Students Erin Carr and Matt Anderson interviewed Rodney Walshe, Chairman of Tourism Auckland:

Biography

• Chairman of Tourism Auckland
• Chairman of Southern Travel Holdings
• Director of NZ Experience
• Previously worked for General Motors NZ
• Previously worked for Fletchers Conglomerate

Past

Rodney began his life in Dublin, Ireland and, although he is a great supporter of the All Blacks, is still proud that he retains the accent to this day. He attended Trinity College where he obtained a Bachelor of Commerce (B-Com) and Diploma in Public Administration (DPA). After his formal education Rodney, along with his family, decided to move to the other side of the globe and build a life in New Zealand.

He began working for first GM New Zealand and then the Fletchers Conglomerate. He then became part of, and subsequently bought, Stars Travel. This was where Rodney had his first experiences with the tourism industry in New Zealand. From there Rodney has moved from strength to strength, becoming Chairman of Southern Travel Holdings, Chairman of Tourism Auckland and finally a major shareholder and director of Rainbows End Theme Park in Auckland.

Future

As a leader in the New Zealand Tourism Industry, Rodney has strong beliefs about the importance of tourism and its place in New Zealand’s export industry. He sees maintaining and increasing tourism in Auckland as an issue around building infrastructure capable of managing the number of potential tourists in the future. Included in this vision is the establishment of a large Auckland conference centre for meetings and a rail link between the airport and inner city. This kind of growth will allow Auckland to hold future events on the scale of the Rugby World Cup. Events such as the Louis Vuitton fashion show and other corporate meetings could have huge potential for Auckland tourism in the future.

Leadership

Rodney believes that there are different styles of leadership. There are those that get groups to follow them based upon respect or power. These people base leadership upon a ‘hands on- follow me’ principle. Rodney, however, sees himself as more of a disciple of the second type of leadership. This type sees the bigger picture of an issue and brings people onboard so that they can join in the quest to the mutual goal. He also stresses the difference between knowledge and awareness. For him knowledge is the base facts but awareness is the ability to apply those facts in a meaningful way which a leader has to be able to do.

Quotes

“If every mistake you make is a new one then- cheer up! You’re making progress”