Phil Neutze, mad scientist to mega deals
My first job was as a scientist for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. I worked with a statistician who bought and sold shares on the side. I’d constantly ask him “how do you know what to buy?” “What’s all this PE ratio stuff?” Finally he said, “Phil, I’m sick of trying to teach you. Go do an MBA”. So I researched it that night, resigned the next day and signed up for an MBA at Massey University.
Being a scientist, I’m analytical. I wanted to be an equities analyst and got selected for ANZ’s grad programme. But just as I was poised to go from generalist grad into that role, things changed and suddenly there wasn’t going to be an opening for over 12 months. I didn’t want to wait. A friend suggested investment banking. It sounded great but with an Ag-Sci degree and an MBA, I knew I’d need to do something else first. His tip was Treasury Analysts make good investment bankers.
A tax policy analyst role came up at Treasury. I didn’t know anything about tax or even what a policy analyst was but knew it was a stepping stone to where I wanted to go. After the interview they asked if I could stay and write an essay on microeconomics. I thought ‘holy sh*t’ I’ve got no idea what that is so said I couldn’t stay. They gave me overnight to do it. I went and bought a little Penguin economics dictionary, found words like ‘Keynesian economics’ and ‘microeconomic distortions’ and wrote what turned out to be a really good essay and they hired me!
About three weeks later my boss and I were looking at the impact of a tax policy and he kept talking about deadweight loss. I asked “what’s that?” He looked at me with incredulity and said “are you kidding me?” I assured him I wasn’t. He said “don’t you have a masters in economics?” I told him that I’d only done one economics paper in all my life! “But what about your essay?” I had to fess up about the pocket dictionary. After a stunned silence, he just said “well obviously you’re a quick learner”!
After three years at the Treasury, that same friend told me about a great investment banking job in Wellington. I applied and got it. I really liked putting together financial models and deal-making in mergers and acquisitions. It’s high rolling, there's a lot of pressure and you work with really smart people so there’s a lot to learn from them. I was part of the team that advised Royal Dutch Shell on its acquisition of Fletcher Energy, one of the biggest transactions ever done in NZ.
After a couple of different moves, I ended up at Auckland Airport in a strategic planning role. That was 11.5 years ago. Prior to that the longest stint I’d ever had in a company was four years! Now I’m the Chief Financial Officer and I love my job. Aviation is an exciting sector. We’re gearing up for a multi-billion dollar infrastructure build, so I still get the buzz of the high stakes deals from my investment banking days but most importantly, I work with great people. They’re smart, energetic and ambitious. They’re always looking for ways to make it a better airport. I think our culture is a big part of why Auckland Airport regularly scores in the top 10 most trusted NZ companies. And, because I’ve been there so long I’ve got to hire almost all of my team. I really respect them and consider most of them as friends.
The advice I’d give to an 18 year old is not to angst over what you choose to study or do for your first job as long as you’re prepared to work hard and do your best. And the other key thing is, don’t do stuff that you know in your heart you’re not going to like.
When I finished university I’d never heard of an investment banker and had no interest in business. I wanted to be a scientist and then go back to the family farm. What has allowed me to be successful is not wasting my time. I worked hard at university and in all my jobs, followed my interests, not trying to plan too far ahead. That has put me in a good position for whatever I’ve chosen to do.
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