Advertise on podcast: Leaders Getting Coffee with Bruce Cotterill

In episode 71of Leaders Getting Coffee our guest is one of New Zealand’s younger government ministers, Simeon Brown. He was inspired by his grandfather who worked to support the local community and later, his mother who led the local residents association. That led to him taking an early interest in politics, and while still at school he occupied roles as secretary and treasurer alongside his mother and subsequently a seat on the Manurewa Local Board while still at university. But national politics soon beckoned, and at the age of just 23 he ran the National party campaign for the Manurewa seat, losing to Labour’s Louisa Wall on that occasion. Three years later, in 2017 he was better prepared and won the safe National seat of Pakuranga, taking over the stronghold previously held by long time MP Maurice Williamson. But that meant six years in opposition, a period he used to build his knowledge of our parliamentary process and a work ethic that would serve him well later. When a National Party led government won the treasury benches in 2023, he was poised to become one of the busiest ministers in the team, and as the parliamentary term closes, he looks back on the wins, the losses and the might have beens. During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, Simeon Brown speaks with Bruce Cotterill about massive portfolios like transport, health and energy, the challenges he inherited and the opportunities for the future. Those responsibilities came with plenty of damage – remember the mining ban, the potholes and the shambles that was the previous government’s reorganisation of the health system. He’s had three years to address all that. But there’s plenty more to do and the plan for the next parliamentary term is already underway. There’s also a chat about family. Here’s a guy working 18 hour days, and six days weeks trying to balance a family of four children under eight, and a very understanding wife. This is a very personable conversation with a young minister doing a good job in a very tough environment. It’s well worth a listen. Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 71 with Bruce Cotterill and Hon Simeon Brown, Minister of Health See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 70 of Leaders Getting Coffee our guest is Alex Martelli, a young innovator who is changing the way people buy real estate.   She’s a born and bred Aucklander who spent her entire schooling and university years in the city.  But somewhere in there a desire for travel was instilled, and she spent 11 years traveling the world and working with some of the biggest real estate brands. She admits that her first break was a result of being in the right place at the right time. But she’s a hard worker and that first opportunity led to an international real estate career that many would crave. Her experiences in Sydney, London and Hong Kong formed a desire to innovate and bring her learnings back to the residential property market in New Zealand. Once back, she founded Martelli Buyers Agents, an agency directly focussed on working exclusively with the buyers of residential real estate. She’s now three years in and her business is growing faster than the market. Early on, she was told that her ideas would never work in New Zealand, and so, along the way she’s had to educate the market about the role of the buyer’s agent, a concept new to New Zealand, but well understood, and in some cases compulsory, in other parts of the world. Those early non-believers have since been turned around and she now enjoys the support of the wider industry that she’s a part of. On the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, Alex speaks with Bruce Cotterill about the role of a buyer’s agent in the real estate transaction, the broad spectrum of people using the service and the benefits to buyers. She also discusses how her team works alongside traditional real estate agents to ensure the best outcome all round. And there’s even room for a robust discussion about the state of the current real estate markets around the world, and the ongoing challenges for New Zealand property, a market that still hasn’t recovered to the heights achieved in 2021.   Above all, this is an enjoyable discussion with a young leader who is putting the skills she developed overseas to the test in New Zealand’s highly competitive real estate industry, all while introducing a new service that many people will find highly valuable. Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 70 with Bruce Cotterill and Alex Martelli, Founder and CEO of Martelli Buyers Agents See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 69 of Leaders Getting Coffee our guest is one of New Zealand’s most successful business CEO’s, Sir Ralph Norris.   An everyday upbringing in Auckland’s suburb of Mt Roskill, laid the foundations for the humble and softly spoken manner that typifies Sir Ralph Norris. But don’t let that humility fool you. He was an active youngster and clearly bright enough to further his education. However, like many of the time, the family fortunes didn’t enable university study. But he certainly made up for it when opportunity came calling. His banking career started in the IT department of the ASB Bank, where he was a beneficiary of the bank’s training relationship with IBM and his own curiosity about technology. The IBM training filled in what he’d missed at university and he became instrumental in enabling the massive change that went through the banking system over the following two decades. He speaks of starting with mainframe computers that occupied their own air-conditioned rooms, and he leads us through the changes brought by the personal computer generation, and now the mobile phone centric life we all lead today.  Over the course of his career, he led three massive companies. In the first, ASB Bank, he worked his way to the top job. The reputation he built there led to the next two. Firstly he was asked to take the reins at a suffering Air New Zealand in 2001, and subsequently Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 2005. In both, he encountered poor customer experience, weak employee engagement, and a flattened growth curve. In both, he led a rejuvenation that still gets talked about. Norris became the CEO of ASB Bank through that most unusual avenue of the IT department at a time when CEO’s came from sales and marketing. He also became a change manager before there was such a term. He led ASB Bank from it’s roots as a regional bank, to a national player competing on level terms with the big internationally owned banks. He brought institutional and commercial banking to what was previously a domestically focussed affair. And he created leaders. On the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, Sir Ralph Norris speaks with Bruce Cotterill about turning business performance around. The importance of asking good questions and listening to what the people within the organisation are saying is the starting point. Then comes a good plan, and the need for relentless communication.  There are lessons in this discussion for every current and aspiring leader. And each one delivered in that quiet and humble way. Sir Ralph Norris is one of our country’s best, and this discussion, a must listen, reflects that. Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 69 with Bruce Cotterill and Sir Ralph Norris – Former CEO of ASB and Air NZ. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 68 of Leaders Getting Coffee, our guest is former All Black captain and New Zealand First candidate, Taine Randell. He was appointed captain of the Otago NPC rugby team in 1995 at the age of 19 and All Blacks captain by the time he was 23. Taine Randell says he was lucky, but to plenty of observers, he was a young man with something special about the way he played and the way he led others. He grew up in the Hawkes bay, and after many years in Dunedin and then London, he and his family have been back there for the last 18 years. Despite hanging up his professional rugby boots some twenty years ago, he’s still coaching and even occasionally playing the game that he loves. But business has been his focus since returning home, and he’s built and sold a family owned business as well as working in governance roles to support local businesses and the region at large. Earlier this year Taine Randell announced his decision to enter politics and he’ll be contesting this year’s general election as a NZ First candidate.  On the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, Taine Randell speaks about the fact that rugby wasn’t a career option until professionalism arrived on the scene just as he did. And he discusses playing with his heroes in a rugby career that surpassed even his own expectations and a couple of losses that obviously still hurt. There’s also an extensive life in business since stepping off the field.  Thereafter, the aspiring politician talks to Bruce Cotterill about his aspirations for the country and the reasons he’s putting his hand up for another step in his leadership journey. He has plenty of good ideas too, and we can expect a very active champion for the small business community. And of course, on the eve of the All Blacks very challenging assignment in South Africa, he has plenty of advice about what his former team are up against and even a prediction of what the outcome might be. Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 68 with Bruce Cotterill and Taine Randell See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 67, our guest is Amelia Linzey, Group CEO of Engineering firm Beca.  Amelia Linzey has broken the mould in more ways than most of us. Firstly, if we think of large-scale infrastructure engineering as a ‘mans world’, then she has truly broken that particular glass ceiling. But her other main attribute is stickability. In an environment where change is rapid and people move jobs with regularity and ease, she’s been with the same company for thirty years.  She grew up on Auckland’s North Shore, studied geography, and after a brief stint in Council planning, she joined the engineering firm that has been her home ever since.  She’s a highly qualified and well regarded planner and social impact specialist. And she worked “on the tools” gradually leading larger projects for over 25 years, before the CEO suite came calling. During the Leaders Getting Coffee Podcast Amelia speaks about that wonderful career that shows no sign of slowing down just yet. She is open about the challenges she’s faced and the broader range of opportunities for young engineers today.  But it is the scale of the work that Beca does that grabs our attention. From an electrical transmission project in New South Wales, to massive integrated resort and office precinct in Singapore, climate resilience work in the Pacific and a giant water infrastructure project in Melbourne, the work is large scale infrastructure with big budgets and big pressures. But she seems to handle it all in her very brisk stride.  As you might imagine, Amelia Linzey has a unique perspective on New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit and she speaks with Bruce Cotterill about how we might go about gradually correcting the underinvestment of the past. It’s a massive advantage that we have the knowledge right here in this country, with people who know a lot about building hospitals, water infrastructure, electricity generation and tourism venues. This is a great discussion that captures many variables. It’s a story of a working mum with an outstanding career, and a commentary on infrastructure construction for today and the future. Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 67 with Bruce Cotterill and Amelia Linzey See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re half way through the year and “dry July” is underway. So what better time to talk about health, nutrition and diet? In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 66, our guest is Professor Caryn Zinn, Professor of Nutrition at Auckland University of Technology (AUT).  Her story starts in South Africa, where she was born, and her early University studies were conducted in Cape Town. Upon graduation, she moved to New Zealand for what she thought would be a period of time. But it was to become her life. Her first job here was as a public health dietician in Whangarei, but academia called and a Master’s degree focusing on Sports Nutrition and a PhD centred on weight loss followed. A chance engagement in 2014, challenged her conventional nutrition paradigm, and she developed her own nutrition philosophy in light of the emerging science on insulin resistance and metabolic health. Her journey endured multiple challenges from the change resistant establishment, but her conviction ensured that she prevailed. She is now regarded as one of the most recognised leaders in therapeutic carbohydrate reduction, both in New Zealand and abroad.  Professor Zinn speaks openly about the challenges of leading pioneering change in a sector that often prefers the comfortable route. But her story is compelling and like any scientist who “follows the evidence” her approach is now well accepted. During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, Caryn Zinn speaks to Bruce Cotterill about how a team effort led to the publication of not one, but five books resulting from their research, including the highly regarded “What the Fat?” Her writing has introduced hundreds of thousands of readers around the world to the low-carb, healthy-fat way of eating.  There is plenty of discussion about what’s right and wrong with our diets, how we can be better, and how to get help if we need it. There’s also an interesting discussion about how supplements can support our lifestyles and some common sense advice around alcohol consumption. But most of all, this is a story about a high achiever who dared to believe that another way was possible, and in fact better, and who committed herself to changing attitudes and outcomes in a world challenged by change.  Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 66 with Bruce Cotterill and Professor Caryn Zinn  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 65 of the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, our guest is the veteran Political Journalist Barry Soper. Barry Soper is our most seasoned, and arguably most respected political correspondent. He’s covered the premierships of twelve Prime Ministers, all of them very different, across five decades. It’s a story worthy of a book, and his newly released political memoir entitled “One Last Question, Prime Minister” doesn’t disappoint. But his life could have been so different. When he pulled out of Police College in his late teens, his mother had a job lined up for him, as a tractor salesman. But an accidental conversation with a correspondent from the local paper, changed his trajectory and his fortunes and a lifetime in journalism was born. He went on to work with many of the provincial newspapers across the country, and after an OE full of stories that only a man of his experience can tell, he returned to a broadcasting career that continues to this day. On the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, Barry talks to Bruce Cotterill about all twelve of those Prime Ministers. His role has enabled him to get to know them all well, he’s travelled with them, and seen them up close in electoral victory and defeat. He shares those experiences openly, and with a sense of humour that only the best story tellers can deliver. You might expect him to have strong and well informed views on some of our best and worst Prime Ministers. You might not expect him to be so open in sharing those views. As this election year gathers steam, this is an opportunity to hear from a man who has been as close to the political action as it’s possible to be. It’s a insightful analysis of the progress this country has made over the last fifty years, and the people who have led us. The book again. “One Last Question, Prime Minister” by Barry Soper. Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 65 with Bruce Cotterill and Barry Soper, Newstalk ZB’s Senior Political Correspondent. Download it here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What does it take to help build world champions? In Episode 64 of Leaders Getting Coffee, Bruce Cotterill sits down with David Abercrombie – former All Blacks physiotherapist, former CEO of Yachting New Zealand, and one of the people who has worked behind the scenes of some of New Zealand's greatest sporting achievements. Over a Physiotherapy career spanning more than three decades, David has treated elite athletes across rugby, sailing, basketball and Olympic sport. He was part of the All Blacks environment during one of the most successful eras in New Zealand rugby and worked alongside some of the country's most iconic sporting figures. He was on the spot for, Michael Jones injured knee, Zinzan Brooke’s famous dropped goal, and he kept Sir Peter Blake’s elbows working in San Diego. Four medals in one day’s sailing at the Rio Olympics remains a special memory. Born in Scotland and raised on Auckland's North Shore, David's journey took him from a young physiotherapist helping establish North Harbour Rugby's sports medicine programme alongside his great mate Dr John Mayhew, to becoming one of the most respected practitioners in New Zealand sport. Later, when the physical demands of physiotherapy forced an unexpected career change, he successfully reinvented himself as CEO of Yachting New Zealand, leading that organisation through 15 years of transformation and Olympic success. In the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, David shares remarkable stories from inside the All Blacks, the America's Cup and New Zealand's Olympic sailing programme. He reflects on the pressure of elite performance, the evolution of professional sport, and how the sport of sailing is changing with the introduction of foiling, women joining men’s crews, the rise of SailGP, and the leadership lessons learned from working with some of the world's best athletes and teams. This is a conversation about far more than sport. It's about excellence, resilience, reinvention and what it really takes to perform at the highest level. If you love sports, you’ll enjoy this conversation. But it’s much more than what happens on the field or in front of the TV camera. David Abercrombie brings a genuine insight to our sporting stories and a behind the scenes glimpse into the factors behind sporting success. Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 64 with Bruce Cotterill and David Abercrombie. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 63 of the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, our guest is the Founder of Orion Health, Ian McCrae. He is regarded by many as one of the early “heroes” of the New Zealand tech sector, but Ian McCrae refers to himself as simply a passionate engineering entrepreneur, and he remains committed to his mission to leverage technology in order to improve the quality and accessibility of healthcare for every person. After an undistinguished high school education, he found his way at Auckland University where he graduated with an engineering degree and a Masters. Along the way he took a break to hitchhike around the world, a journey that saw him in London during the sharemarket crash and in Iran during the revolution, a period which enhanced his already substantial levels of resilience. Back in New Zealand, his Masters thesis led him to Antarctica where he modelled the ice shelf flows long before it was cool to do so. A series of jobs in the tech space led him to decide that the health sector was where the opportunity was and Orion Health was born.  Ian’s story of establishing a global business, on limited funding and heavily reliant on suitcases and shoe leather, has plenty of lessons for every aspiring entrepreneur.  During the Leaders Getting Coffee Podcast, he speaks with Bruce Cotterill about his combination of sales skills and software knowledge creating a critical combination enabling his success. There’s plenty of chat about the early days of cracking the US market and the ups and downs that followed. Five years ago, his life was upended with the diagnosis of a brain tumour. And as you might expect from a technology leader with a passion for healthcare, he has piloted his treatment programme via his own software and the AI tools that we all have access to. The result has seen him outlive his original diagnosis four-fold and he’s showing no signs of slowing down. He’s also outspoken about what those same AI tools should mean for the health system, and he sees opportunities to overtake our unaffordable current approach to healthcare and move directly to a new way, one which sees the patient at the centre of their own care and AI providing the interface between the system and the needs of the population.  This is the opportunity to hear from a man who is a massively successful New Zealand entrepreneur. But that man is also patient in our health system, one with strong and well qualified opinions on the future direction of one of our government’s biggest challenges.  Leaders Getting Coffee – Episode 63 with Bruce Cotterill and Ian McCrae, Founder of Orion Health and Brain Tumour patient. Download it here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 62, our guest is Caroline Harvie-Teare, who is the CEO of Venues Otautahi in Christchurch, home of the new One New Zealand Stadium. She started life as a farm girl,but moved to the city as a youngster and became a heart and soul champion for the city of Christchurch. The farm girl lingered though as her passion for horses took her to eventing success. That start reflects a toughness that has been reflected in every challenge she has taken on.  When the earthquakes hit her city her job in the events industry was under threat. So she stepped up to join the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, doing her bit to help her city repair itself. Her success there led her to Christchurch International Airport as the city tried to recover its lost sparkle and resultant loss of tourists. Her return to Venues Otautahi, the city’s main events hub, just a week before the first of the Covid 19 enforced lockdowns, provided another challenging chapter to a career that had already had it’s share. But she has thrived. Venues Otautahi is now New Zealand’s largest events and venue company, and the organisation owns or manages some of the country’s most sought after venues including the revitalised Christchurch Town Hall, Woolfbrook Arena, Hagley Oval, and New Zealand’s newest and already arguable best stadium, One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha. Caroline’s story encompasses many characteristics. Resilience and strength are obvious. But she is also someone who thinks very clearly about where her best skills lie and how she can apply those skills to make the best contribution. She is unashamedly a proud and passionate cheerleader for her chosen city and her story provides countless lessons for any aspiring leader. During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast Caroline Harvie-Teare speaks to Bruce Cotterill about the tough days after the earthquakes and the memories that return as each step in the city’s recovery is taken. She’s very open about the tough decisions enforced as a result of Covid 19. But the main story here is about a stadium. One that is so much more than a venue for sports and music. It’s a venue that represents the recovery of a once broken city and provides the ‘icing on the cake’ as that long rebuilding process nears completion. Caroline Harvie-Teare has a great leadership story, and she tells it well. As is so often the case, the best leadership experiences occur when the circumstances are genuinely difficult. There are lessons aplenty from every step she has taken. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In episode 61 of the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast, our guest is Former Blackcap and Broadcaster Mark Richardson. There are many elements to the Mark Richarson story. The cricketer who bloomed late. The accidental broadcaster who seemed a natural behind the microphone. And now the Investment Advisor, charting a new path in yet another career. Even as a boy, Mark Richardson dreamed of playing for the Black Caps. His early years saw him on the pitch as a bowler and over time he transformed himself into a batsman, and then again into an opening batsman. The dream didn’t come true until he was 29, but the story of how he got there is a testament to his determination and resilience. He was honest enough to hang up the cricket bat when he was mentally burned out, despite the fact that he probably could have gone on. But he didn’t sit idle for long. The opportunity to broadcast the game he loved opened a door to a twenty year broadcasting career that included “The Crowd Goes Wild”, “The Block NZ”, “The Project” and “The AM Show”. He continued to commentate the cricket, not because of the money, but because of his love for the game. But the changes in the media industry meant the going was too tough and first Mediaworks and then Today FM closed down, leaving Richardson wondering what might come next. But he’s nothing if not adaptable, and another casual conversation turned opportunity arose, one which sees him today operating as an Investment Advisor with well known financial services group Forsyth Barr, a topic deserving of some air time given the current challenges in the markets. On the Leaders Getting Coffee Podcast, Mark Richardson speaks with Bruce Cotterill about his passion for cricket, the teammates he loved playing with, the disappointment of being out for 99 and the relief of that first century scoring 115 just a few weeks later. And he’s refreshingly open about the highs and lows of that broadcasting career.  Behind the blokey persona is a man who takes every step as he did his batting, with careful preparation and just enough nervousness to keep him trying his very hardest to be his very best. It’s a seriousness of intent that he now channels to the task of guiding clients on their investment journey. Leaders Getting Coffee - Episode 61 with Bruce Cotterill and Mark Richardson, former Blackcap, Broadcaster and Investment Advisor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 60, our guest is The Right Honourable David Seymour, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and Leader of the Act Party. To many of us, it seems like David Seymour has been in the public eye for so long that we feel like we know him. And yet, as it turns out, we know very little. He grew up in a Whangarei family, with working parents and a personal ambition shaped partly by a mother who suffered from a disability. As a youngster he was exposed to business and voluntary work, all of which drove a unique work ethic and a passion for the freedoms his generation took for granted. He left the family home for life as a boarder at Auckland Grammar and soon he was at Auckland University studying for degrees in Engineering and Philosophy. He had to work his way through university to make ends meet and talks of forty hour weeks bookended by lectures and assignments. His early career focussed on engineering until the opportunity came to work for a Canadian think tank and a new career path was formed, one that would ultimately see him return to New Zealand, becoming an MP and Act party leader in 2014. On the Leaders Getting Coffee Podcast, David Seymour speaks with Bruce Cotterill about the loneliness of his early years as parliament’s sole Act MP and his focus on working with other politicians, many of whom were not natural bedfellows, to get his End of Life Choice Act passed into law as a result of a referendum in 2020. That led to him ushering in nine additional MP’s in 2020 and Act’s role in parliament has been secured as a result. David Seymour speaks proudly about taking on some of parliament’s tougher challenges, including charter schools, regulatory reform, and the treaty principles bill, as well as the End of Life legislation. This is a man who is passionate about personal freedoms and making New Zealand a better and more productive place for its people. And as one of parliament’s best communicators, he is very clear on some of the challenges ahead. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 59, our guest is Lisa King, the inspirational founder of Eat My Lunch and more recently alcohol free cocktail brand, Free AF. She was born in Hong Kong and moved to New Zealand at the age of two. Her hardworking parents instilled a passion for education and an enthusiasm for entrepreneurial flair. Lisa King didn’t waste that business oriented zest for life. A couple of university degrees provided her ticket to her dream jobs, in big corporate organisations that could show her the world. The New Zealand Daily Board sent her to the Philippines, Unilever took her to the UK and the arrival of her first child brought her home. Roles in the heart of FMCG business followed at Bluebird, Cadbury and eventually back to the newly named Fonterra. But a need to do something with purpose was stirring and, inspired by an advertisement for shoes – buy one get one free – she set up a school lunch programme that followed that same model. If sponsors would pay for a school lunch, her team would deliver that and another to students in need. It was called “Eat My Lunch” and it arrived at a time when some schools had 50 kids going without a midday meal. They prepared the lunches in her lounge at first, and at its peak her team were delivering 2,600 free lunches and the same number of paid ones, across 45 schools, every day.  With the arrival of the Government’s school lunch programme, her work there was done and another purpose was waiting. Lisa had decided to give up drinking alcohol, and was astounded by the social pressures and the awkward questions. She’d decided that the conversation around not drinking was broken. And so, in 2020, despite Covid and lockdowns and plenty of reasons not to, she assembled a team and created a brand, developed recipes, and launched Free AF, an alcohol free cocktail brand with a goal to reduce the alcohol in people’s lives without sacrificing the experience. On the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast Lisa King speaks to Bruce Cotterill about, not one, but two entrepreneurial journeys, the lessons she’s learned and the opportunities ahead. Free AF now features in more than 4,000 stores across the USA, including Whole Foods, Target and Walmart and she is very open about the hard work involved in getting established in a massive market, including the importance of keeping her team small and action orientated, jumping time zones and the funding challenges associated with order sizes you don’t expect. This is a case study in purpose from someone who is in the process of building a global brand. It’s a must listen for every aspiring entrepreneur. Spoiler alert… it’s a lot of hard work! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 58, our guest Sharon Zollner, Chief Economist at ANZ Bank. At a time when the economic recovery in New Zealand is threatened, yet again, by a major international shock, we thought it was worthwhile to host one of the Country’s leading economists on Leaders Getting Coffee. And we weren’t disappointed. This week’s guest is one of the most entertaining economists we could wish to speak to. A self-confessed geeky kid, and cricket tragic, Sharon Zollner grew up in rural Canterbury in a farming family near Methven. She excelled at school, particularly it seems in English and Mathematics, capabilities which influenced her decision to study English Literature and Economics. She left Canterbury University with a Masters in Commerce and majors in Economics and English Literature, and headed to the New Zealand Reserve Bank to start what has become an amazingly successful career. A stint with Norway’s central bank followed, where her work included developing a macro economic model for the Norwegian economy. Returning to New Zealand, her climb up the ranks of Bank Economists has been rapid and she speaks openly about becoming the Chief Economist at ANZ in 2017, just ahead of a change in government and prior to the disruption created by Covid 19. On the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast Sharon Zollner speaks to Bruce Cotterill about the current state of the New Zealand economy, which she suggests is more resilient that many of us might expect. She is also refreshingly open about the impacts of war in the Middle East and the associated panic around oil prices and supplies, and the likely stages that economies will go through as the conflict continues. As you might expect, Zollner reels off economic terms and statistics in an uncomplicated manner that is easy to understand and entertaining to listen to. Her lessons from Norway are interesting given the similarity of that economy to that of New Zealand, and the differing constraints that the two countries must operate within. Most importantly, she is positive about the current state of New Zealand, despite the obvious headwinds, and one wishes that her enthusiasm for our future should be contagious. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 57 part 2, we continue out chat with The Right Honourable Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand. Following on from last week, we get deeper into his past two years as Prime Minister, the recent India Free Trade Agreement, and whether he would work another term alongside coalition partners Winston Peters and David Seymour. There is no escaping Christopher Luxon’s aspiration for New Zealand nor his passion for the role that he now occupies. He’s driven by outcomes rather than slogans and that reflects in his attitude about the election campaign ahead. And if he could flick a switch, what’s the one thing he would like to change? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.