01-07-2025
- Business
- Otago Daily Times
Candidates for Ravensdown board sought
North Otago farmer and Ravensdown board director Kate Faulks is encouraging people to stand in the upcoming director elections. Photo: supplied
North Otago farmer Kate Faulks reflects on her path to the Ravensdown board as a call is put out for the upcoming director elections.
Mrs Faulks farms 620ha in North Otago with her husband Adam, rearing and finishing 500 dairy-beef and grazing 1400 dairy stock. She is also Ravensdown's most recently elected director.
She was elected to the Ravensdown board in September last year, after winning the South Island director election.
In a statement, Mrs Faulks said she was intentional in her preparation for a role on the board but being open to opportunities and unrestricted by a prescribed path helped her to achieve her governance goals.
"As well as developing my business acumen and governance capability, I spent time talking to other directors and people in the industry.
''For the Ravensdown directorship I did a lot of due diligence that helped me understand if I was going to be aligned to the organisation and made sure I knew if it would be the right role to go for.
"Since I've joined the board, my desire to be a part of this organisation has only grown. It's been great to get to know more people across Ravensdown and get an understanding of what it takes to get product to market and on-farm.
''I've enjoyed being able to see what's under the lid and how the machine functions."
She is a member of the North Otago Sustainable Land Management Group Steering Board and was the board intern of Port Otago and its subsidiary Chalmers Properties.
It helped to establish an interest in governance relatively early in her career.
As well as enrolling in industry funded courses, such as the ''To The Core'' programme, being open to opportunities and meeting new people, she was also very specific about tailoring her skillset.
"Between raising families, running businesses and meeting off-farm commitments, Kiwi farmers tend to lead full lives, which also means we can be quite time poor.
"Through necessity, I've been good at assessing opportunities and have a good drafting gate to help separate the opportunities that would help me achieve my goals. Being time poor gives clarity over priorities and where to direct focus."
Juggling commitments requires a certain amount of flexibility and adaptability, but she did not compromise on her values and her purpose.
"Governance roles come with a level of risk and a great deal of responsibility, which makes being really clear on why you are doing it so important.
"I've come to appreciate that true leadership lies in recognising that prudent risk-taking is essential for organisational growth and resilience.
''It's easier to embrace that sort of opportunity if your values are aligned to the organisation's values and you are supported to ask questions."
Although her time on the board so far had gone quite quickly, she was surprised she felt so comfortable being authentic and curious so early in the role.
"That's a testament to the culture of the board and leadership team and the individual directors who all encourage me to share ideas and concepts and also challenge them."
Her advice for Ravensdown shareholders thinking of standing in the director election:
• Even if you do not think you have the full CV, be clear on the skills you do have. Bridge the gap with curiosity, commitment and openness to growth.
• Be really clear and intentional — make sure this is the Board you want to be on and our values align with yours.
• Treat it like a project. Do your due diligence, get the right team around you. Have a clear plan and break it into manageable pieces. Celebrate the wins, learn from the challenges. Stay focused on the goal.
• Authenticity resonates much more than a polished campaign. It is a learning experience and it is in leaning into discomfort that we find both personal and professional growth.
• If you are on the fence – step up. Having more people put their hands up signals leadership and intent to shape the industry and regardless of the outcome, you never know what opportunities may open.
This year shareholders will have the opportunity to nominate and elect two directors to the board — one in the North Island and one in the South Island.
Voting was expected to open late next month. — APL
