Spark’s Jolie Hodson always had her eyes on a top chief executive role. Now she can claim the title of Deloitte Top 200 Chief Executive Officer of the Year.
Hodson wasn’t shy of talking about her ambition in 2016 when she won the Deloitte Top 200 award for Chief Financial Officer of the year.
“It was something that really excited me,” she told the Herald at the Top 200 finalists event.
“Shortly after winning the CFO award, I had a chat with Simon [Moutter] who was the CEO back then... around the desire to move into more operational roles.”
After three years as chief executive of Spark Digital, she was appointed to the top job in August 2019.
That, of course, meant just six months in the hot seat before Covid-19 tipped the world upside down.
The pandemic presented challenges and opportunities for companies in the technology space, she said.
“Most of my time as CEO has either been in Covid or recovering from it. So if you look at the challenges - whether it’s higher inflation or the labour skills shortage or even climate change - it’s really all about the people,” she said.
“They’re the ones who’ve had to adapt to different ways of working. If you think about when New Zealand pretty much went home overnight.
“Our business was critical to making sure people could do that.”
Hodson takes the broader social responsibility of leading New Zealand’s largest technology company very seriously.
“When I think about the challenges we’re facing, I’m optimistic about the role people can play but also that technology can play in solving those challenges,” she says.
“We’ve thought a lot around the convergence of technology - the cloud, your data and AI.”
She highlights new trends like the “internet of the things” and “smart sensors that can really know what’s happening, whether that’s water quality, or whether a fridge is shut. We’ve thought a lot about how that convergence of tech can help solve problems for New Zealand. Ultimately we’re a business that is all about supporting others and enabling them to do what they want.”
Spark’s challenge is to make sure it stays relevant as technology shifts and moves with it, she said.
“What [drives] me for the period ahead is how we help do something bigger than for just our own organisation.”
For all that, the pure financial performance of the company is something Hodson clearly has a strong handle on.
Hodson joined Spark in 2013 from Lion Nathan in Australia where she spent 12 years working her way up the finance ranks.
Prior to that, she spent eight years at Deloitte working as an auditor.
Her arrival at Spark marked the end of a tough 10-year period for the company as it transitioned from the legacy days of Telecom and shifted its focus to become a 21st-century communications company.
Since then her tenure has been notable for not only her sound financial performance but her skill as a top leader within a large organisation.
On the financial front, the highlight of the past year has been the sale of Spark’s cell tower network for $900 million cash - in which 70 per cent of Spark’s passive network went to a Canadian pension fund, with Spark retaining a 30 per cent stake.
It consolidated what was already likely to be a very solid financial performance.
The Top 200 judges noted that Spark continued to be a market leader on the NZX with shareholder returns of 12 per cent over the past year ending in September, and 17 per cent per year over the past 10 years.
That is no small feat in the context of the bearish local and global markets of the past 12 months.
In its full-year result to July 30 Spark announced a $350 million return to shareholders via an on-market buyback.
It said it would invest a further $350 million in growth areas like the Internet of Things, mobile and a new health unit.
Spark also held its full-year dividend at 25 cents per share (for the sixth year in a row, in line with guidance), but with an increased profit payout to 27cps, 1c ahead of what analysts were picking.
It also unveiled a new long-term dividend policy that will see 80 to 100 per cent of free cash flow paid out in dividends.
Ebitda was $1.15 billion (at the top end of its forecast, as per its mid-year update). Net profit increased 7.6 per cent to $410m, with Spark crediting gains in mobile plus a large health contract.
Total revenue increased by 3.5 per cent to $3.72 billion.
Mobile revenue was up 5.5 per cent to $899m as Spark made gains in total pre-pay and pay-monthly mobile connections.
Average monthly revenue per user also continued to rise, which chief executive Hodson put down to increased data use.
READ MORE: Click here for the Deloitte Top 200 Index tables
Speaking at the time she said the focus was now on smart infrastructure.
“That should pay off in the long term. With many more New Zealanders working from home, broadband and connectivity are even more important. Customers now value their connections more than ever. When the time comes, many will invest in bigger and better broadband plans.”
Hodson pointed to New Zealand’s low productivity saying this was the time for the nation to stand back and think about making the investment in the infrastructure needed to support economic recovery.
”We need to be thinking about building future-proof infrastructure. We don’t want to spend billions, then come back in a decade’s time and say; ‘I wish we did X, Y and Z’. We also need to invest in the skills so that people can operate safely and more productively in a more connected world.”
She said the company had seen huge benefits from the shift to more flexible ways of working.
“We want to build on this and find our ‘new normal’, somewhere between how we used to be and how we work during the lockdown.
“We will continue investing behind our people’s learning and development, helping them pivot to a future of work where they need to be more adaptable than ever before. And we will maintain our focus on diversity and inclusion - so our people feel they can bring their whole selves to work.”
Speaking to the Herald before the Top 200 awards, Hodson described her leadership style as being about empowering others around her to be successful.
“It’s around being clear about what we’re going after,” she said.
“The other thing for me, the thing I’m really proud of in the past three years, is a shift to a lot more diversity and inclusion, not only in our business but thinking around the communities we support. For all of us, equity is a big issue.”
The judges noted Jolie has a strong view on the role that digitisation can play in decarbonisation and helping New Zealand to meet its climate goals, becoming the Convenor of the CEO Steering Group for the Climate Leader’s Coalition in June 2022.
Another area of passion for Hodson is supporting and mentoring women in business. She is highly conscious of being one of just a handful of females at the CEO level on the NZ50.
“I’m really passionate about supporting women in business. I’m one of the founding members of On being Bold.”
That’s an organisation which aims to inspire women in the corporate world female by bringing them together for events to hear from different leaders and network.
She is also involved with a group focused on inspiring Year 13 girls. Group.
“We need to face into the challenges, whether it is covid, climate change or what are we doing to solve that inequity that exists,” Hodson said. “But we can’t do that individually we can only do that collectively and I think New Zealand is a place where we can do that.”
Rhys Jones joined metal product distributor and processor, Vulcan Steel, in 2006. Initially in the role of executive director before he was appointed managing director and CEO in 2011, Jones has presided over seven acquisitions and several greenfield expansions during his tenure at Vulcan.
The judges noted Jones had grown the business from $7 million EBITDA to $200 million and created superior shareholder value through solid organic growth in the Australian and NZ markets, supported by incremental and targeted acquisitions. Vulcan’s annual shareholder returns have been over 35 per cent annually leading up to their successful IPO in November 2021.
Jones told the Herald that one of his proudest achievements in the past few years had been getting through the pandemic without laying anybody off and maintaining all staff on full pay.
“We said, right we’re going to face this challenge together and that has led to a lot of loyalty,” he said
As a result staff turnover had been lower than most other companies and that had been a massive benefit.
Jones said one of his priorities as a CEO was getting on the road and talking to staff and outlining
“What we try to do is paint a picture of the next year to 18 months so all our employees fully understand what we’re facing, what their role is and how we can embrace it.”
Ross Taylor managed a turnaround at Fletcher Building whilst navigating demand and cost-base worries during Covid-19.
He has also steered the company through subsequent challenges created by high demand and a problematic supply chain.
The judges noted Taylor’s calm and strategic approach had seen Fletcher Building achieve a 42 per cent increase in net profit in the 12 months to June, from $305 million to $432 million.
All divisions of the company were reporting positive EBIT and a solid pipeline of committed work in the business’s end markets.
Fletcher Building had been on a journey for the past five years through a really hard period for the company, Taylor said.
“More enjoyably, in the last year, we’ve [had] the luxury of building on that with a number of growth initiatives and we’ve really looked forward with the business rather than just dealing with the here and now.
“With a large business you can’t do it from the centre, you cannot do it all and be the centre of all decisions.
“You’ve got to get your teams doing that. It is about the team around you whether it’s the board or the executive.”
Other large healthcare hubs near the site include Southern Cross and Auckland Eye.