Jase Tibble considers himself "a southern kid".
Having moved to Dunedin before he turned 1, Mr Tibble (39) says he loves the city which is large enough to have an impact on the world stage, yet small enough to get things done through the ease of relationships, usually over a coffee.
That was the same with Gallaway Cook Allan, the law firm he joined this month, where he figured he and the firm’s partners could get in a room, look each other in the eye, make a decision, commit to it "and go".
Having spent time in both the commercial and public sectors, Mr Tibble felt he had "enough tools in the tool kit" to return to his first love, which was getting in a business and figuring out how to grow it. And he felt that exposure to those various sectors had provided him with quite a unique perspective.
His own personal story was one he shared through the Leadership Academy, run by Business South, to develop future Otago business leaders to be better equipped for leadership.
Becoming a business leader was never on Mr Tibble’s radar when he was growing up. In fact, he candidly admitted he never had a plan or a dream.
Describing himself as a pleasant child, rather than one who was in trouble, he was "a bit indifferent" he failed " a lot of stuff" at Kavanagh College, now Trinity Catholic College. In his final year, he studied two subjects and passed one.
The reason to stay at school was never academic; he met his now wife Julia there when they were both 13 and that was the incentive to keep turning up.
School days over, he reached "a bit of a moment" as to what he was going to do. His girlfriend went to the University of Otago to do a geography degree but he did not have university entrance.
He ended up at Otago Polytechnic doing a sports management and coaching certificate.
Still "a little bit rudderless", he was particularly grateful for the support of lecturers Adain Summerfield and Annemarie Jutel who took him under their wing, and Ms Jutel helped him get a scholarship and into university where he completed a commerce degree.
While doing his final examinations, Mr Tibble was among many others who applied for a sales role at Speight’s Brewery. He spent almost 10 years with Lion; half of that time in Dunedin in sales roles and half in Australia where the company had a dairy and juice business.
It was a great foundation to build a career on and gave him a great insight into sales and marketing, he said.
But when the couple’s two children were old enough to go to school, they decided to move back to Otago to raise their family.
After two years working at a local business, Mr Tibble was appointed the Ministry of Social Development’s regional commissioner. From starting out selling beer to heading up social development for the lower South Island was "quite a shift".
The move into the public sector was also quite a change but he was a person who was curious, liked learning and new things, and enjoyed challenges.
With an engaging and easy-going personality, Mr Tibble laughed that it did appear to be that he was a people-person. But it also took a lot of energy to be a people person — "it does take a bit out of me" — and playing the guitar was a form of release.
During his time at MSD, another role developed — the first of its kind — of regional public service commissioner for all government in the lower South Island. That was more of a figurehead role, which he did alongside the MSD job.
Conscious it was the polytechnic that changed his life, Mr Tibble always felt a pull that, if he was ever useful, then he owed it a great deal of gratitude.
So the former student returned as a staff member as learner journey deputy chief executive. He went into the role knowing the sector was "about to get tipped on its head" so had his "eyes wide open". During that year, he took over the top job as executive director.
The reorganisation of Te Pukenga was the catalyst to start considering other options while still being open to opportunities at the polytechnic.
The role at Gallaway Cook Allan came up "quite organically" and it was one that appealed. The firm has a team of about 85, including an office in Wanaka as well as its impressive Vogel St headquarters in the heart of Dunedin’s warehouse precinct.
Mr Tibble was excited to be closer to the business and how it worked and operated — it was different from 1000 people at the polytechnic — and understanding in more detail how it worked.
He saw his role as freeing up the capacity of the firm’s partners so they could they could concentrate on what they did well, while co-ordinating the strategy — that could be easily articulated to others — in line with their aspirations for the business.
When it came to his leadership style, Mr Tibble said he endeavoured to think about three different dimensions — head, heart and hands.
To lead well, people needed to understand exactly where they were heading and why and have absolute clarity around that; "heart" was around whether they wanted to do it and around team culture; "hands" was having the tools, processes and capabilities to deliver.
Having all of those three factors achieved could lead to a high performing business. He felt fortunate that his understanding of culture came from early on in his career while at Lion.
Gallaway Cook Allan was one of New Zealand’s oldest law firms. While a modern and impressive business, it had strong roots in Dunedin just like Speight’s and the polytechnic.
"To be part of the legacy, but have a chance to shape the future of that legacy for the next generation, that’s magic. Who wouldn’t want to get out of bed to do that?"
