Duane Smithson
Backstory
Where did you grow up?
Christchurch, known for surfing and skiing in the same day.
What did your parents do, and what did you take from them?
My parents are business owners, and their key messages were to respect and appreciate your staff and customers.
What did you spend the most time on as a kid?
As a teenager, I worked most Sundays supporting my parents’ manufacturing business. I was young but had the opportunity to lead people and teams — lots of great learning, and lots of mistakes too!
What did you do before TakeoffQS?
Over a 20-year career at Ricoh, jointly managed sales strategy and execution across New Zealand, with direct leadership of four branches and 70 employees. A personal highlight was being the inaugural graduate of the Asia Pacific Compass Leadership Programme, and overseeing the development of an APAC AI programme spanning 11 operating companies.
What I care about
What do you look for in the companies we work with?
We work best with customers who are ambitious, curious, and willing to work alongside partners. Strong leadership helps us manage change and adoption successfully.
What gets you fired up about this work?
Success is about hearing how pleased our customers are and knowing we’ve made a huge impact on their long-term success. Also, the Takeoff solution is clearly a painkiller, and that’s exciting to offer customers.
What values matter most in how we build TakeoffQS?
Trust is built through reliability, credibility and a strong relationship. Simple.
The human bits
Favourite mantra in a work context?
On Friday evening, the working week is over — can you look at yourself in the mirror and know you’ve gone the extra mile?
Meet the rest of the team
