There are too many white men on the boards of major private sector companies. Photo / Getty Images
There are too many white men on the boards of major private sector companies. Photo / Getty Images
Winston Aldworth says the national carrier should lead on leadership.
Air New Zealand's next boss should not be a white man.
White men make up about 37 per cent of New Zealand's population, but we've contributed 100 per cent of chief executives to the national carrier throughout its history.
Whitemen dominate chief executive roles throughout the NZX and they occupy way too many seats on the boards of New Zealand's major private sector companies. As Herald Money Editor Tamsyn Parker reported, there are 27 listed companies in New Zealand with no women on the board. Overall, women make up just 22 per cent of directors on our stock exchange.
And don't expect to see many brown or Asian faces at those board meetings.
Of course our chief executives are going to tend to be white men: the people doing the hiring are white men.
If you think that's a fair reflection of talent and that senior appointments are being made strictly on merit then you're a few decades behind the game.
When you're selecting your leaders from a limited talent pool, you're limiting the prospects for your organisation. Extrapolate that across the country's economy and our nation's financial health is being led by a weaker group of executives.
Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon. Photo / Greg Bowker
Which is not to suggest that Christopher Luxon has been anything other than a success as chief executive of Air New Zealand. But his departure from the flight deck means the national carrier has a great opportunity to divert on an exciting new course. The board should put the need for diversity at the top of their thinking in finding their new captain.
Luxon knows it. In his final appearance at the annual meeting of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) just a few weeks ago, Luxon may have cleared the runway for someone other than a white dude, as his airline won an award for "leading the way for diversity and inclusion in the aviation industry".
"The big elephant in the room if we want to be honest with ourselves is that Iata and the global aviation industry has an abysmal record on diversity and inclusion," he said.
Luxon would have known when he said those words that he would shortly be following the exit lights. He doesn't get to name his successor but he's sent the board a worthy signal.
Air New Zealand often gets an easy ride on the "warm, fuzzy" stuff. They're acknowledged as sustainability leaders in the aviation industry - all while still burning fossil fuels to fly people to Disneyland. Their position on employment diversity is admirable and they were ahead of their time on connecting with LGBTQI+ staff, customers and communities.
Good on them.
The airline even got some warm fuzzies last week by accepting that it would be okay for cabin crew to have visible tattoos. This is a small gesture for a Pacific-based airline whose planes are pretty much tattooed, and brings the airline in line not so much with 21st-century New Zealand social mores as ones that have been in place since the 13th century.
So it's easy for Air New Zealand to get good press. With this next major appointment the Air New Zealand board can show real substance and a real desire for the company's leadership and direction to be more in line with modern New Zealand society.
The board and the staff of our national carrier are proud to be the pin-up success story of New Zealand Inc. A company that the average Kiwi on the street can be proud to look up to. Now it's time for them to be led by someone who looks more like that average Kiwi.
