Thursday, March 28, 2024

Te Brake hits the accelerator

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Changing the guard at Young Farmers has propelled meat industry accountant Jason Te Brake into the hot seat as chairman. He talked to Ali Tocker about his career so far and his aspirations for the Young Farmers movement while he heads the board.

Jason Te Brake is clever, confident and committed – three qualities that have earned him the role of chairman of New Zealand Young Farmers (NZYF).

The 27-year-old has his sights set on a     strong and secure future for the group.

Jason Te Brake – from farmgate to consumer.

NZYF has a long and proud history of bringing together young people with mutual interests in the primary sector for social and professional benefits.

Jason says a great aspect of NZYF is you don’t have to be a farmer to be a member. “That’s a strength of the organisation – being able to bring people from different parts of the industry together.”

Jason has three key priorities for NZYF in his role as chairman, which he has taken over from Cole Groves who stepped down after two years at the helm.

The first priority is ensuring members get value from being part of the organisation and the wider industry.

“We want to continue to provide enough benefits to our members so the membership will sell itself,” Jason says.

The second initiative is driving membership growth and the third is financial stability for the organisation into the future.

“At the moment, we’re very financially viable but the organisation relies heavily on funding through key sponsors and key partners. We want to try and move to a position where we’re able to not rely so heavily on having $1 coming in for every $1 going out.  

“We want to be able to build a core asset base that gives us financial stability so that if we see an opportunity, we’re able to go for it rather than trying to bring in different partners to try and assist us.”

Looking further out, Jason says NZYF wants to create some significant events within the industry, building off the highly successful ANZ Young Farmers Contest. The organisation also wants to create a more global presence for NZYF.

“We want to leverage the intellectual property we’ve built up through networks and through the ANZ Young Farmers Contest. We will be looking at what opportunities there may be through those avenues offshore.

“It’s not so much about franchising the Young Farmers Contest but it might be, say, a cross-border contest with the best of another country versus the top NZ people. Or it might be even going to assist other organisations that are similar to Young Farmers to have a similar contest in their own country.

“We have a lot of expertise we’ve built up over a long period of time.”

Jason says he believes Young Farmers has remained popular through the years because it caters to a range of different audiences, including the Young Farmers club itself, Agri Kids, Teen Ag and the Rural Business Network.

“We provide social interaction for people looking to meet like-minded individuals in the industry. We also provide development opportunities whether it is organising events, chairing clubs and leadership opportunities.”

Jason is looking forward to working within NZYF and with other organisations to promote the benefits of not only joining NZYF but also working in the primary sector, including financial and lifestyle benefits and a sense of pride in the country.

He says he sees a lot of value for young people, who can become quite isolated working on the farm, in associating with other young farmers through the organisation.

“I think it’s hugely important young farmers talk to each other, whether it is through positive times or tough times which we are experiencing at the moment.

“People who are seen as leaders or mentors, or who have been in the industry a long time, are able to provide a sense of comfort and support. There’s that idea we can get through it because we’ve done it before. That provides continued confidence in the industry.”

Jason lives and works in Canterbury. A chartered accountant, he is a passionate advocate for the primary sector and an articulate spokesperson for Young Farmers.

He grew up on dairy farm in Waikato and still has an interest in the family farm but his main interest has always been how the product gets from the farmgate to the market and the end consumer.

“My family and two younger brothers are dairy farming so I’m pretty closely tied in to dairy farming without spending every day in paddocks.

“The benefit I bring is commercial acumen through the different roles I’ve had as well as a wider industry perspective.”

Jason has a Bachelor of Business Studies in Finance Management from the Waikato Institute of Technology, which he earned while working at KPMG in Hamilton. He worked in a finance role at Affco before deciding to move into the sales and marketing side of the industry. When an opportunity came up to join ANZCO Foods in Christchurch as a sales and marketing executive, he moved to the South Island for the role.

“I see ANZCO Foods as being a positive company and being progressive around what they’re doing in the red meat sector. In a time that’s quite shaky in the red meat sector they’re seen as quite stable.

“My values align with theirs in terms of growing value in the sector and trying to make it more profitable and a bigger sector rather than trying to divvy up what’s left over.”

Jason has taken part in the Kellogg Rural Leaders programme, which he found very valuable.

“I did a project around NZ companies exporting to China which allowed me to understand an area I hadn’t had a lot of exposure to. It was really good for personal development, networking, confidence building and understanding how people interact with each other and how people lead different people.”

Jason attributes his success to date at work and in leadership roles to the fact he knows what he wants to contribute and has the drive to push himself to achieve that.

“I have a significant drive to contribute to NZ’s primary industries,” he says.

Jason’s advice for other young people wanting to get into leadership is to understand the value proposition of what they’re going to bring to the industry, what they want to achieve and their own values. “Then make sure everything you do lines up with your value proposition, your goals and your values.

“In looking at your own personal values, ask yourself, what are the values you want to live life by?

“My value proposition is to positively contribute to NZ primary industries. I want to do that in a senior management role in a well-known NZ business in primary industries and in governance roles, and by being a thought leader in the industry.”

For role models, Jason seeks to emulate qualities in senior leaders he admires within the NZ primary industries. He has a number of people throughout different parts of the industry he is able to bounce ideas off and share his thoughts with. He says he built those relationships after meeting people at different events and functions through NZYF and his career.  

For international role models, Jason says he admires the former chief executive of American multinational company General Electric, Jack Welch, and former American president Abraham Lincoln. Jason says Lincoln was a humble leader who would take everyone’s views into consideration before making a decision.

In the future in his career, Jason says he would be interested in doing an MBA programme at an overseas college, possibly in the United States. And he is interested in the Institute of Strategic Management Leadership Programme in NZ.

“With my governance work, I want to continue to contribute to industry-good organisations that add value to the primary industries, including Young Farmers.”

For personal hobbies, he enjoys rugby and running. Last year, he spent three months travelling with his partner Emma in South America and the US. Emma is an accountant for a rural accounting firm and the pair are due to marry soon. 

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