KEY POINTS:
Warwick Hunt
CEO, PricewaterhouseCoopers NZ
What was your first job?
Chainsaw operator on a pine tree plantation in South Africa in 1978. I was 15 and worked during my summer vacation in fifth form. I got the job through a family friend, although he was a canny operator and there was nothing friendly about what he paid or the hours of work. I worked three summers in a row - earning 1.50 rand per hour. That was a reasonable wage in the South Africa of the day.
Did you enjoy it?
I enjoyed the environment, which meant living in a forestry village 200km from my home town. I had access to a motorcycle and was the only English-speaking teenage boy in the district. The work was punishingly hard - commencing at 5.30am and hard, physical graft felling trees and cross-cutting timber until 6pm, as a part of a gang comprising men many years my senior. What did you learn?It was a tough and uncompromising physical environment. I learned the benefits of determination, commitment and sheer hard work.
What was your boss like?
Having lost my dad at the age of 12, he assumed huge significance and became a wonderful mentor and friend.
Advice for someone starting out?
There is no doubt that starters face a much easier environment in the New Zealand of 2008. I believe that talent alone is an over-rated commodity in the work environment. The capacity to leverage your talent is what makes a valuable leader/worker/colleague.
