Top CEOs highly rate Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s performance at keeping his Cabinet Ministers focused on delivery.
Respondents to the NZ Herald’s 2024 Mood of the Boardroom survey gave Luxon an average rating of 4.3/5 on his top-ranked performance indicator (KPI).
This was on a 1-5 scale where 1= “not impressive” and 5=”very impressive”. Some 43% of respondents marked him at 5/5 on this measure.
Read more from the Herald’s 2024 Mood of the Boardroom series
A former CEO himself at Air New Zealand, Luxon has introduced a corporate-style management ethos into his Cabinet. Each Minister has agreed KPIs and regular performance reviews with Luxon to ensure their delivery on promises is up to scratch. Every 100 days a new list of deliverables is made public.
Says Windfarms NZ’s Craig Stobo: “Christopher has managed the Coalition well and has got his ministers on tight delivery programmes. His focus on solutions to the cost of living and economic growth are appropriate priorities”.
A leading investment firm boss chimes in: “He hired a great Cabinet, the economy is growing and they have been credible on the world stage again. There needs to be a continuation of current policies which are seeing the US move to lower inflation and growth.
“It feels like there’s good rapport with the business community,” says Silvana Schenone, managing director and co-head of investment banking at Jarden. “But I’m not sure about “winning people’s hearts” in many sectors - which matters in politics!”
This sentiment is reflected in the 3.38/5 rating CEOs give Luxon on his own political performance as Prime Minister. Just 7% rated him as “very impressive” on this KPI. This was the lowest-ranked of the nine KPIs rated by survey respondents.
Luxon admits he has yet to reach his full development on the political side and still has much to learn. His has been a swift rise to power. He entered Parliament at the 2020 election as the MP for Botany, becoming National’s leader a year later.
He then melded a fractious National caucus into a unified group before becoming Prime Minister in late 2023 - just a mere three years after entering politics.
An energy CEO says Luxon has done well on forming the Coalition . “He’s well-focused on the international aspect of job, however, leadership legacy is about the connection and impact inside the borders. Work to do.”
The Prime Minister’s performance on leveraging his own personal brand for New Zealand was rated at 3.91/5. He has led three major missions offshore this year to Southeast Asia, Japan, and Malaysia/South Korea, with a focus on forging stronger security partnerships, developing business and luring investment.
Morrison CEO Paul Newfield took part, joining Luxon in talks with high-profile investors.
“I joined the PM on his visits to Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Japan and South Korea,” says Newfield. “We are now developing renewable energy projects in every one of those markets.
“We’re also building relationships with institutional investors in those markets who are interested in investing in New Zealand’s infrastructure. It’s really powerful to be engaging internationally alongside the PM and the New Zealand Government, particularly in Asian markets where governments play a more active role in economies.
“It’s now on us to invest our time and resources to turn those connections into results for our shareholders and New Zealand”.
Newfield suggests Luxon is in his element, saying investors “love the fact the Prime Minister comes and that he’s open and genuinely asking them for advice and input.
“They now need a really clear pipeline of investable opportunities of scale. They need us to do that work and build a relationship of trust so that when the opportunities come, they will be there.”
“This is a difficult environment to be a leader,” says Deloitte chair Thomas Pippos. “It will be important to be able to evidence tangible wins by the next election - accepting that this is an environment inherited not created.”
Says an energy boss: “Work in progress, objectives and 90-day plans are fine and deal with the hygiene aspects of government. But 90 plans need to evolve. Leadership is about transformational journeys.”
Kevin Obern from OfficeMax says Luxon had made a good start. “He now needs to hold the Coalition together and accountable and deliver a plan we can all believe in.”
However, a senior chair warned there is a risk that in a weak economy where New Zealanders are struggling that all politicians succumb to political expediency.
Though Luxon is rated relatively highly for building confidence with business at 3.76/5, there are niggles.
A key lobbying firm head says Luxon’s style isn’t warm, like that of a John Key or Jacinda Ardern.
Luxon freely admits that’s not his forte. But recent polls show New Zealanders are warming towards him.
That said, several CEOs were concerned about the tone from the top.
“Still stuck in negative election mode and seems to have forgotten who the Opposition is,” says a CEO with insight into the replacement of the KiwiRail and HealthNZ boards. “It’s not the New Zealand public and it’s not New Zealand business.”
“His leadership style is diminishing of others. It does not inspire confidence and a positive dynamic,” said a trade-related CEO.
There were other grumbles about a focus on box-ticking KPIs and not enough on the big picture.
“The Government needs to maintain a focus on the policies that will drive NZ’s long-term success and not get dragged into small-minded and divisive issues,” says a finance sector boss. “Luxon is better than that.”
CEOs ranked the Government’s performance in key areas. Topping the list was the maintenance of strong international relationships at an average 3.96/5 where 19% of respondents said performance was “very impressive”.
Other rankings include: Maintenance of tight fiscal settings (3.77/5); execution and delivery of policies (3.62/5); formation of foreign, defence and security partnerships (3.59/5); progress on international trade agreements (3.48/5); consultation with business (3.34/5); economic transformation (3.15/5), regional development (3.02/5), addressing transport constraints (3.03/5); addressing climate change challenges (2.39/5) and supporting Māori and Pasifika aspirations (2.29/5).
Says Stobo, “The Coalition continues to deliver ‘The Great Unwind’ of atrocious policy settings of the last Government. Moving from uniform expenditure cuts to better government programme design and delivery is where the opportunities lie.”
Many business leaders rate the Opposition Finance Spokesperson highly.