Kara Brown knows what it takes to make it at Fletcher Building and she is passionate about helping others harness the power of a good opportunity.
As Leadership Development Manager, Kara has helped thousands of people from all around the world to train and grow in their careers at Fletcher Building. With 19,000 people working in 25 business units in 45 countries, Fletcher Building is a building materials manufacturer, distributor and construction company.
"It was the geographic spread of Fletcher Building and its size and scope that first attracted me to the company. I love being part of a team that helps grow great people globally and it's the people we work with who make my job so rewarding."
Kara has worked with Fletcher Building for almost three years and it's been a whirlwind time of achievement that's seen her team deliver training and education programmes to thousands of employees and leadership programmes to 1,500 people. Along the way the Organisational Development team has won awards in Europe, the US and New Zealand recognising the quality of the programmes put in place.
Her next learning opportunity will see her create a network of Maori employees who want to become leaders, creating programmes and other initiatives to help them develop and grow into management roles.
"As a Maori this programme means a lot to me. I was awarded a couple of scholarships at high school that supported me going to University so I know the value of a good opportunity. I see this as one way to give others a similar chance."
Kara (Tuhoe, Ngati Puhi and Waikato) says she is proud to work for a company actively working to become more diverse.
Fletcher Building has a Diversity Council that is chaired by CEO Mark Adamson and a clear strategy to develop diverse talent. Women in leadership has been a focus for the past three years and in that time there has been a 73% increase in female leaders at general manager level. In late 2015,
Fletcher Building received Rainbow Tick certification which recognised its role as an inclusive employer of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex employees.
What's more, as a mother two Kara feels fortunate she's been able to access the FB Employee Education Fund to help subsidise tuition costs for her children. All permanent Fletcher Building employees in Australia, NZ and the South Pacific qualify for the Employee Education fund. The scheme's objective is to enhance the lives of employees through providing funds for education and training that they otherwise may not be able to access.
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