However, the chief investment officer of Ngai Tahu Holdings Group, the commercial arm of the South Island iwi, acknowledges it has ''somewhat fallen into place'' so far.
Brought up in Oamaru, where he was head boy at Waitaki Boys' High School in 2000, Mr Slater (32) initially started studying health sciences at the University of Otago.
But during that first year, he changed to a mix of science and commerce papers, later electing not to pursue science, and he graduated with a commerce degree, majoring in finance.
After three years at university, he was ready for a job, rather than further study, and his first role was with the Bank of New Zealand in Wellington, as part of a team that looked after financial institutions in New Zealand and internationally.
In 2006, and newly married, he headed to New York to work for the bank's parent company National Australia Bank (NAB).
Working there until 2008, it was an interesting time, given it was either side of the global financial crisis, and he witnessed first-hand what was a ''complete meltdown'' in financial markets and banking.
Working opposite Bear Stearns, the global investment bank and securities trading and brokerage firm that failed and ''seeing them shut the doors'' was quite dramatic, he said.
As it turned out, it was the right time to head overseas to work as, when he first went, the financial sector was ''booming'' and, if he had waited a couple of years, it would not have been looking so positive, he said.
Living in New York was also a fun experience and, as a keen cricketer, he got to play in the most multicultural cricket team he had ever been in - the only New Zealander in the team.
''That's the sort of experiences you get. It makes for a great OE,'' he said.
The next move was to Christchurch with the BNZ, managing corporate and institutional banking client relationships throughout the South Island.
Christchurch was a ''very easy environment'' to raise a family - he and his wife now have three children, aged between 8 months and 5 years.
It was while Mr Slater was on Aoraki Bound, Ngai Tahu's 20-day cultural and personal development programme, as a sponsor participant, that his current job was advertised.
He already had a relationship with Ngai Tahu, through the bank, and, on his return home from the course, he applied for the job. When it came to opportunities in the South Island in his field, they were ''few and far between''.
Although Mr Slater had a great time in banking, he saw the position as an opportunity to broaden the skills he had learnt and work for what was now a billion-dollar investment company.
Although every entity had some corporate social responsibility, the fact that ''went to the heart of Ngai Tahu'' was also appealing. The iwi was a good and ''unique'' employer.
Business had been going well, with some record results in recent years, Mr Slater said.
Last week, Ngai Tahu Holdings released its annual results, which saw net profit rise from $121.8 million to $145.9 million in the year to June.
The management team was small, made up of chief executive Mike Sang, chief financial officer Allan Hickford, and Mr Slater, which was a big contrast from a bank with 5000 employees, he said.
While banks were full of ''policies, procedures and processes'', within Ngai Tahu a lot of autonomy was given to think widely and it was unusual to be given such scope, he said.
He relished that autonomy and enjoyed the varied scope of the role, which made the position interesting.
Ngai Tahu Holdings was seeking to increase the diversity and build a very sustainable and resilient portfolio.
Historically, there had been a focus on property and seafood and that was for ''good reason'', but, as it got bigger, it was looking to broaden its asset allocation into sectors it traditionally had not been in, he said.
Over the past year, its diversification included joint investments with Waikato's Tainui Group Holdings in dairy technology manufacturer Waikato Milking Systems and national passenger transport firm Go Bus.
There were still lots of challenges ahead for Ngai Tahu Holdings and also plenty of opportunities.
It had ''substantial capital'' to invest in the right opportunities and the focus was on investing predominantly in New Zealand, he said.
