Talking Heads- The Norman conquestsof global technology

Phil Norman

Executive chairman, Strathmore Group

Age: 52


What makes your day at work?


I like the variety _ no two days are the same in our business. I enjoy working with a lot of very interesting people, particularly in our investee companies. And I do like seeing deals successfully concluded.

How did you get where you are today?


I came up through the IT industry. I am quite entrepreneurial and have been involved in developing a lot of businesses over the years, both locally and internationally.

This experience is highly relevant today, when I spend most of my time working with young technology companies wanting to grow rapidly.

I think I have a capacity to identify opportunities and to determine how best to pursue them, and perhaps then how one should be executing a strategy to capture that opportunity. There's a certain instinct, and it also comes with experience.

What was the most important lesson you learned on your way up?


I have learned to trust my own judgment and have the self-confidence to pursue opportunities that I believed in. I think that I try to assess opportunities in a pretty logical way.

I believe it's important to do the research and analysis, but then when you've done that, make a decision and have the self-belief in your own assessment of that opportunity to go after it.

How have you dealt with the pitfalls in your career?


By accepting that you will make mistakes in business and that circumstances will not always turn out as you had expected. In difficult times you have to face up to the tough decisions, make them, and move on without spending time worrying about what might have been.

Particularly in fast-moving business like technology, things won't always turn out as you think they might, but you've got to move on.

What advice would you give to a young person starting out on a business career?


Two things. First, I would say get as well qualified as you can. The business environment is complex and increasingly international, and young people need to equip themselves to compete in this environment with the best education that they can get.Second, be prepared to work hard to achieve success.

What's your biggest challenge in the present economy?


Strathmore is a publicly listed venture capital firm which invests in New Zealand and Australian technology companies.

All investee companies are in high-growth mode and looking to establish operations offshore where the markets are so much bigger.

The key challenge in doing this is finding enough talented managers to drive these companies to achieve their potential and unlock the value in their technology.

What one thing would you have done differently?


In the early 1980s I sold a company that had the New Zealand distribution rights for Microsoft products.With the benefit of hindsight, I sold out too early as Microsoft has of course gone on to be the most successful software company on the planet.

What ambitions do you have?


We are New Zealand's most successful technology venture capital firm with eight strategic investments to date.

This includes our shareholding in Silicon Valley venture catalyst, Double Impact, Inc.

As a result we are an integral part of their substantial global network centred in the heart of the North American venture services market.

This gives Strathmore the ability to leverage an international resource base, further assisting our investee companies to grow the global potential of their products. I am now a member of the board of Double Impact.

Over the next three years I want to lead the team that makes Strathmore the most successful technology venture capital firm in the Asia Pacific region.