by Tracy Moyes, Director - Strategy at BizDojo
A very extended OE saw me working in tech living in London, San Francisco and Hong Kong. When I eventually returned to New Zealand I was determined to find a job where I could help NZ make its mark on the world stage. But the NZ that I knew was from my childhood and university years - I didn’t understand the NZ I had returned to, my networks were more the kind of “let’s go down to the pub” type - it was like I was an immigrant in my own country.
I saw my participation in the inaugural Leadership New Zealand programme in 2005 as an opportunity to make connections, get up to speed on real world NZ, connect with NZ leaders who were making their mark – and ultimately to help me to be someone who could make a difference.
The programme delivered that and more. While I’d been very focussed in on needing to be part of the public sector to be able to drive change – so many of the leaders we heard from were from the private sector. It was more than just corporate responsibility. These were leaders who believed in NZ and our ability to punch above our weight.
It has been 12 years since LNZ, and during that time I have spent several years working in Economic Development leading high profile programmes of work to help drive Auckland’s economy. This lead me to join BizDojo – a privately owned NZ company leading the way in collaborative working, and supporting NZ businesses scale, grow and connect globally.
As Director Strategy at BizDojo, I drive our Founders Central programmes - initiatives that support New Zealand's community of creators, from entrepreneurs spinning up a single idea, to serial creators across startup or scaling businesses. These initiatives include partnerships with local government in Auckland and Wellington, where we develop and deliver concepts such as the GridAKL innovation hub and the Wellington tech hub and Collider programme.
BizDojo is a values-driven organisation, and we are passionate about giving back to support others to the ecosystem, which has helped us on our growth journey. Our 'why' is to help connect humans to achieve awesomeness – and I’m proud to be part of making that happen.