Air NZ wants Kiwi businesspeople to think about what New York - and the wider US - has to offer. Photo / NYC & Co
OPINION:
Take a bunch of CEOs to New York. Put them in front of four stellar thought leaders and two outstanding US CEOs. Then ask them to distil their lessons into actionable insights and focus on opportunities for New Zealand.
The upshot of the Air New Zealand business mission to New York, led on the ground by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Grant Robertson, was that the chief executives reckoned New Zealand should refocus on building an innovative knowledge economy, the development of an NZ Inc public/private collaboration focused on bold goals or "moonshots", and a much deeper value-added export economy.
There was a sense that the United States — indeed, even the world — may be at an inflection point but with no clear line yet on what that new world order might entail.
There was a lot to distil from just two and a half days on the ground in New York. But as the saying goes: "pressure makes a diamond", and there was more thinking and ideas developed than mere soundbites.
If some of this sounds familiar, it is. Some 21 years ago the University of Auckland hosted the Catching the Knowledge Wave conference.
A great deal of that summit's recommendations are probably lost in the annals of amnesia. But the New Zealand high-tech sector has grown markedly in the two decades since that seminal conference, as shown in the annual TIN report, which takes the pulse of the local tech sector. It needs to go far, far further if this country is ever to build a high-wage economy and the United States is a key market.
The mission was the brainchild of airline chair Dame Therese Walsh, who wanted to show business leaders what they had been missing out on as people started "reconnecting to the world again" and to stimulate thoughts on how New Zealand businesses can take advantage of the opportunities New York and the broader US economy present to them and to NZ Inc.
Walsh, chief executive Greg Foran and Robertson assembled the thought leaders and businesspeople. Among them were Amazon director and former Pepsico chief executive Indra Nooyi, who arrived with her own game plan to entice New Zealand to "get its swagger back". And there was Sean Marks — the Kiwi who runs the Brooklyn Nets basketball team — who introduced the group to one of his team mottos: "disagree and unite".
The four thought leaders included Brunswick Group's Andrew Browne, a Pulitzer Prize-winning former journalist who previously headed the Wall St Journal in China and subsequently was editorial director of Bloomberg's New Economy Forum; Randy Komisar, from Kleiner Perkins, who works with Kiwi entrepreneurs to achieve a vision of an innovation hub in Aoteaora; Karen Harris, from the macro trends group at Bain & Company; and Kirsty Graham, from Edelman.
Clearly, Walsh and Foran wanted to showcase the recently launched direct flight from Auckland to New York to key movers and shakers in the New Zealand business community, including key corporate clients. Some 20 CEOs and a few company chairs joined the group.
Typically, New Zealand business missions when they go offshore look directly at what is happening in the market, examine consumer trends, pay visits to Kiwi companies there and, if a prime minister is leading the mission, get them to open doors.
This mission was based on ideas.
It's fair to say most mission members found the United States in a fragile and somewhat despondent place.
The trade war that Donald Trump launched between the US and China has entered a new phase.
Joe Biden has doubled down and signed a bipartisan bill that aims to strengthen US competitiveness with China by investing US$52 billion in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and science research. There is also a ban on American companies selling advanced semiconductors to China, including restrictions on US citizens and residents working for chip plants in China.
United States companies are not pulling out of China en masse, but tensions have sharpened.
There were elements of a Cold War mentality which percolated discussions over the Ukraine conflict and the resultant energy crisis in Europe which has led to a resurgence in the use of fossil fuels.
Toss into that rich cauldron a looming recession in the United States, as the Federal Reserve endeavours to tame inflation via higher interest rates, which is having spillover effects on our economy via the high US dollar.
There is diminishing cohesion and erosion of trust in institutions, including government and media as outlined by Edelman — which is also replicated in the associated New Zealand trust monitor published here each year.
The upshot is that the role of the CEO has also broadened; through the Covid years they have come to be seen as the social leader of their business as well as the enterprise's leader.
The chief executives came away from the briefings with a renewed sense of the importance of people leadership: values-based, authentic and teams-focused.
New Zealanders' own value set, combined with the power of Te Ao Māori, gives a point of difference.
NZ Trade & Enterprise chief executive Peter Chrisp summarised the takeouts from a debriefing session. "There is a strong commitment to build a New Zealand Inc agenda for change that delivers an innovative inclusive knowledge economy that is capable of connecting in the world through high-value/high-tech sustainable products and services.
"This aspiration is underpinned by a strong conviction about the values-based authenticity of the New Zealand brand, and the opportunities of working with Māori.
"As leaders we want to be values- and purpose-led, with a conviction for people and culture, and understanding our broader commitments beyond our own enterprise."
Chrisp contends that the New Zealand brand is still strong despite the lack of connection during the Covid lockdown era. There were suggestions that New Zealand could leverage that brand and position itself as an honest broker during this troublesome era.
The Air New Zealand board was present in New York.
Apart from Walsh and Foran, who flew on the direct flight, the other directors took the opportunity to check in on the airline's North American ports where some of their flights have just recently restarted.
Mission members were also hosted at the apartment owned by Craig and Kirsten Nevill-Manning at an event organised by NZTE and Kea.
It was a clear illustration of the power of a Kiwi diaspora which remains committed to helping their countrymen and women.
I hadn't done a long-haul flight since February 2020, when I arrived back home on a direct flight from Houston. I didn't experience any jet lag after coming back on that Houston flight nor following the New York journey. But I did going the other way — a reminder to be better rested ahead of departure. But the flights were smooth, the service was great, and I slept well.
But one of the biggest benefits to me of going to New York (and then down to Washington DC) was psychological.
After more than two years constrained to living on the Kiwi archipelago, it was a sheer delight to once again embrace the world, no matter the difficulties out there.
The opportunities for a smart country remain immense.
• Fran O’Sullivan was a guest of Air New Zealand on the direct flight to New York.
Group invested billions in new aircraft, infrastructure and technology.