Hosted by New Zealand Business Women’s Network & Kea New Zealand.
Review by Rachael Frear

What an amazing night hearing from three of New Zealand’s greatest female success stories - chef Monica Galetti, London Bridge Hospital CEO Janene Madden and fashion designer Emilia Wickstead during this year’s International Women’s Day event to discuss the theme: Choose To Challenge.

My top highlights:
1. Kiwis have a phenomenal reputation in the UK for our “roll up your sleeves, get on with it attitude”
When I made the move from NZ to the UK, I had heard about the reputation of our Kiwi predecessors, speaking to our can-do attitude, work ethic and resilience. All these values shined throughout when hearing Monica, Janene and Emilia speak about their upbringing, careers and lives.

The panelists came from very different professions; however, all discussed this similar kiwi nature when facing challenges too, with Emilia explaining “we have that roll up your sleeves, get on with it attitude and I think that was something that was instilled in me from a very young age from my mum”. Throughout the event, you could feel the love and admiration Emilia has for her mum as one of her biggest inspirations and supporters.

Struggling to make herself understood at the mobile phone shop and stifled by the humidity on the walk there, Jodi Zervos found herself wondering if she’d made the right decision moving to Hong Kong a few years ago. “It was hard at the beginning. It takes time to get to know a place.” But her kiwi determination kicked in, she gave it time and eventually settled in.

Jodi has always had a sense of adventure. She moved to Cairns from Auckland when she was 18, where she discovered her passion for diving around the Great Barrier Reef. There, she also started her career in hospitality. It wasn’t what she’d planned, but she’s philosophical about the paths we end up on. “Everything in life is an opportunity put in front of us,” she says. “I always ask myself: Am I learning? Am I growing? And if it feels right, I follow it.”

So when bitten by the travel bug, she started a new adventure in the UK, travelling and exploring for a number of years. She also worked managing catering contracts for the British Museum and the Barbican.

Author: Kate Murphy 

“Listening is the neglected stepchild of communication.”

Have you ever been bored when someone is speaking to you and counted down the minutes until you could extract yourself? Turns out, part of the problem could be you, or at least your listening skills.

The author of this book, journalist Kate Murphy, shared many examples of how she, and others, have uncovered some wonderful stories or resolved issues that wouldn’t have happened if they hadn’t listened well. Murphy suggests we can uncover more interesting stories and information if we give the speaker time to talk, stay curious and ask them questions that delve further into what they’ve already shared.