Kiwibank board chairman Jon Hartley. Photo / Kiwibank
Jon Hartley was in his 50s when he had a realisation.
The Kiwi businessman had until that point enjoyed a distinguished corporate career driven by what he describes as the Milton Friedman philosophy, that “the purpose of business is profit”.
But just before the turn of the millennium, Hartley – who has served as a director of the likes of Ngāi Tahu Holdings, Chorus, Mercury Energy, Air NZ and SkyCity; and as chair of ASB Bank, Kiwibank, and Kaingaroa Timberlands – had a mindset shift.
“From late ‘99, I became self-employed, which morphed into a far greater sense that there is more to life than the corporate world. That was the threshold change,” he told Newstalk ZB’s Real Life with John Cowan on Sunday night.
“I went through a period of disillusionment with that corporate world, predominantly triggered by an incident where I encountered lying in the boardroom which I knew was lying, and it just shook me.
“And then I started to work through in my own mind, who did I want to be around? What sort of organisations did I want to be involved with? And, most importantly, a faith started to emerge.”
The re-emergence of his Christian faith, which by his own admission had laid dormant for many years, would ultimately lead Hartley to make big changes to how he operated in his career.
He became more selective with the organisations he served on the board of, effectively “gave away” two days of work a week to focus on causes that matter, and later, opted to join the Anglican priesthood.
Hartley told Real Life it was a combination of his wife Chris’ strong faith, and searching conversations with a vicar friend, that led him to start asking the big questions about life.
“[This friend] introduced me to having conversations about faith without trying to persuade me about what I should do,” he said.
“It was really introducing you to the idea that there’s more – a mystery, a bigger transcendent component in life that we’re invited into if we choose to be walking that path.
“I naively thought that, having given my life to Jesus, that was a hard decision. Actually, that was what led to all the hard decisions, because that then causes you to recalibrate all that’s going on in your world.”
Hartley was inspired by Bob Buford, a US entrepreneur who was compelled by his faith to pivot from a life of pursuing profits to one where he could use his considerable business acumen for good.
It was the final push Hartley needed to change course.
“I literally stopped working for money for two days a week and gave those two days a week away,” he told Cowan.
“I didn’t know where they were going to go, and that’s when I found myself invited into the City Mission in Wellington where I spent 15 years, the last six as chair. Then World Vision involved me in their economic development [and] microfinance, using commercial skills for social purposes.
“That broadened my outlook in terms of outworking my faith, which was to use the skills that I had from the first 50-odd years of my life in ways which expanded me into touching the lives of people.”
This work saw Hartley recently awarded the Queen’s Service Order, in recognition of his decision to volunteer his skills in business, strategy governance, leadership development and transformative change management in the service of those living in poverty locally and internationally.
Hartley is now retired, but continues in his roles as chair of Kiwibank and director of Ngāi Tahu Holdings, two organisations he says are “systemically important” to New Zealand.
He is also an Anglican reverend, a position that came about upon the recommendation of the Bishop of Wellington, who had noticed work he had been doing helping Christian leaders remain true to their faith in whatever sphere of influence they found themselves in.
“It’s a discernment process, it’s not a recruitment process,” Hartley says of the path to priesthood. “One thing led to the other – and I have to say, I was only persuaded that it was the right thing for me after it happened, when I took my first communion.”
Hartley told Cowan the role has opened doors for him to be able to help people in a new way.
“It invites questions, certainly, but I’m much more about doing things than trying to explain things, and so, certainly in places like World Vision, it’s been instrumental in helping grow my faith – but also helping others grow their faith,” he said.
“I find myself now drawn into places like the Wellington Cathedral, where I help run services and I preach, and that is [about] connecting and bringing the real world into the church.”
Hartley says the boards he’s appointed to understand who he is and what he stands for, and that, “as a consequence, you get the whole package.”
“There will be times where you will ask questions which may seem strange to others, but you know why you’re asking them or you’re making observations. But at the core of the gospel are principles which it’s really hard to argue against in the way people live,” he told Real Life.
“I recently spoke at the cathedral and lamented the way we now speak of peace as an absence of war rather than a way of living. Those are the sort of insights which I personally feel I need to and should offer to share, to try and move people a little bit away from our neo-liberal world.”
Despite the perception the church and the boardroom are worlds apart, Hartley says he doesn’t live a compartmentalised life, instead allowing the purpose and values of all he’s involved in “seep across” into other places.
“It’s interesting how many times that seepage actually leads to a much richer set of engagements and relationships around boardroom tables or on a field visit or within the church,” he says.
“Bringing the real world into the church – as well as bringing the church or the gospel into the real world – is part of the challenge I try and set myself.”
Real Life is a weekly interview show where John Cowan speaks with prominent guests about their life, upbringing, and the way they see the world. Tune in Sundays from 7.30pm on Newstalk ZB or listen to the latest full interview here.
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