Mr
William Falconer
Professional Company Director including:
Beginnings
Mr Falconer attained a Law Degree from Victoria University and then became a
trade negotiator for the government of New Zealand. He consequently spent 18
years working for trade negotiation in posts around the world including London
and Washington D.C.
New Zealand and
APEC
Mr Falconer believes the process for removing trade barriers will be slow, it
can only move as fast as the individual economies are prepared to move. New
Zealand has been sensible in that it focuses its economy on those areas we can
compete; we can’t be competitive in the fashion industry so it was largely
omitted from the international market. New Zealand has seen a lot of movement
in bilateral negotiations but again the movement is slow. The ABAC has been
successful in APEC for New Zealand because it allows the government to know
whether it has the support of the business community and has provided an avenue
for advising the government on what changes it wants to see happen.
Globalisation
New Zealand made many sacrifices when we finally chose to embrace globalisation
and few gains were made, many of the small business didn’t survive, the
only one still doing well internationally is Fisher and Paykel. Globalisation
has been costly for New Zealand in terms of employment opportunities but he
believes we can not make a judgement now, time should be measured in decades
not years. He also believes that New Zealand does not have the levels of international
income that it should have.
Restaurant Brands
We have a serious obesity issue and a $76 million campaign is being started
to help deal with the issue. A contributing factor is the significant change
in lifestyle around the world, children no longer walk to school and their parents
do not tell them to go out and play like they used to. When asked how he thought
this campaign would affect Restaurant Brands he believes that it can not be
established that fast food is to blame; it is only one aspect within the problem.
Mr Falconer thinks that sport and activity should be made compulsory in schools
and we need to consider soft drink as another attribute to the issue.
Advice for the future
You need to know what you are good at. Mr Falconer’s forte is crystallising
complex problems and communicating the results. He is able to keep the boards
focused and manage their thinking into outcomes which means they can solve problems.
Give them a suggestion and then ask what they think, it gets people engaged.
The two things he thought were most important were to enjoy your work and to
exercise your skills to the highest level. He attends over 120 meetings a year
which requires very good time management skills. He often starts at 5:30am and
finishes at 6pm but after that it is family time only which gives him the opportunity
to attend operas or the rowing with his wife. He believes you should never be
too tired for your friends, go to the party!
Quotes
“If you are burning calories then you can eat calories.”
“APEC provides room to talk, it’s all about dialogue.”
“You have to know the rules of the game.”
Themes
Heart – to be successful in business you have to be compassionate, it’s
all about the people.
Innovation – be creative and never give up.
by Rachel Helms, Luke Maclean-McMahon, Ruakiri Fairhall, Juliet Anderson and Carolyn Russell