Talking Heads: Partner protective of hand-picked staff

Leearna Waghorne

Age: 29

Position: Partner in specialist insolvency firm McDonald Vague & Partners

What makes your day?

I just love it when we pay out money to creditors. It's so nice when we have a liquidation that has sufficient money to not only pay IRD and the bank, but also to have some left over so we can pay a distribution to the unsecured creditors.
I feel a bit like Santa Claus posting out cheques to those creditors.

Why are you valuable to your organisation?

I'm a hard worker who will put in 120 per cent. I enjoy what I do and relish the challenge, so as a result I go about my day with a smile - I never get grumpy or stressed.

In addition, I am continually striving to enhance my knowledge of the law and the practice of insolvencies. This means that, as one of the leaders, I am setting a high standard for the rest of the staff to follow.

Being young and female provides more balance to the firm as the other two partners are both men and, dare I say, quite a lot older. It means I relate well to a lot of our younger staff members who have a fresh approach to a lot of issues.

What is your management style?

I like to challenge my staff and stand back to see how they perform. It is an important criteria in the insolvency field that, when thrown in the deep end, they will swim. Of course, I can always observe from the sidelines and am ready to jump in if they start to sink. People respond in a very positive way to being challenged.

What is the work tool you can't do without?

There are two really, my Companies Act and all our staff.

I have done all the hiring for our firm for a number of years, so I feel quite a sense of ownership of our staff and will jealously guard our team. I place huge importance on finding the person with the right personality so that he/she will fit in.

What was your biggest career break and why?

Getting the offer four years ago to come and work with what was then John Vague & Associates, New Zealand's largest specialist insolvency firm. Obviously working for the firm was a huge opportunity for me personally, so I grasped it with both hands.

Who was your most important mentor and why?

I have been fortunate to have had three brilliant men take an interest in my professional development.

There has been John Vague and Graeme McDonald, my fellow partners who deserve a huge amount of credit for all the mentoring and generous sharing of their time and many years of experience.

I must also mention Mark Lowndes, a great personal friend and a solicitor whom we work with quite a bit, who has shared with me his many years of experience in commerce and running a professional practice.

What is the biggest challenge for your company? For the economy?


I think New Zealand's economy is at the mercy of the world economy. Steady governance and consistent policy is necessary to be able to continue the relatively good environment we've had for most of the 90s. Every economy will have its ups and downs, but it is important these do not consist of wild swings from huge excesses to absolute recession.

As for our company, when the economy is down we actually enjoy a bit of a boom.

But we are generally always busy because most businesses fail because of bad management. They don't need the economy to help tip them over, they do it quite nicely on their own.

What do you do when your are not working?

I tend to have a bit of a work hard, play hard approach to life. Running is my latest passion and I have challenged myself to get to a stage where I can happily complete a half-marathon.

My other biggest past time is socialising and going out with friends.

What skills do you wish you had?

If I had a wish list, I don't think I'd ask for any more skills in particular.

However, I do wish I were a bit older. One of the difficulties in being in a senior position at a relatively young age is the initial shock and reaction of some people. I also think the issue of my age is exacerbated by being female as this is a very male-dominated industry.

* Leearna Waghorne spoke to Joe Helm.