Emerging leader: Rick Johnston

Age: 23

Occupation: Student, businessman.

Leadership snapshot:

Rick Johnston is welding engineering expertise with his love of history to find common-sense solutions to problems. He sees a problem and wants to help get it fixed. Johnston shines in his chosen field of logistics - his third-year project is being published in an international research paper. But he says that history teaches us about the future. Leadership is partly about personal style and Rick has already been recognised with a Rotary award. What people say about Rick is that his interested, relaxed approach puts people at ease and on side. And you cannot teach people to do that.

What should the Leadership Forum achieve for New Zealand?

I hope that it sparks ideas and gives some creative approaches to the problems facing the country.

And for you?

There are a lot of very famous people coming to speak and there will be a lot of fresh, creative ideas. It is important that we run with them.

The most important issue facing New Zealand?

At a fundamental level the most important issue is preserving a good quality of life and high living standards. Education is important to maintain that, but I worry about a trend for education to be value-added, focused solely at making students of more value to employers.

What would you do?

In some ways any answer to that is a clichaacé. But in the end it comes down to taking the opportunities and making the best of them.

What will you be doing in 2020?

I would like to own a New Zealand-based technology company ... and employing a lot of graduates, because I think we are very creative. I would like the company to be research-based.

Herald Special Report - February 18, 2003:
Knowledge Wave 2003 - the leadership forum

Herald feature: