"I'm not a politician or an economist," the quietly spoken Fisher and Paykel Healthcare boss says.
"So I don't really know what the answer is there."
Mr Daniell, who has headed F&P Healthcare for almost 20 years and been with the company for 31, is genuine in his desire to stay out of the political debate.
But his answer is ironic because what New Zealand really needs is more companies like F&P Healthcare.
And more business leaders like Mr Daniell who are prepared to dedicate themselves to building them.
F&P Healthcare is a technology company.
It reinvests more than 6% of its revenue in research and development.
It is a growth company, doubling in size every four or five years.
And it is an exporter, pulling in 98% of its $500 million revenue from overseas.
It employs 1700 people locally in skilled design and manufacturing jobs and that number is on track to grow, even as it expands its production facilities abroad.
F&P Healthcare is the world leader in the specialist medical field of heated humidification devices and systems for treating respiratory conditions with ventilation.
While those sound like niche products, it is worth considering that they are life saving for thousands of sufferers of respiratory illness including many of those facing dangerous complications from the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.
The company has a market share of between 75 and 80% in the production of heated humidifiers.
"We've actually got a big obligation to make sure we that can provide the necessary equipment because we have such significant market share," Mr Daniell says.
As the northern hemisphere winter takes hold and healthcare systems the world over stock up for an expected increase in swine flu, the pressure to maintain supply goes on.
"We're running seven days a week, 24 hours a day . . . to make sure we're able to meet demand and making a big capital investment this year in growing capacity both here and in our new facility in Mexico."
The company says it will double manufacturing capacity in the next five years, spending $30 million in capital development at its East Tamaki site and $18 million developing a new plant in Tijuana, Mexico.
Devices for surgery and treatment for acute illness account for about half of the company's revenue.
The bulk of the rest comes from the manufacture of breathing devices designed to be worn in bed by chronic snorers.
Chronic snoring - or obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) - might sound like something trivial.
But studies show it can stop sufferers breathing for long periods.
As well as the problem of disrupted sleep, the condition is now recognised as a factor in strokes and heart disease.
The increase in acceptance and diagnosis of OSA and the fact that it is more prevalent among the elderly and obese makes it one of the fastest growing medical conditions in the western world.
It is still an under-recognised condition, Mr Daniell says.
"There could be 60 million people in the developed world with OSA.
"We estimate fewer than 10 million of those have been diagnosed and treated so far.
"So consequently the market is growing at about 15% a year."
There is no doubt F&P Healthcare has demographics on its side.
Mr Daniell is the first to acknowledge the Western world's fatter, ageing population provides fair winds.
But the pace of growth at F&P Healthcare is impressive, not just because it has been rapid, but because it has been steady and well managed.
"We've had an objective for 15, probably even 20 years, to double the size of the business every four or five years," Mr Daniell says.
"If you look back over the last 20 years our compound annual growth rate is about 17 to 18%.
"For the last six years it's been 18% . . . that's in US dollars.
"So the whole business is geared up for growing at that quite rapid rate."
Unlike plenty of New Zealand companies, it has resisted the temptation to accelerate growth to levels which it cannot sustain.
Could they grow faster?
"We do ask ourselves that question, but we also like to balance the expense growth, revenue growth and earnings growth, and we think that we're in about the right place."
Mr Daniell says it is always on the lookout for opportunities and some parts of the business do grow faster, particularly off a lower base.
"I think as a whole team we approach this business in a very methodical way.
"[They have a] very good understanding of what our opportunities are and how we are going to get from here to there."
Mike Daniell
F&P Healthcare
Age: 52.
Born: Hastings.
Education: Hastings Boys High School, Auckland University BE in Electrical Engineering.
Family: Married to Glenys, 20-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter.
Hobbies: Tramping, photography.
Revenue: $459 million Operating profit: $102 million; net profit: $62 millionR&D spend: $28.3 million (June 2009 annual report)
