Waikato Business News March/April 2017

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20 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS March/April 2017 REMARKABLE WOMEN IN BUSINESS Leaders in Law - bringing to the partnership table With the appointment last October of Glenda Graham to the Norris Ward McKinnon partnership she almost equalised the gender status in the firm’s partner team. Four out of the nine current NWM partners are women. The other women partners are Gillian Spry, Barbara McDermott and Jo Naidoo. For any law firm this is unique; and for this Hamilton based law firm it demonstrates forward-thinking. These women all agree, diversity within business is key, it brings different viewpoints and problem solving strategies to the table, improving business performance. From left to right: Jo Naidoo, Barbara McDermott, Glenda Graham, Gillian Spry This is significant for law firm leadership, when there have been recent concerns about the imbalance between the numbers of men and women holding senior positions in law firms in New Zealand. NWM is proud of these remarkable women and the input they have to the firm’s success in the Greater Waikato. It sends a strong signal to other female lawyers in the firm, that success is merit based, and partnership a real prospect for both men and women. Gillian joined the partnership in 2007. She is part of NWM’s Family Disputes team and has expertise in trust and estate litigation. Barbara became a partner of the firm in 2009 after a merger between NWM and Huntly firm McDermott & McIntosh. Prior to that Barbara had been a partner at McDermott & McIntosh for 9 years where she built up a practice in commercial and rural business. Glenda leads the Trusts and Estates team, and Jo works in Family Disputes with a particular interest in relationship property. All four women attribute their success to a combination of hard work, being experts in their relevant areas of law, and not being afraid to accept challenges. As a group all of them feel they would not have become partners without taking advantage of opportunities as they were presented, as well as creating their own opportunities. Their success is a direct result of hard work and continuous improvement of not only their legal skills, but their leadership skills. All four women are mothers and believe one of the biggest challenges in their career path has been the juggle of balancing work with raising children and spending time with family. Their own organisational skills, along with flexible work practices at NWM, have allowed them to achieve in all areas of their lives. All female employees of NWM are encouraged to be directly involved in how the firm makes decisions that impact them, and to be the best version of themselves in their roles. Norris Ward McKinnon House 711 Victoria Street, Hamilton 3204 Hakanoa House 172-4 Main Street, Huntly 3700 (Huntly, open Monday only or by appointment) Private Bag 3098 Waikato Mail Centre Hamilton 3240 DX GP20022 Ph: 07 260 0909 Fax: 07 834 6100 Judith’s inspirational journey to good health and success Multi-award winner Judith Scott’s story begins at the end of 2009 when times became really tough for her after a marriage breakdown and much financial stress. “I training company and loved was a business consultant for a well known global my job very much and needed to find a way to make some additional income,” she says. Judith’s friend Donna could see that an online wellness green shopping club that she loved using could help financially and she asked a couple of close friends to show it to Judith. “Of course at first I was sceptical,” recalls Judith. “However I was very open to having a look at an information session. Once I saw the information, it sat nicely with my heart and I knew, I couldn’t hurt anyone, all it was was helping families, I became interested.” “All I had to do was help families open their shopping accounts. I didn’t have to sell anything, take orders, collect money and I got paid to help others.” “I was so glad I was open to looking,” she says. “What I loved about it was the ethics around the business model, the kind things that the company did. I really loved that the mission statement was about enhancing lives. I have always believed in give and you get”. So Judith got to work helping people through the company and six months later was rewarded when she received three awards at a big event in Australia. “Many people were sharing their incredible health stories from using the products and everyone was loving it. Those people are still here shopping today and won’t go back to unsafe products. Little did I know back then, that in three years I would become debt free and be able to move on from those hard times”. Judith has always been passionate about protecting children. She is a mother of two and a young nanna of four grandchildren. Early on in Judith’s journey she learned that so many children are seriously hurt and even hospitalised through taking unsafe products. She saw that protecting the environment was also vital. She could see that it was a business about changing lives as so many people were going green, shopping online and wanting to work from home. Judith always wanted to be a nurse but couldn’t. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was just three and was in a car accident when she was 11. Consequently, Judith has struggled to walk long distance most of her life. “Because of our wonderful natural wellness products, I’ve been able to work my own hours, rest when I want, and have been able to travel extensively learning lots as I go, so I can share the knowledge in New Zealand. “I’m in the best health ever and I just want to help more and more”. Since 2009 Judith has earned many Australasian awards. One of her favourites is the Enhancing Lives Award 2015. Judith’s other passion is connecting local SMEs and she is the founder of the fortnightly networking group Business 2 Business Waikato, where gold coin donations this year are being raised for child cancer. To learn more and/or be invited to one of Judith’s weekly wellness events email safeandgreennz@gmail.com or contact Judith 0272 302 402. Safe and Green NZ Judith Scott Senior Director 027 230 2402 safeandgreennz@gmail.com
REMARKABLE WOMEN IN BUSINESS Goldsmith Gallery Jewellers - The Jewellers you can trust Michelle Licht, Goldsmiths Gallery Michelle Licht’s eyes sparkle like diamonds when she discusses the ‘art of jewellery’ and how this is a core ingredient in the awardwinning business she and husband Anthony began almost 20 years ago. Growing from one store in Hamilton’s CBD with Anthony as the design jeweller, to opening another store in Chartwell Shopping Centre, with four experienced, keen manufacturing jewellers on the bench, has ensured that Michelle’s role has grown too. While Anthony and his team handle the creative side, Michelle is the one that takes clients through the steps of firstly considering designing or remodelling their jewellery to the point where they are happy to proceed with the manufacturing process. “This can be an emotional process for the client and I as Goldsmiths Gallery Jewellers 441 Victoria Street, Hamilton 07 838 3418 Shop 130a Chartwell Shopping Centre 07 852 5341 www.goldsmithsgallery.co.nz together we see an exquisite piece emerge through the CAD design skills of Anthony,” said Michelle. This holder of arts and law degrees is also responsible for the majority of stock purchasing, paperwork and bookwork within the company as well as developing customer relationships and constantly working on superior customer service. On top of all this Michelle still finds the time to be very involved with her children, Joseph and Jessica, and their education. She has skilfully maintained a home and work balance while retaining the ability to add value to the multiple layers of their business. Essential to this is her wonderful team. “Our stores have become destination points for people interested in buying ready-made items from our exciting ranges. These now include the stunning Candid range, a percentage of sales from which goes to support Canteen,” she said. “We strongly believe in giving back to the community that supports us so we channel donations to the Cancer Society, Hospice, Westpac Rescue Helicopter Trust, to mention a few.” To show support for Hamilton Boys’ High School, where son Joseph attends, expert designer-dad Anthony has designed a custom-made rowing range. This is clearly a store which has been built through outstanding service and reputation. No wonder their tag line is Exquisite Jewellery by Expert Craftsmen. WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS March/April 2017 21 Education consultant’s international reputation grows Jenny Bell - Jenny Bell Oranga When education consultant Jenny Bell was approached by a Finnish social work student for an internship it proved she had international reputation. Jenny established Rototuna-based Jenny Bell Oranga just over three years ago. Jenny Bell Oranga empowers adults, teens and children to be resilient by managing the stresses of everyday life, including anxiety and depression. This is done through offering a range of evidenced-based social and emotional resilience programs. The FRIENDS social and emotional resilience children, youth and adult programmes are one of the programmes offered, these were endorsed by the World Health Organisation in 2004. Jenny described the term four 2016 internship of the Finnish student who had run FRIENDS programmes in Finland as “one of the cool things last year”. “I thought it was really good that someone from the other side of the world would want to come and see what we do in Hamilton,” Jenny said. In Finland the FRIENDS programmes are only run in schools, so the intern was interested to see how it works in private practice when parents are involved. “We work closely with parents,” Jenny said. “We also offer Triple P – positive parenting programmes for parents of primary aged children and teens.” “There are lots of parenting programmes, run in large groups, but our point of difference is that we run our courses one to one with www.jennybell.co.nz Email: jenny@jennybell.co.nz Phone: 027 245 2749 the parents.” It also means parent get advice tailored to their family situation, rather than generic advice that fits a range of situations. Parents don’t have to rearrange their lives to attend group programmes at the same time every week, rather Jenny can arrange to meet parents where and when it works for them. “I am passionate about making a positive difference in the lives of kids and their families. Our programmes make a difference and give them back some joy in their lives.” One of her recent clients was a 15-yeargirl who felt extremely anxious every time her mother dropped her off at school. “She was worried something would happen to her mother and every time she was dropped off she would have a panic attack,” Jenny said. After working with the teen and her family, the parents sent a card with the following, “Thank you so much for your help with ‘Sally’, honestly she is a different kid and it's a delight to see her happy and the old ‘Sally’ that we love dearly”. Team culture key to flourishing accountancy business There are five remarkable women sitting around a table at Accounted4 in Cambridge. They’re here to talk about their particular skills and talents but the first remarkable thing is that they’re just as quick to mention each other’s successes as they are their own. There is goodwill, energy and a wealth of professional ability in the room. The women are all members of Accounted4’s leadership team. There is Christine Stevenson, the firm’s business manager; Anne Bland, who manages the support services and client payroll teams; Kim Antonio, an associate; and Katie Jones and Lea de Rooy, both senior accounting managers. Accounted4 is Cambridge’s biggest From left to right; Anne Bland, Christine Stevenson, Kim Antonio, Lea de Rooy, Katie Jones chartered accountancy practice, it’s been in business for more than 60 years, and it’s clearly a company where women flourish because they currently outnumber men 2-1 on a staff of 32. As they share this statistic, the women at the table note that all colleagues – male and female – are valued at Accounted4. In 2014, the firm won the prestigious Excellence in Large Business and Customer Service awards at the Waipa Networks Business Awards, and the previous year there had been huge pride in the achievement of Christine Stevenson taking home the Waipa Emerging Business Leader title. Anne, Kim, Katie and Lea say that Christine – who joined the firm seven years ago - has been the key to success in the awards, and in the development of the strong team ethic at Accounted4. Anne says she loves working with Christine, and the leadership team: “There has been a real culture shift since Christine joined, she has driven the firm to what it is today. A lot has changed.” Christine is described by her colleagues as an excellent communicator, as being inclusive, a valuable mentor, and that she supports staff unreservedly in their professional and leadership development. Christine says, in modest response: “I like to empower others to achieve, I want people to achieve their goals.” Kim says she truly values having senior staffers like Christine and Anne as a sounding board: “I don’t know if I would have been able to move up (to associate) without this support.” Lea says the team culture allows her to bring together her full range of capabilities and interests, including her creative side. “The practice appreciates my skills and brings them out. They look at the whole person.” The women also talk about the familyfriendly atmosphere, flexible hours, the emphasis on healthy work-life balance, and strong support for study. They also enjoy their wider community involvement through Accounted4’s Chamber of Commerce connections, and through various personal interests. There is much pleasure around the table about Katie Jones’s recent academic success. Katie is studying to become a chartered accountant. She has already completed a Bachelor of Applied Management through Wintec and at her graduation ceremony this month she received two special awards: top accounting student for her year, and the coveted A W Gallagher Supreme Award for Graduating Business Degree Student. Her research project was on work-life balance, based on the model at Accounted4. Says Anne, as she cheers Katie’s good news: “We celebrate each other’s achievements.” To quote Accounted4’s catchphrase (devised by the creative Lea de Rooy): “It’s not just about the numbers.” 30 Duke Street (opposite the Fire Station), Cambridge 3434, New Zealand PO Box 510, Cambridge 3450, New Zealand admin@accounted4.co.nz Ph: +64 (07) 827 5192 | Fax:+64 (07) 827 3495 www.accounted4.co.nz
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Waikato Business News March/April 2017

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