Q: Born?
A: Christchurch.
Q: Brought up where?
A: I grew up on a farm 40km west of Christchurch.
Q: Educated where?
A: I went to Selwyn House boarding school, in Christchurch, at the age of 10. I also attended Craighead Diocesan school, in Timaru, Canterbury University and the Auckland University of Technology.
Q: What did you long to be when you were young?
A: I never had any burning career desires but wanted to be a recreational pilot and travel. After much saving I got my private pilot's licence in my 20s but it has since lapsed. I always wanted to travel, and I have done so, visiting 57 countries. Travelling made me appreciate New Zealand, broadened my horizon and ensured I learnt to cope with the unexpected.
A: I did a secretarial course so I could earn money while travelling, I demonstrated and sold computers and I worked for a number of non-profit organisations in marketing and management. I was national marketing manager for Parents' Centres NZ and also became a fundraiser for the organisation, running several national events along the way. Then I became chief executive of Business Porirua which was both the economic development agency for Porirua City (pop. 50,000) and the Porirua Chamber of Commerce.
Q: What sort of work did that entail?
A: I worked with the City's 3000 businesses to help them grow and export, including businesses like Whittaker's Chocolates, Radiola Aerospace and Whitireia Polytechnic.
Much of the work was business mentoring and advice, especially in the two key areas where businesses often fail: finances and marketing. We assisted hundreds of businesses to start up and we established a business incubator for the city to foster innovative people, with a particular focus on Maori and Pacific Islanders. I hosted networking and business planning functions, created business linkages, represented Porirua City with Japanese sister city Nishio, dealt with intellectual property registrations for inventors, ran business skills training courses, started the Apprenticeship Trust and also a number of business groups involved in tourism, exporting and the arts. I also advised on government funding and programmes, advocated and lobbied on behalf of businesses, ran business awards, expos and employment programmes and liaised with local and central government.
Q: What did you like about it?
A: It was a dream job. I loved the people and the challenges, such as tackling unemployment. Porirua City was in the doldrums in 2001 and we were able to start to turn it around economically and employment-wise. The business community asked me to stand as mayor in the 2014 elections, but I declined, as I knew I was moving to Wanaka in the future.
Q: What did you not like about it?
A: The lack of funding and compliance issues.
Q: When did you decide to make a change?
A: I was on my own again and my son had moved to Australia. I had been working 60-plus hour weeks and had put a time limit on the role. The time was up and I knew I needed to make the change and move to Wanaka, despite going alone and only knowing two people there. Since a family holiday in Wanaka when I was 10, I had visited as regularly as possible for summer holidays and skiing. It felt like coming home. After an initial stint at Infinity Investment Group I saw the Warbirds Over Wanaka advertisement in the paper.
Q: Was there a key event that set you on a new path, and if so, what was it?
A: A need to get as close to flying as I could.
Q: How much bravery is required to make a significant career change?
A: Some. As long as I continued to look forward, continued to learn, adapt and remain as flexible as possible, I believe you can cope with anything.
Q: How did you prepare for that change?
A: I'm a natural planner and organiser so most major changes are pretty well sorted. I always do my homework on potential employers and by the time I'm at the interview I feel comfortable that I know what they are about. Passion goes a long way. I am passionate about Wanaka, flying and Warbirds.
Q: What is your job now?
A: Event manager for the Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow, based at Wanaka Airport.
Q: What was your first day on your new job like?
A: At that stage we had no Wanaka base. Part of my brief was to establish a Wanaka office, so I worked from home. It was mainly about learning about the organisation and the role, creating your own plans and workload.
Q: What do you like about your current job?
A: No two days are the same. I enjoy the challenges of keeping Sir Tim Wallis' vision going, sourcing new acts, keeping the airshow fresh, making the budget work and seeing the delight on patron's faces as they watch the aircraft.
Q: What do you not like about it?
A: Not having enough funding to bring in the aircraft we would like to have. That's slowly improving.
Q: Do you have any regrets about making the move?
A: None. It took me 41 years to get to Wanaka and to find another perfect job.
Q: Do you now make more money or less than before?
A: Less.
Q: Does the money matter?
A: Yes. Valuing skills and experience is important and Wanaka's cost of living is higher than Wellington's. Having said that, I would move heaven and earth to make a living somehow and stay in Wanaka.
Q: Your advice to anyone thinking of a career change would be ...?
A: Do your homework so you are comfortable about making the change. Take a risk. If it doesn't work out you can always find something else. We never know what's around the corner and that's part of the excitement of being above ground.
