’re pretty good at being expats too. New Zealanders are adventurous, pioneering, humble, modest, great relationship builders and genuinely interested, Dewdney says, characteristics that make us very successful overseas.

So if you’re thinking haere rā Aotearoa and bonjour France, for instance, then au revoir! Just remember to send a postcard.

SEE FULL RESULTS OF THE EVERY KIWI COUNTS SURVEY, PLUS EXPAT RESOURCES AND VIDEOS, AT WWW.KEANEWZEALAND. COM. OVERLEAF IS INFOVISION’S TAKE ON THE SURVEY’S FINDINGS.

FLY AWAY HOME

They say that wherever you go in the world a Kiwi is already there. In fact, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that there are 544,000 New Zealanders living in Australia alone. A quarter of our educated workforce lives and works overseas. So who are these flighty expatriates and what are their plans for the future? Using data from Kea’s new offshore Kiwi census, this infographic creates a profile of the average expat and outlines their plans and attitude towards returning to New Zealand.

T H E AV E R AG E K I W I E X PAT

FAC TO R S A FF E C T I N G E X PAT AT T I T UD E S TOWAR D S I N V E S T I N G I N N E W Z E AL AN D

stay connected Being a graduate of Wintec makes you part of a vibrant, diverse community, the Wintec Alumni Circle°.

wintecccircle.ac.nz

By joining the Circle° you benefit from your Wintec experience long after you’ve graduated. We can provide career advice, information on your industry and professional skills development.

We also love sharing our successes to inspire other members of the Circle, which is open to everyone who’s completed study at Wintec.

Celebrate your Wintec experience, expand your Circle° and stay connected.

Join today.

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FLY AWAY HOME THE AV E R AGE K I W I E X PAT

EDUCATION

GENDER Female Male

52.7%

AGE 16–20 21–25 26–30 31–35 36–40 41–45 46–50 51–55 56–60 61–65 66–70 71+

18.2%

Doctorate Masters degree Postgraduate Bachelors degree Other tertiary Secondary school None of the above

30.9%

INCOME Loss or zero income $1–$30,000 $30,001–$50,000 $50,001–$100,000 $100,001–$150,000 $150,001–$200,000 $200,001–$300,000 More than $300,000

30.4%

CHILDREN None One Two Three Four Five or more

51.5%

EMPLOYMENT No source of income for past year Paid by employer Self employment Interest, dividends, rent, invesments Government-paid social assistance Other

77.7%

18 NOUS AUTUMN 2012

24.1% 24.1%

REASON FOR MOVING General job/economic prospects overseas Family/marital connection Opportunities for family members NZ employer asked me to work overseas Specific job offer from an overseas employer Study Different lifestyle/culture/excitement overseas To retire Other

INDUSTRY None Agriculture, forestry & fishing Mining Manufacturing Wholesale trade Retail trade Accommodation & food services Transport, postal & warehousing ICT Media & creative Financial & insurance services Property services Professional & technical services Admin & support services Public admin & safety Education & training Healthcare & social assistance Arts & recreation services Other not-for-profit Other

TIME OVERSEAS Less than one year 1–2 years 3–4 years 5–9 years 10–19 years 20–29 years More than 30 years

33.2%

PLANS TO RETURN

11.0%

Will return to NZ permanently Likely to return permanently Likely but will also live somewhere else I have not decided Likely to remain overseas Will remain overseas Don’t know

24.6%

WHEN Within a year 1–5 years from now In more than 5 years Don’t know

46.3%

They say that wherever you go in the world a Kiwi is already there. In fact, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that there are 544,000 New Zealanders living in Australia alone. A quarter of our educated workforce lives and works overseas. So who are these flighty expatriates and what are their plans for the future? Using data from Kea’s new offshore Kiwi census, this infographic creates a profile of the average expat and outlines their plans and attitude towards returning to New Zealand.

FACTORS AFFE CTING E XPAT ATT I T U D E S TOWA R D S I NV E S T I NG I N NE W Z E A L A ND

AT T R AC T

D ET R AC T

S TAT E M E N T S R EG A RD I N G N Z ’S STRE N G TH S A N D W E A K NE S S E S A S A N INV E S T M E NT D E S T INAT ION A S R AT E D B Y R E S PO N DEN T S There are huge investment and business opportunities in NZ

NZ is a very good place to do business

For me, NZ is a blip on the investment horizon

There is a strong talent pool in NZ

NZ business culture is very advantageous for business success

Investment in NZ is risky due to currency movement

NZ businesses are supported by a very competitive infrastructure

Investment in NZ is helped by the tax regime

NZ businesses are too influenced by election or commodity cycles

NZ is a place where it is easy to raise capital

NZ is a very innovative market

Investment in NZ is hindered by poor governance standards

Business thinking in NZ is unhindered by size – there’s a can-do approach

Investment in NZ is hindered by a think-small culture

NZ business is well supported by the academic infrastructure

NZ business badly needs overseas expertise

The NZ business community is strongly plugged into the global economy

INFOGRAPHIC BY:

SOURCES: Kea New Zealand. (2011a). Kea Investment Report. Auckland; Kea New Zealand. (2011b). Every Kiwi Counts 2011. Auckland.

NOUS AUTUMN 2012 19

PRIVATE PRACTICE

20 NOUS AUTUMN 2012

As New Zealand’s population ages and patients become more discerning, Hamilton’s Braemar Hospital is busy building to meet demand for private care.

Story by Nina Fowler Photographs by Anne Challinor

H

ealthcare is one of the few areas of spending in New Zealand that’s sure to rise, no matter what the latest economic forecast holds. Our population is ageing and the older we get, the more healthcare we need. Cutting back on family holidays and takeaway coffee when money’s tight is an easy sacrifice; scrimping on health and quality of life is not.

In Hamilton, private hospital Braemar is busy building to stay ahead of coming trends. “We have to build our capacity out for 10 years,” chief executive Paul Bennett explains. “Rather than keep on building all the time, we try to look for the future.”

Braemar, which is one of two large private hospitals in Hamilton alongside Southern Cross, opened a new $30 million hospital on Ohaupo Road in April 2009 and has just started work on an $11 million extension project. Another multi-million dollar project, Stage III, is scheduled within the next three to five years.

While not on the same scale as the Waikato District Health Board’s $430 million building programme, it’s still a major investment, especially in these troubled economic times.

There’s reason to be confident the extended services will be needed. By 2026, the number of New Zealanders aged over 65 is forecast to increase to nearly 1 million. A 2010 review of aged care services estimates an extra 410 hospital beds will be needed each year until then.

Braemar Hospital has 200 staff plus 100 specialists and sees about 10,000 patients a year, mostly for elective procedures (those that don’t need immediate treatment).

These are funded through a mix of private health insurance (typically the largest source of funding for private hospitals), ACC, patients paying out of their own pockets and partnerships with public providers.

Bennett, who has been with the company for 10 years and spent six years at Waikato Hospital before that, says the mix of funding at Braemar is starting to change.

Between September 2010 and September

NOUS AUTUMN 2012 21

Operation healthcare Designing and building a hospital requires special skills and flexibility. Operating theatres need to run smoothly; rooms need to be easy to clean and access.

Mainzeal construction manager and Waikato local Allan Scott oversaw the first stage of Braemar’s Ohaupo Road project.

He says working with Braemar from “day one” and having a strong team on site helped ensure a successful build.

Scott says the biggest challenge was ensuring services were in the right place and up and running when they needed to be – no small achievement, as Braemar Hospital moved from its old site on Tainui Street to Ohaupo Road without shutting down.

The healthcare industry is an important one for Mainzeal, with previous projects

2011, according to Health Funds Association of New Zealand (HANZ) figures, 24,500 people appear to have dropped private health cover (a decrease of 1.8 per cent). “But every year, we still see an increase in the volume of patients coming through here,” Bennett says. “So more and more are paying out of pocket.”

People may be dropping their insurance due to tight finances and rising premiums, leaving them with no option except to pay for elective procedures themselves.

Changing attitudes may also play a part, with people quicker to opt for elective surgery and more willing to pay to make it happen.

People’s expectations are definitely higher than they were 20 or even 10 years ago, Bennett says. “You might put up with a bad knee until you could no longer work. But people don’t do that any more.

People are looking after their health. If something needs fixing, most people want to get it fixed. And if that means foregoing a holiday or holding on to the old car for another year, then they do it.”

Braemar’s financial manager Brenda Williamson says this also applies to hospital facilities. Just as people hiring holiday homes expect more than they did 10 or 20 years ago, so too do hospital patients. “Everyone wants ensuites,” she says. “That’s the same here. We have ensuites for our patients. That’s pretty standard now.”

In keeping with high patient expectations, the new Ohaupo Road hospital is designed more along the lines of a hotel

22 NOUS AUTUMN 2012

including builds at Rotorua Hospital, Wellington’s Southern Cross Hospital and Christchurch Public Hospital.

Mainzeal national project director for health projects Tim Sturdy says, with millions spent each year on case studies for hospital reform and resource utilisation, small changes can create huge benefits if they’re brought in early enough in the design and build process.

Looking forward, hospitals will face increasing pressure to lift quality while cutting cost (a situation amplified by the global financial crisis and Canterbury earthquakes).

There might be a plus side. Sturdy says this will create opportunities to review procurement practice and will encourage innovation in the “provision of space that can be transformed without major disruption to hospital services”.

than a traditional hospital. “That’s what we wanted in the design of the hospital, that when you walk in the front door, you could be in a five star hotel,” Bennett says. “That puts our patients at ease when they come here.”

No-one likes the idea of making money from the sick and injured. Braemar is owned by the Braemar Charitable Trust.

Southern Cross, the other large private hospital in Hamilton, operates as part of a national not-for-profit group.

At Braemar, all surpluses are reinvested into facilities and services. “Everything we make goes back into the hospital”, Bennett says. Among other things, this has allowed for state-of-the-art digital operating

theatres and a commitment to “green” building design at Ohaupo Road.

Quality facilities are good for patients (though Bennett and Williamson stress that quality medical care and service come first and the surroundings just complement this) and help smooth out longer-term costs. “We haven’t gone cheap,” Bennett says. “We want a long life out of it.”

Building a hospital to last also means taking new and emerging technologies into account. “A very simple example would be the size of our operating theatres,” Bennett says. “We believe they’re the biggest in New Zealand and they were deliberately made that way because there’s more and more technical and complicated equipment that’s being used in operations, and they all take up space.”

Medical facilities are only as good as the experts operating in them. Once building projects are out of the way, the next challenge for Hamilton’s growing healthcare sector will be to continue to attract skilled staff. “We need to make sure, the country needs to make sure, that we’ve got enough clinicians around to meet the rising demand,” Bennett says.

It’s a major challenge and hardly a new one, but building top-notch facilities to attract top-notch staff seems like a good place to start.

CTC Aviation’s target market has mostly been Europe, Australia and New Zealand, running cadet programmes for airlines such as British Airways, Jetstar and easyJet.

We are constantly being reminded of New Zealand’s “brain drain”, but the country’s lucrative “brain gain” via international students gets much less publicity than it deserves.

FROM THE OUTSIDE IN Story by Vicki Annison Photograph by Dave Lashlie

NOUS AUTUMN 2012 23

N

ew Zealand has many successful export industries but the country’s fifth largest export earner, with a greater value than wine, wool or fruit, is international education.

Often referred to as export education, this sector contributes approximately $2.3 billion to the New Zealand economy each year and supports around 32,000 jobs. It encourages the immigration of highly skilled people and helps grow and maintain links with major trading partners around the globe.

It is also at the heart of a new government strategy. The Leadership Statement for International Education has a bold aim of doubling the value of international education to $5 billion over the next 15 years.

A new Crown agency – Education New Zealand – has been established to help achieve this. It will represent and promote export education through an additional $10 million contribution to the existing budget of $3.45 million.

A multi-million dollar centre in Hamilton that relies on export education of a more unusual type is one of the lesser known New Zealand education providers that are competing in the global market.

CTC Aviation’s head office and training centres are in the United Kingdom, however the practical training for the whole group is done in Hamilton at their crew training centre which can train up to 250 airline pilots.

“We have some of the best facilities available in the southern hemisphere,” says Captain Ian Calvert, CEO of the Hamilton

Origins Top providers of international students to New Zealand in 2010 1 China 2 South Korea 3 India (student enrolments rose by an overall 346 per cent from 2006 to 2010) 4 Japan 5 Saudi Arabia (enrolments increased by 202 per cent from 2006 to 2010) 6 Germany 7 Thailand 8 Brazil Source: Ministry of Education New Zealand

24 NOUS AUTUMN 2012

Wintec chief executive Mark Flowers says that having to compete in international markets leads to constantly improving quality systems and student services for New Zealand students.

based operation, which means the cadets learn all they have to learn here.

The 19,000 sq ft purpose-built training centre houses 10 briefing rooms, four lecture rooms, a crew room, planning and operations facilities and an on-site aircraft maintenance facility. There is a very international feel with students from around the world training in the centre’s three simulators and fleet of 35 aircraft.

Eight kilometres away a self-contained facility, Clearways, can house 128 trainees at any one time and offers a full size gym, volleyball court and football pitch.

CTC began operating in Hamilton in 2004 and have invested $18 million in the new facilities.

Turnover is currently $15 million growing to $20 million over the financial year.

CTC works with a number of global airlines and runs programmes to train a specific number of cadets each year. The length of training for each cadet differs according to where they are from, that country’s regulations and the airline that they are contracted to. A cadet is recruited, selected and trained by CTC before being handed to the airline as a first officer.

The target market for the group has mostly been Europe, Australia and New Zealand, running cadet programmes for airlines such as British Airways, Jetstar and easyJet. They are currently working with a number of Asian airlines such as Jetstar Asia and Royal Brunei, and this has brought in cadets from Singapore, Japan, and Vietnam.

Calvert says targeting the Asian market has been very successful and they are also expecting cadets from the Middle East.

“We have focused on India but are yet

to secure a particular airline, it’s a very difficult market to break into,” he says.

Calvert spent most of last year out of the country visiting airlines to build relationships and promote the cadet programme.

“There are very few organisations in the world that do what we do so when we compete we are doing so on international levels.”

CTC has just secured a contract with British Airways to manage its whole cadet programme for the next five years. “It will save them something like £58 million in pilot costs,” he says.

Student fees differ according to the regulator and number of flying hours needed. For example, a New Zealand Jetstar cadet would need $123,500 for a 15-month course. Generally the airlines will pay for training in one form or another – the cadet may pay it back through their salary, or the airline may pay in full.

Immigration has become more difficult since regulations tightened but Calvert says it works pretty well as the cadet programme is approved, accommodation is provided and they use a public trust to deposit money until training has been completed.

English language has been a challenge for some international students as they need to pass an aviation English test before they can fly solo in New Zealand.

Japanese students do a year at university before they come to Hamilton. They study aviation theory and English before CTC gives them an eight-week English course when they arrive to get them up to standard.

Calvert says the mix of nationalities and cultures export education brings into the country helps to raise the awareness of New Zealand and the Waikato region, which then spills over into other areas such as business, engineering and avionics.

New Zealand enjoys a larger economic return from export education with earnings from the sector higher as a proportion of GDP for New Zealand than Australia, the United Kingdom, the USA and Canada.

W

hile students, and their visiting families, are significant contributors to the local economy, the impact of export education is far more than pure economics. They bring a richness of cultural diversity, experience and knowledge to our communities and, upon return to their home countries, provide valuable networks for the advancement of New Zealand’s overseas trade.

“It just brings Wintec much more to life having that sheer variety of nationalities. Our main student hub is just humming with kids from all over the world – it’s a tremendous thing.”

Wintec chief executive Mark Flowers agrees there is a wider agenda than just getting students over here to teach them something and sending them away again.

“It just brings Wintec much more to life having that sheer variety of nationalities.

Our main student hub is just humming with kids from all over the world – it’s a tremendous thing,” he says.

Last year Wintec had close to 1000 international students representing 45 countries who collectively brought in $8.1 million, about 10 per cent of Wintec’s total revenue. While acknowledging the financial benefit to Wintec and the local economic boost from foreign students’ significantly increased purchasing power, Flowers says the other benefits are often overlooked. “I could walk into a meeting in Malaysia with government officials and be pretty confident that almost half of them have been trained in New Zealand.

Immediately we have an advantage.”

Flowers thinks the indirect benefit to international markets won’t be seen tomorrow but the rewards will be seen over time. He acknowledges that the government has shifted its priority much more towards export education. “They have created some strategies to encourage it as an export industry and it has made things quite a bit easier already.”

Obtaining a visa is all important and in such a competitive market Flowers says the students will often pick the country they study in based on who gives them a visa first. “It has to work smooth and quickly but then again you have to protect the country – it’s quite a challenge for the immigration guys.”

Wintec attracts many foreign students by working with partner institutions in source countries such as China, Japan, India and Europe. Students might start the first year or two of their Wintec qualification with an educational institution in their own country and then come to New Zealand to finish the course.

Flowers says that, although it is quite

In 2011 Wintec had close to 1000 international students, representing 45 countries and bringing in $8.1 million.

complicated to set up, this is the preferred model for international studying and the next step for Wintec is to deliver more programmes off shore rather than just bringing students here.

Wintec have found that other countries are becoming more interested in the western way of teaching and they are increasingly training teachers who come here from overseas to learn a new way of teaching.

“We provide really good services,” Flowers says. “It is not just about the academic side – in fact that’s not the most important thing at first.”

Accommodation, food requirements

and English language support are all important to new students and Wintec uses satisfaction surveys and peer support to help detect anyone who may be at risk of getting into difficulties. “It’s a sort of early warning system.”

“There is an enormous knock-on benefit for New Zealand students as well,” Flowers says. “I am absolutely committed to it.

New Zealand is a small country, we just need to understand the rest of the world as well as we possibly can to succeed.”

Export education is a major success story delivering economic and social dividends. It is deserving of government – and public – support.

NOUS AUTUMN 2012 25

Know your velocity Moving Torpedo7’s operations overseas may have been tempting, but the company is now committed to substantial growth at home in Hamilton.

Story by Dawn Tuffery delivery as we are in the same country.”

This attention to detail has resulted in Torpedo7 becoming one of the country’s fastest-growing companies. It has been a regular in the Deloitte/Unlimited Fast50 list of business growth, and reportedly hits around $100m in annual revenue.

According to Howard-Willis, dealing with distance is part of being a New Zealander. “You grow up having to take long trips around the world to see or do anything. So in terms of dealing with suppliers or going to tradeshows, it’s all part of the job.”

The official Australian arm of the store launched in 2007 and Torpedo7.com.au has also been a hit. “Australia continues to grow in leaps and bounds for us, and we recently won a ‘Fast50’ award for Fastest Growing Exporter,” Howard Willis says.

There are some adjustments required across the Tasman, he says, such as knowing what brands are popular and where the pricing needs to be. “With plenty of research we have been able to be successful in this area. In terms of

delivery to Australia we have worked long and hard with NZ Post to shorten it and we are getting closer to delivering similar timeframes as if we shipped within Australia.”

Warehousing stock and courier reliability can pose logistical challenges, but Howard-Willis is happy they’re managing them successfully. “There are always risks in running a business like ours, but with experience you learn to minimise those risks.”

Following Torpedo7’s success, HowardWillis launched 1-day.co.nz in 2007, the first daily deal site in New Zealand. It has now become one of the largest online shopping websites in the country and dominates the market share despite its many subsequent competitors.

“I guess it comes down to being the first into the market and establishing a brand that has allowed us to stay that much further ahead of all the copycats,” HowardWillis says. “The site has a point of difference as it remains focused on product as opposed to coupons.”

All photos: Torpedo7

istance has been both an inspiration and a challenge for entrepreneur Luke Howard-Willis. The Hamilton mountain biker started cycling gear site Torpedo7 in 2004 to “give the bike industry a shake-up”. Having observed friends looking offshore for gear that was often overpriced in shops, he decided he could do things better and an empire was born.

Since then, staff numbers have gone from one to 180 and the site has branched out to include gear for road cycling, BMX, motocross, snowboarding, skiing and adventure.

Torpedo7 is a dedicated online retailer and sells only to Australian and New Zealand customers. Howard-Willis classes overseas online stores as Torpedo7’s primary competition and adjusts company strategies accordingly. “We make sure we are price competitive and being local we can offer a much better experience.

For instance, 365-days ‘Right of Return’, having customer service people to talk to in the same time zone, and higher speed of

Torpedo7’s Waikato warehouse is bursting at the seams and the company is to build a $100 million complex at Titanium Park.

26 NOUS AUTUMN 2012

“We see the next two years being our biggest growth period yet, as we start to roll out some very aggressive and strategic plans.”

Luke Howard-Willis started Torpedo7 in 2004.

Attention to detail, knowing their market, and a bit of humour remains a winning formula – the site includes a ‘Quick, the boss is coming – look busy!’ button which links to a full page bar chart image.

The company added offshoot site 1-daytee.co.nz to the empire in 2009 and 1-daycellar.co.nz in 2010, offering t-shirts and wine respectively at one-time prices.

The sites continue to grow rapidly and finished November 2011 with record sales.

Landmark moments to date include selling five tonnes of marshmallows in two hours (February 2009) and serving the one millionth 1-day customer (February 2010).

They also got significant media attention for a savvy April Fools’ Day promotion claiming that 1-day was being bought out

by Microsoft. In November 2011 1-day

joined forces with Trade Me to drive targeted daily deals for the auction giant.

Predictably, Torpedo7’s trusty Waikato warehouses are now bursting at the seams and large-scale expansion is imminent. The company is set to build a $100 million complex at Titanium Park, a planned business park located 14km from the Hamilton CBD and situated on 100 hectares of land adjoining Hamilton International Airport. Fifty per cent of New Zealand’s population lives within 140km of the Park, and the location provides easy road and air access with the potential for a rail spur in the future.

In a significant land deal, Torpedo7 bought the entire stage one Raynes Road precinct – more than 12 hectares in area.

Titanium Park development manager Aiden Donnelly says the outcome is a

positive one for the Waikato, and has the potential to attract other users. “The economic benefits to the local economy are significant.” He anticipates that Torpedo7 will be able to start building from about April 2012.

Howard-Willis has been tempted to relocate overseas on occasion, but solely in order to take his company to other markets. For now, he is focused on the Titanium Park development. “We see the next two years being our biggest growth period yet, as we start to roll out some very aggressive and strategic plans.”

However, the serial entrepreneur still plans to hit the trails and slopes on occasion. His advice for up and coming entrepreneurs seeking to emulate his success is short and sweet – “work hard, play hard!”

NOUS AUTUMN 2012 27

Loyal to business and our environment

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0800 2 RICOH (274264)

www.ricoh.co.nz

opinion

A new era of incubation

NZTE

Fresh from meeting the world’s top business incubation experts, NZTE’s Richard White writes that investing in incubators will create a legacy of a more dynamic economy.

Richard White is Manager of Incubator Development at NZTE

Late last year, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and Incubators New Zealand hosted 100 leading incubation practitioners at the Technopolicy Network’s 10th Annual Science Based Incubation Conference.

It proved to be a superb opportunity to showcase some of the best of New Zealand – our primary sector and world class food and wine, our technological innovation, notably in the creative and digital sectors, and our beautiful environment – to an appreciative audience.

The Technopolicy Network is part of the Science Alliance group based in The Hague, Netherlands. The network’s 10-year history has to date been quite Europe-centric and this is only the second time the conference has been held outside Europe.

The conference was brought to New Zealand in part to encourage a more global membership for the network, particularly from the Asia Pacific region, which, as we know, is now holding the creaking world economy together. It also reflected New Zealand’s high standing in the global incubation community and was a great way to celebrate 10 years of business incubation in New Zealand.

East-west relationships and internationalisation were the key themes of the conference.

Delegates from around the world, with 150 years of combined incubation experience, shared wonderful insights and perspectives from quite diverse environments. As is often the case, much of the value from the conference was in the afterhours networking.

The post-conference innovation tour – “Modern Science Meets Middle Earth” – started with a visit to the AUT Business Innovation Centre in

Manukau and included a visit to our newest incubator, SODA Inc. Delegates heard about SODA’s leadership of the transformative Digital Industry Forum and met start-up ventures including VO2, PagePulse and Ora. Our incubators are considered world class, and The ICEHOUSE in Auckland and powerHouse Ventures in Christchurch have the international awards to prove it. But those in this sector are never satisfied with the status quo and are always striving to do more and better.

“The private sector is not as engaged as it could be, in terms of support from both big companies and the investment community.”

So, immediately following the conference, NZTE took the opportunity to get our industry leaders together to discuss how we can take the industry forward.

We have great people in this industry and our incubators do many things really well, but there are still areas where we can do better to provide the sort of environment in which new technologies and entrepreneurs can thrive on the international stage.

There is still not the right degree of alignment between incubators and universities and Crown Research Institutes. The private sector is not as engaged as it could be, in terms of support from both big companies and the investment community. We lack depth in entrepreneurial experience and we are still grappling with how to most

effectively help our companies internationalise. These are all work in progress issues.

What I am most encouraged by as we begin the second decade of incubation in New Zealand is that the innovation community is becoming much more aligned and is mobilising on a wider front with energy and a real sense of purpose. This is evidenced by new initiatives from the Ministry of Science and Innovation and increasing activity levels jointly with NZTE and other key players.

I believe we are on the cusp of a new era and that the outstanding achievements of the past 10 years will be well and truly superseded. Ongoing investment is critical from both the public and private sectors, but the legacy will be a more dynamic economy: more high value exports and jobs, new investment opportunities, more recognition for the role of scientists, innovators and entrepreneurs, and an improved commercialisation environment.

NZTE IS NEW ZEALAND’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND TRADE PROMOTION AGENCY. THEIR ROLE IS TO HELP NEW ZEALAND BUSINESSES GROW BIGGER, BETTER, FASTER IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.NZTE.GOVT.NZ.

NOUS AUTUMN 2012 29

opinion gallery › Nurse Educators’ Conference

Delegates from Sydney to Singapore gathered in Hamilton late last year for the annual Australasian Nurse Educators Conference. Keynote speakers included Sir Ray Avery, who was named last year’s Most Trusted New Zealander (see page 8).

The conference was hosted by the Waikato District Health Board, Counties Manukau District Health Board, Wintec and the Manukau Institute of Technology.

Di O’Connor and Sally Houliston (Hawkes Bay DHB)

Lucy McLaren and Lesley Marsh (Wairarapa DHB)

Deborah Sims (CPIT), Sue Gasquoine (Unitec Institute of Technology), Angela Stewart (Wintec)

Jolanda Lemow and Leanne Pool (Whitireia Community Polytechnic)

Andrea Corbett (Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki), Martin Christensen (National University of Singapore)

Jean-Michel Burgess and Fraser Tumai (Waikato DHB)

Photographs by Anne Challinor

Jagpal Benipal (Counties Manukau DHB), Gopal Ramanathan (Elsevier Australia)

› Club SODA

Last November, 45 innovation experts were in Hamilton for the Technopolicy Network’s 10th Annual Science Based Incubation Conference (see page 29), which connects international experts and practitioners of science-based regional development.

Tom Strodtbeck, an expat American living in Liverpool in the UK, is a representative of The National Business Incubation

Association (NBIA) and spoke at the Technopolicy conference.

“SODA is pretty cool,” he said. “I like it a lot. I like the space.

I like the focus on creative and technology industries and the weightless economy. I would set up shop here.”

Photographs by Libby Higson

Nicola Browne (Opportunity Hamilton), John Luxton (Prima Group Ltd), Tariq Ashraf (Waikato Regional Council)

Steve Tritt (NZTE), Juliette Bonarus (The Tech Network), Mikael Hult (Innovationsbron AB, Sweden)

Peter Moorby (ASB), Sehaam Caselberg (U Leisure)

Naomi Cranston, Clare Wimmer and Peter Urich (CLIMsystems)

Damrongrit Niammuad (Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency), Brent Rouse (Visual Business Solutions), John Clayton (Wintec)

Ro Edge and Pete Varga (The Video Kiosk), Katerina Ciharova (Innovation Leadership Agency, Czech Republic)

30 NOUS AUTUMN 2012

opinion › Wayne Walford’s farewell

More than 100 Waikato businesspeople gathered together to mark the end of “big personality” Wayne Walford’s tenure as Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive.

Gallagher Group corporate services executive Margaret Comer presented Walford with a small carved waka as a leaving gift. “He’s been a huge asset to this city,” Comer said. “I just hope and trust that he finds something in Hamilton that suits his significant skills. Someone will get a gem.”

Former Opportunity Hamilton chief executive Sandra Perry has replaced Walford as Chamber chief executive.

Wayne Walford (Waikato Chamber of Commerce outgoing CEO)

Margaret Comer (Gallagher Group)

Lynette Flowers (Dragonfly Enterprises), Maria Carlton (Total Media Magic)

Photographs by Anne Challinor

David Christiansen (Wintec), Richard Hunt (My Biz)

Sharon Stewart, Jann Medlicott

Wayne Walford, Scott Gemill (Waikato School of Management)

Keith Thorburn, Julie Thorburn (Waikato Chamber of Commerce), Ruth Thorburn

Liz Lawrence (TVNZ), Dallas Fisher (NDA Group), David Armstrong (Craigs Investment Partners), Janet Gibb (Priority Projects)

Stephanie Philp (Raglan Chamber of Commerce), Bart Englesman (Active Plastics)

Fiona Schroeder (SHARE), Kelvin French (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Julia French, Senga Allen (Everest Group)

Helen Samujh (Waikato School of Management)

Jon Calder (Mystery Creek Events Centre), Steve Tritt (New Zealand Trade and Enterprise)

Aisha Ross (Waikato Chamber of Commerce), Adrian Dixon (Opportunity Hamilton), Sandra Perry (Waikato Chamber of Commerce incoming CEO)

NOUS AUTUMN 2012 31

From the desk of...

Ora Four years ago, three sisters set out to create a uniquely Māori range of lotions and creams. Based at Hamilton’s SODA Inc, the Ora product range is now available nationwide.

As told to Paul Kendon Photograph by Aaron Sami

32 NOUS AUTUMN 2012

Tessa Davis: Ora is now ready to launch into retail and online, so we’re now in a position where we can actually sell product.

Karen Renata: We’re in retail now at Smith and Caughey’s in Auckland, which is our major department store. We’re in Polynesian Spa in Rotorua, we’re at Te Puia and we’re at Repertoire, which has four stores in the North Island. The target market is the resorts, galleries, hotels, high end.

The premium market is where we like Ora to be sitting, positioned in those shops.

Eventually going into airlines.

So that’s our goal.

We are quite motivated to move forward in everything we do. Ora has been fantastic for us as sisters, and for family as well.

Tessa: I’m definitely enjoying the journey with my sisters.

Learning and meeting fantastic people and just growing. It’s been great.

Karen: For me what Ora has given, what I’ve learned from this whole thing, is the relationship building with ourselves and with our clients, and also with being in facilities like this with SODA. Building relationships with yourself and those people who are very near and on this journey with you makes you really proud to be in business as a Māori woman.

Adele Anderson: Probably, hopefully financially better off.

That’s the goal from a business perspective, and a wider group of connections with people around the world is really the goal for Ora, so that we can share things Māori with lots of people. So that they can view the world from a Māori perspective. So therefore they can look after Papatūānuku the way we’ve tried to look after her, around the resources, around the environmental decisions you make. Why do you need to mine for that resource? Why do you need to take that much plant resource or oil? What benefit does it have for us now and for our future generations?

We’re more about healing and health and wellbeing more than the cosmetic. Ora means health and wellbeing.

Tessa: Mamaku is great for irritated skin, great for after sun care. If you get slightly sun-burnt it has a great cooling effect, very similar to aloe vera but better.

If you have slightly itchy skin, it actually takes the itch away . . . Great for stings and all those sorts of things.

We will never claim that it is a drug or anything like that but it’s a natural... because these are natural, these all have a natural, active healing plant.

It’s all about the therapeutic, about the healing.

Adele: That’s the vision for Ora, really. In five years time, we have a global connection to people that think the same way we do and can start implementing sustainable practices . . . and are generally happy like us. Our parents’ philosophy. As long as you’re happy, you’ll be good to go.

If you’re not, change what you are doing. Make yourself happy.

Tessa: Growing up, we’ve always been taught that, like when you go and get pipis, you just take enough. You don’t take any more than you have to. People should learn that.

Just take enough.

Adele: We’re not using anything that will hurt the Papatūānuku. It’s all sustainable resources that we are using, which is really important – important to Māori and important to what we do as a business.

The recipes we’ve developed are our recipes but the base ingredient, which is what we’re using in our products, the body care range, is the Mamaku, which has been used for centuries by Māori – the black fern.

NOUS AUTUMN 2012

33

opinion

Go forth, young entrepreneur Brian Sweeney lives mostly in New York

flickr.com user aftab

“Buggering off” is only a bad thing if we let it be, according to communications and PR expert Brian Sweeney.

New Zealand’s population is five million. I wrote this a dozen years ago when, working on a project to communicate New Zealand to the world, I realized that we had shut out a huge number of people from our national conversation. These people were called “expats” – a dreadful term connoting “those who had buggered off”.

As part of our reframing of New Zealand as the “world’s edge”, we proposed that our international population be viewed as a valuable resource, not as a brain drain but as a network: Aotearoa whanau whanui kite ao nui – the global community of New Zealanders.

A few back-of-the-envelope figures and musings made it abundantly clear that this diaspora contained many of our best and brightest, our most affluent and influential. By taking the view that “you haven’t left, you’ve just extended our presence in the world”, we create massive value. The explosion of the web and Facebook makes these flows of creative, financial, and emotional capital all the more potent.

It’s true that New Zealanders are among the world’s greatest travellers. We have a natural curiosity and desire to take on the world. Everywhere there are examples of New Zealanders succeeding: in business and finance, in film and design, in food, in engineering, in peacekeeping. I call it our 4G factor: grit, guts, genius and geniality.

34 NOUS AUTUMN 2012

We’re great at managing teams, can multitask like no one else, have lateral ideas and we make things happen in a calm and fun way. Our social skills can be agrarian, we mumble, are mean-minded when it comes to paying for great service, and often leave home without having saved enough money to give the world a decent go. This Kiwi rawness aside, the world is a better place when there is a New Zealander in the room.

I was born in Morrinsville and grew up there before the family headed for the Bay of Plenty.

I came back to Waikato to do a politics degree, graduating in 1979. My next seven years were spent in arts and entertainment as an agent, producer and promoter. My first clients in business were Waikato heroines Lynda and Jools Topp. For five years, we toured every city, town and village in New Zealand. It was a delight to reconnect with them professionally in 2010 as a co-presenter of their hit movie Untouchable Girls. I was with Lynda and Jools in Toronto when they won the audience award at the famous film festival there.

The Waikato is sometimes written off as a cultural desert.

Not so. Especially not so with Malvina Major coming to town.

These days I live mostly in New York. When I’m not I’m at Raumati South on the Kapiti Coast. Our company SweeneyVesty is an international communications and public relations company. With

my partner Jane Vesty, we’ve managed to create a hybrid, local/ global, bi-hemispheric firm. I say we’ve never left New Zealand, just spread our wings.

Many people, of course, have left. There is a very large blue collar contingent, especially in Australia, where they’re happier, wealthier, sunnier. There are now more Māori living in Australia than in New Zealand. What does this say about the sort of society we are at home? I read the other day about Invercargillites commuting to Queensland to work in the mines and bringing big pay checks back south.

Sounds like a good model to me.

For me, it’s perfect when New Zealand is internationally focused. We need to export. We need global experience in our companies here. We need to be part of the world in every way.

We can’t command people to stay or return. What we can do is connect, create and care.

The home fires need to be more purposeful. There was a story a few weeks ago about suicides in New Zealand dropping appreciably during the Rugby World Cup, arguably because we were focused and united as a country. We can’t have a World Cup every week or every year, but being united in a common dream is a good thing.

For me, this dream is winning the world from the edge.

BRIAN SWEENEY IS CHAIRMAN OF SWEENEYVESTY AND PRODUCER OF NZEDGE.COM.

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