“Everyone should do it” – putting young people at the forefront of business decision making in New Zealand

*The views expressed by this Rangatahi member are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of the organisation(s) they represent.

Maggie Powell - Silver Fern Farms

Operations Strategy Project Manager

So let me start though with the obvious one. Why did you want to be part of the RAP?

I wanted to be a part of the RAP because I just thought it was a fantastic opportunity to extend the way that I think and to be challenged on the way that I think, and to meet and network with some other really like-minded young people from outside of my business and outside of my sector.

I do see us collectively as a really strong group who have the power to create change. It’s really exciting to be a part of conversations that are shaping our future.

The future is scary, but I don't think that we're beyond anything yet [that we can’t fix], I think we're at a point where we need to be having these conversations and I’m proud to play a role as a custodian of the future.

Tell me a bit more about what is scary from your point of view when you look forward.

Ever since I was little, I’ve wanted to be a mum. I got that from my mum and it scares me that my children or maybe my grandchildren, won't be able to live in the Aotearoa that I was lucky enough to call home.

Do you think right now, as things stand, that younger New Zealanders have the power and influence they need to actually bring about change?

I’ve thought about this question a lot.
The generation that I'm a part of and the generations that come after me are more empowered to share their thoughts and share their ideas than we probably ever have been and the access to information that we have is unprecedented and at a rate that no one's ever seen before.

But I don't think that there’s often the opportunities to sit around a table with industry leaders and policymakers and people that want to create tangible change, to not only give our thoughts, but to share our hopes and dreams for the future, to align what we're doing with what we see our future being and what we see the future of the next generation being.

I think that's another reason why being on the RAP was something that was that felt really important to me.  I think the model of the RAP is really special and I'd love to see all Circle partners, and all New Zealand businesses have a RAP panel that puts young people at the forefront of decision making.

We're currently talking about our business strategy out to 2035.  What does someone who's in their mid 20s now want to see in ten years time in our business? What are they going to demand? What are they going to demand of society? What are they going to demand as consumers outside of our business?

I don't see my generation and our thoughts as being a tick box. I actually think we do have something to offer.  And what we have to offer is valuable.
But you can't get that value out of us by assuming what we're going to want. I think that's the beauty of my generation is that we're happy to talk about it, but people just need to ask.

If you could give the general public one bit of inspiration or a bit of advice what's one thing you would do? What would you say to people?

Take a moment to step back and go, am I proud of the role that I'm playing in society and in the environment and shaping our future?  And if I'm not proud of it, what am I going to do and really taking a moment to step back and think about it, not just going through the motions of the trend.  Thinking around what role do I play, as a human being in society and what impact can I have, big or small?

I don't think I could honestly put my hand up today and say that every action I take I'm proud of, in terms of protecting our future. But I'm aware of it and I want to keep working to protect, and safeguard and enhance the future and I’m being acutely aware of that, which I think will make the difference.