Rowena Davenport used to think she would have to leave Otago for career opportunities.
But once she made a conscious decision to stay in the South and make the most of what the region afforded, she found those opportunities.
As the first woman to hold the top job at a major provincial rugby union, she was a trailblazer — but she never saw herself that way.
With the benefit of time to reflect on her appointment as chairwoman of the Otago Rugby Football Union in 2019, she could now see how important it was for others, despite not thinking about it herself at the time.
That, she believed, was probably part of her upbringing in the rural coastal town of Waikouaiti where she described herself as a "bit of a tomboy" who did not adhere to gender stereotypes.
But she was grateful for having some fantastic role models and mentors and strong women inspiring and challenging her.
Mrs Davenport’s latest challenge has been a shift in her day job, moving from MTF Finance, where she has worked for nearly 17 years, to chief executive of law firm Gallaway Cook Allan.
Leaving MTF after so many years was a big decision. However, she found it "very hard to sit still" and she was always looking for learning opportunities.
While not actively looking for a career change, the role at Gallaway Cook Allan piqued her interest when she was approached about it.
Mrs Davenport was always excited by change, while acknowledging that many people feared it.
"I go through those emotions as well. I’ve been very prepared to step out of my comfort zone, I’ve done it enough times now I know I’ll survive," she said.
As well as the appeal of the culture at the law firm, there were enough challenges to keep her interested, and opportunities consistent with her skillset.
Mrs Davenport grew up in East Otago where her parents both worked in the health sector; her father ran psychiatric hospital Cherry Farm and her mother was a psychiatric nurse.
Her secondary school schooling was at East Otago High School and, after leaving school, she spent a year at teachers college, but she had not made up her mind what she wanted to do.
"I actually had no idea where I wanted to take things," she said.
She completed a commerce degree in finance, having always enjoyed mathematics at school, and joined Dunedin-based MTF as a treasury analyst.
It was a great business and had a great culture and people; it was an easy place to stay for a long time as there were lots of opportunities, she said.
She moved on to managing the treasury function and, in recent years, into a strategic role which was a result of her interest in governance.
That time at MTF made the transition to Gallaway Cook Allan a lot easier — "it had the same DNA about it and I like that".
Passionate about Dunedin and its surrounding environs, Mrs Davenport made her mind up a long time ago that she was going to stay in the South.
At one stage, she was offered "quite an exciting role" in Auckland but she realised she would be giving up the lifestyle that she enjoyed. It was also where she wanted to bring up her family.
Getting into governance was an opportunity to try something different; having worked for a long time for one organisation, there was not always the opportunity to experience different business models.
Governance was one way to do that and she particularly loved high-level strategic involvement in an organisation — the ability to set strategic direction and work with management.
Mrs Davenport first joined the Otago Rugby Football Union board in 2014. It was an opportunity to get some governance experience in an area she was passionate about.
She did not play the sport until she was in her 20s but it had been an important part of her upbringing.
In the small Waikouaiti community, rugby was the community hub — "that’s where we all gathered in the weekend".
Sport was also very important for young people, particularly what it taught them about resilience, mental health, teamwork and social skills, she said.
While there were lots of sports on offer for young people these days, rugby remained a very popular sport in Otago and, in many places, was the community hub.
"That’s the piece I really enjoy. Rugby is still uniquely placed to bring communities together," she said.
And if she did anything well, Mrs Davenport said it was connecting with people and making the most of the opportunities those connections afforded.
Whether it was being involved with rugby or work, it was all about connecting with people and she had met some amazing people from all sorts of backgrounds, forging a diverse range of connections.
"I feel like an ordinary person who is really good at connecting with extraordinary people. I’ve never felt like the most clever person in the room but I’m really comfortable connecting with people," she said.
In 2018, Mrs Davenport was part of a group that gained director experience at Dunedin City Holdings Ltd and subsidiary firms through its first director internship programme.
That was a great experience and gave her some confidence to take on the chairwoman’s role with the rugby union when Keith Cooper stepped down, although she acknowledged she "took some convincing from others and myself".
"Where I landed was it was so uncomfortable I thought ‘you’ve got to try it’ — if nothing else, you’ll learn something."
She had trusted advisers around her who also gave her the confidence she was capable of doing it, even when she doubted herself.
"I’d been on the board quite a long time, I thought ‘what could possibly go wrong?’ — and then Covid happened. Everything went wrong."
It was a much steeper learning curve than she had expected, but she had enjoyed the tenure so far and there were no regrets about taking the position on.
Mrs Davenport and her husband Judd, who works at OceanaGold’s Macraes gold mine, have two teenage children.
When she returned to MTF after maternity leave following the birth of her son, who is about to turn 15, the Global Financial Crisis happened.
She recalled is as an intense time.
Finance companies were "falling over", banks were nervous and it was a challenging time in her career, especially sitting in the treasury function in the business — and with a baby at home.
"That was really tough. It’s like everything, those really tough times, challenging times, you build your resilience, learn a lot about yourself and what you’re capable of. It actually motivates you, you’re sort of prepared for the next challenge," she said.
At 23, Mrs Davenport was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which changed her perspective on life. While largely invisible to others, it required daily management and it was a challenge.
Equally, she was grateful for the perspective it had given her, saying that while it might sound like a cliche, it had made her take heed of the need to make the most out of life.
Prior to that, she was "probably a bit complacent", but she started thinking more about the future and how to make the most of things.
Asked how she balanced two demanding roles with family and maintaining a lifestyle, Mrs Davenport said she was a very active relaxer.
And while she used to be very organised when she was younger, she was trying to relax a bit more now and "take each day as it comes".
Possibly the hardest part was having to give up some other things to concentrate on her two main focuses.
Several years ago, St Hilda’s Collegiate principal Jackie Barron approached her about establishing a Women in Sport Otago group affiliated with Women in Sport Aotearoa.
There was an "overwhelming response" to it, but the pair had both since had to step back from it.
While it was a shame she did not have the capacity to continue her involvement, equally, the whole point of it was to give more people leadership and governance opportunities in sport.
She was fortunate to have had a lot in that and it was an opportunity to get others involved when there were so many other capable people to step in. That meant she was quite comfortable stepping back from it, she said.
And when it came to her own favourite leisure pastime, sport again came to the fore — through watching her children play sport at the weekends.
"That’s how I like to relax."
