People make all the difference for IP boss

DAVID W OSKIN

Executive vice-president
International Paper
United States
Company Profile:Earnings before interest, income taxes and minority interest: $US1.054 billion.
Net earnings: $US253 million.
IP holds more than 50 per cent of Carter Holt Harvey.
No. of employees: 100,000


What does the Apec CEO Summit mean to you?


A superb opportunity for business and government leaders to work together to ascertain and advance the pace of trade and investment liberalisation across the Asia Pacific region.

How do you stay in contact with your organisation while in New Zealand?


I stay in contact with operations around the world through e-mail, Lotus Notes, telephones, fax machines, etc - the wonderful world of communications and technology.

What makes your day at work?


Seeing people succeed at their tasks and hopefully playing a hand in mentoring success.

How did you get where you are today?


A lot of hard work - sticking to it when it would have been much easier to ignore the difficult. Also, being persistent, setting challenging goals for myself and not being satisfied with just coming to work. I love involvement and I want to succeed for those who have invested in our company.

What was the most important lesson you learned on your way up?


A lesson for everyone: People make the difference. You accomplish through people; machinery is important but you can't succeed without getting everyone committed and involved.

Everyone in the organisation is important and vital - we just all have different jobs to do.

What advice would you give to a young person starting out in your field of business?


Be inquisitive, curious, creative and committed to excelling in all that you do. Be approachable, caring and go out of your way to help others. Take on the difficult tasks - that is how you get noticed!

What's the biggest challenge to your organisation in the present economy?


Differentiating ourselves in the marketplace from our competition. Having customers always thinking of International Paper first and foremost when it comes to paper, packaging and forest products.

What ambitions do you have?


I want to make a difference every day. I want to continue to expand my global knowledge base. In my position, I want to continue to surround myself with the best possible talent I can find.

How do you relax?


I enjoy reading, running, golf, tennis and horseback riding.

* David Oskin spoke to Susan Jennison.

* This is one of a series of interviews with those who attended the CEO Summit of business leaders from the Asia-Pacific region, held in Auckland in conjunction with the annual meeting of Apec.