Jack Keeys, food & fibre wunderkind

I really love my job. I’m an Agri-food Research and Insights Analyst for one of the big four, professional services firms. From NZ, we lead the global agri-business network which is pretty unique. The scope of my work is really wide and varied which is one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. One morning I will be hosting a vodcast or travelling to a conference, and another day will be facilitating a workshop or preparing a report to advise a client. 

One of the biggest learnings I’ve had so far is what I need from a job, to thrive. I had a job at a green-waste recycling centre while I was studying. I grew in confidence so much in that job but after a while noticed I was starting to plateau. I realised I need to always be learning new things and working on challenging projects otherwise I stop coming up with new ideas or being excited to going to work. I mean, everyone has bad days but it was a clear sign when I stopped looking forward to work for more than a week. It was great to learn that early in my career. I noticed it in my last job and left after I’d lost my spark.  

I was the first in my family to go to university and I really didn’t know what I was doing! I enjoyed accounting and heard accountants make lots of money but I also loved science so I decided to study both business and science and choose which direction along the way. Then in my second year I met Dr Jacqueline Rowarth. She lectured in agri business which I realised was an awesome opportunity to merge business with science and make an impact in the world. Even though I don’t come from a traditional farming background, I’ve been involved in the food and fibre sector ever since.

One of the many things Jacqueline told us was to build our networks and so I have. I remember going to events bright red, shaking with nerves and way too scared to even walk through the door let alone talk to people but I just kept pushing myself to do it. Then I started meeting people I’d talked to before and the number of familiar faces at events continued to grow. So I’ve actually never formally applied for a job. I’ve been interviewed by people who already know me in every role.

Out of uni I had a tough decision to make. I’d studied really hard, done overload semesters, worked part time and got a few scholarships so I had options. One was to do a PhD with Zespri, one was the Fonterra grad programme and the other was to work for Farmax, a small agritech company I’d worked for part-time. I agonised about it for months and asked heaps of people for advice and decided to take the Farmax role.

Initially I was filling out customer data on excel and working on the helpdesk which helped me learn how to use the software. Then, within 18 months, I was managing the UK business which I started myself, exporting the software to the UK, travelling around doing farmer workshops and making strategic partnership agreements with CEOs over there. 

I often get asked for career advice from students. I’d done a conjoint so I was at uni for five years. For people who are a bit older, like me, or are a little more confident, I’d recommend they get involved in smaller businesses because it’s more likely you’ll accelerate your responsibilities. But for those who are a bit less confident or want something more structured, grad programmes are amazing.

Now, as well as a great job I also have a startup. It’s set up to commercialise a native plant genus which is incredibly exciting. There are some really interesting biological properties of the plant. We don’t know where it’s going to go yet but it may end up being a functional beverage. I’m lucky to have an amazing advisory group to help me including the ex CEO of Zespri, the founder of AbacusBio and one of my new bosses. Thank you Jacqueline for telling me to network!

There are cool things happening in NZ’s food and fibre sector and I feel lucky to be part of it.

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