In Leaders Getting Coffee episode 62, our guest is Caroline Harvie-Teare, who is the CEO of Venues Otautahi in Christchurch, home of the new One New Zealand Stadium.
She started life as a farm girl,but moved to the city as a youngster and became a heart and soul champion for the city of Christchurch. The farm girl lingered though as her passion for horses took her to eventing success.
That start reflects a toughness that has been reflected in every challenge she has taken on.
When the earthquakes hit her city her job in the events industry was under threat. So she stepped up to join the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, doing her bit to help her city repair itself. Her success there led her to Christchurch International Airport as the city tried to recover its lost sparkle and resultant loss of tourists.
Her return to Venues Otautahi, the city’s main events hub, just a week before the first of the Covid 19 enforced lockdowns, provided another challenging chapter to a career that had already had it’s share.
But she has thrived. Venues Otautahi is now New Zealand’s largest events and venue company, and the organisation owns or manages some of the country’s most sought after venues including the revitalised Christchurch Town Hall, Woolfbrook Arena, Hagley Oval, and New Zealand’s newest and already arguable best stadium, One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha.
Caroline’s story encompasses many characteristics. Resilience and strength are obvious. But she is also someone who thinks very clearly about where her best skills lie and how she can apply those skills to make the best contribution.
She is unashamedly a proud and passionate cheerleader for her chosen city and her story provides countless lessons for any aspiring leader.
During the Leaders Getting Coffee podcast Caroline Harvie-Teare speaks to Bruce Cotterill about the tough days after the earthquakes and the memories that return as each step in the city’s recovery is taken. She’s very open about the tough decisions enforced as a result of Covid 19.
But the main story here is about a stadium. One that is so much more than a venue for sports and music. It’s a venue that represents the recovery of a once broken city and provides the ‘icing on the cake’ as that long rebuilding process nears completion.
Caroline Harvie-Teare has a great leadership story, and she tells it well. As is so often the case, the best leadership experiences occur when the circumstances are genuinely difficult. There are lessons aplenty from every step she has taken.
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