Venkat Raman –
venkat@indiannewslink.co.nz
Promoting young entrepreneurs is among the stated objectives of this newspaper, reflecting which we feature emerging leaders in business, government, and community organisations in many of our issues.
That passion also led to us include ‘The Best Young Entrepreneur of the Year’ in Indian Newslink Indian Business Awards as an individual category (in 2010) through nominations and direct entries, recognising and rewarding our successful young men and women and encouraging others to strive towards excellence.
We are therefore happy to acknowledge similar efforts exercised by educational institutions, among which is Auckland University of Technology (AUT).
Inspiring leadership
More than 70 businesses and organisations across Auckland hosted two promising young leaders as part of AUT’s ‘Annual Shadow a Leader Day’ on July 6, 2016.
Every year, a school student and an AUT business or law student spend a day with a Business Manager or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a local company to gain insights into effective leadership.
The programme is a part of ‘Leadership Week initiative’ of the AUT Business Faculty.
This year’s event began with a breakfast at AUT for all leaders and their students, where AUT alumni Adriana Christie, (Co-owner of Pallet Kingdom) delivered an inspiring keynote address.
The students participated in several business activities including media engagements, executive and board meetings, client discussions, brainstorms, networking functions and presentations. These activities enabled the students to understand the realities of being a leader, such as striking the right balance between work and life.
Business experience
Tony Falkenstein, CEO of Just Water International, said that he was delighted to host two of this year’s students.
“If a young person has not been brought up in a business household, they see the business world like a foreign country. The AUT ‘Shadow a Leader Programme’ allows them to experience the business world for a day from the top and they tend to find it is not so frightening. This is often a day that shapes their life forever,” he said.
Career kick start
Anton Vera from AUT’s Business School, who spent the day with Mr Falkenstein, said that ‘Shadow a Leader Progamme’ will allow him to kick start his career by getting a foot on the door in some of New Zealand’s biggest companies.
“The AUT initiative will put me face-to-face with veterans of the business industry and will present countless networking opportunities for future employment,” he said.
Photo Caption: Tony Falkenstein with Anton Vera and Adriana Christie
