Last week I accepted a proposal from Wayne Boyd and the New Zealand board to join the Board of Telecom New Zealand, New Zealand’s largest company. I’ve been interested in joining a corporate board for some time but wanted to serve somewhere I could make a difference. I was looking for somewhere I could leverage my own skill set on behalf of the company, somewhere I could learn new things, somewhere I could contribute to New Zealand, and importantly, somewhere I could work with a new team in a different industry. Telecom New Zealand fits the bill on all counts. Telecommunications is vital to our society’s growth and to making the world a better place, and Telecom New Zealand is vital to the continued growth of all New Zealanders. I’ve worked closely with the company for over a decade, with Saatchi & Saatchi being fortunate enough to have been its advertising partner for many years. Former CEO, Theresa Gattung, was a terrific marketer and remains a close friend. Her successor, Paul Reynolds from British Telecom, is leading transformational challenges as the company ups its competitive, consumer and customer focus. I’m pretty excited about the whole thing.
