Twelve Questions: John McConnell

Construction company boss John McConnell says it's important to trust yourself and bring your own skills to the business. Photo / Brett Phibbs

1. Your father Malcolm 'Buck' McConnell OBE co-founded McConnell Dowell in 1960. Did he expect three of his five children to enter the family business?
My brother David and I were pretty strongly encouraged from a young age. Not so much the girls. When I was about 4 I'd go out to the site and follow Dad round with gumboots on and he'd explain what was going on. My father had a lot of energy and vision - he was an exciting person to be around, and from the beginning taught us that you had to earn your place in life.

2. Did you have to battle the perception your position had been handed to you?
It came up now and then, but you've just got to trust in yourself. I went out on my own path and brought my own skills to the business. I did chemical engineering in Australia, got an MBA in New Hampshire. I had a really good career in corporate finance at Merrill Lynch, originating debt programmes for companies accessing US capital markets. If you're a rugby player, you want to play for the All Blacks, so to go and work on Wall Street in the most competitive, progressive environment of its kind is a fantastic testing ground.

3. Why did you come home?
Finance is great but at the end of the day you're facilitating transactions as opposed to creating something. It was a really intense time for us as a family. My father got caught in the 1987 sharemarket crash and had to work his way out of it. It meant we had to sell our interest in McConnell Dowell and we started up our own business, McConnell Group. Dad passed away not long after that. It was just such a treat to have that close working relationship. We were great mates.

4. Your family bought back into Hawkins, eventually gaining control. How?
Just doing business - looking at opportunities, putting together people and seeing how we could make it work. Vietnam was just opening up. Richard Prebble came on board. We were involved in construction, transportation and logistics. That came to a stop with the Asian Crisis in the late-90s.

5. When have you been down and how did you recover?
We had a business in Melbourne that I had to close down - there was no one else that could. I felt a strong sense of responsibility for the people in the business and for our family. That was very hard. At the time I felt that it was a difficult and personal failure.

6. What gets you through those times?
You have to learn a certain type of resilience. To try to see the bigger picture - it's not a personal thing, it's business. Construction is not for the faint-hearted. When it goes well it's a great game, when it goes against you, you've got to be prepared to put back into the business. Property development has even more risks. We turn down most of the projects we look at but even then, they don't go according to plan. You've got to say, well, this hasn't worked out. Now what?

7. These days your younger brother runs McConnell Group with your support. Is there rivalry between you?
Rivalry's too strong a word. The hardest thing when you're working with family is expressing a different point of view without letting it spill over into the personal - because with family that can go all sorts of ways. We're fortunate that we have a good board so any issues can be resolved with independent, clear heads. Usually the pragmatic way just prevails.

8. You're known for being a bit cheeky, do you use humour in those situations?
Sometimes you've got to dig deep for it. My father was a wonderful communicator. He discussed things with everybody before he'd reach his conclusions. My brother and I work together a bit differently. But we've learned how to do that. We'll often nick out and just chat things through one-on-one. It's important to find the pieces that you appreciate about each other. And it takes a lot of work, it really does.

9. Auckland is once again your home. How do you think the city is doing, in your opinion?
Auckland has transformed itself in the last five years, since the Super City [amalgamation], and it's just going to get better. Two things need fixing. One is transport and they're getting on to that. The City Rail Link is a good start - critics would say it doesn't go far enough. It's going to improve the whole flow of public transport and help people come into the city to work rather than drive on terribly congested motorways. The other problem is the Resource Management Act. I don't know how many times it's been played around with and it looks like they're going to play round with it again, so we've got to wait to see what happens. Unfortunately it has the right intentions but gets used for the wrong ends.

"[The Auckland Art Gallery] did the job right, they didn't cut corners. It's rewarding to be able to point at something concrete and say 'we did that'."

10. Your family have built stadiums, airports, hospitals and geothermal plants. Which project are you most proud of?
The Auckland Art Gallery. The gallery to their credit did the job right, they didn't cut corners. It's rewarding to be able to point at something concrete and say 'we did that'. A good architect friend of mine said 'don't be involved in putting things on the land unless you're improving them'. To see the joy that people get from walking through that space and connecting to it is fantastic.

11. Where are you happiest?
In our garden at home, that Karen my wife and I created. I love that sense at the end of a day when you've planted a few things and you're standing there watering with a beer in one hand. I also love to DJ. I discovered house music some years ago and built up this collection of vinyl that runs down one wall of a room. DJing is so fun and in the moment. I just love people's reaction to music - what they do and the fun they have. My four sons were awfully embarrassed when I started, but they realised how much I enjoy it and now they come round and get me on the turntables. It's nice when they're a bit older and you can enjoy them. Just recently we've had two of them losing mates. That's a hard thing for them to go through at a young age. I'm just amazed at how much they care for each other. It says a lot.

12. What is success to you?
It's about family, fulfilment and having a sense of contribution. And God, you're lucky to have good friends. The great thing about old mates is that you can't bullshit them. They'll look at you and go, "Johnny, why are you doing that? That's not you." I love them for that. They're the best friends, aren't they?