He’s not just the guy with the impressive beard and smooth baritone voice, he’s also our boss. But Luke Blincoe isn’t cut from the same cloth as other CEO’s, and we reckon you’d enjoy getting to know him a bit better.
Q. You’ve got a pretty busy life - CEO of a company, family, dogs and a love of surfing - how do you manage to achieve this elusive life balance?
A. I could always do more, surfing especially! I do start getting a bit twitchy if I haven’t been in the water for a while. But our hybrid way of working at Electric Kiwi has been great. I try to work from home a couple of days a week and when I end up doing some long hours I try to make sure I make time to do stuff that’s important to me and my family, as well as making sure the Electric Kiwi family is healthy too.
Q. And what’s something you always make time for?
A. I coach and manage my son’s college rugby team, so I leave work early some days for that. Coaching them is almost the same as running a company. You start with a vision and agree on values - work out the things we don’t negotiate on, how we get the team behind it and what we want to achieve. So it’s actually using the same principles.
Q. Speaking of leading a team - how do you do that at Electric Kiwi?
A. People don’t get out of bed in the morning to improve shareholder returns, we all want to contribute to the world. Running a purpose driven company is critical to creating an environment and culture that values individuality and our differences, whilst creating a sense of belonging and togetherness.
Q. The other team out there are your customers, how do they fit in to your vision?
A. We’ve always focused on our culture and our customers.Authenticity and care are central to our operation. What you see is what you get with us. If you came in to the office and met the team we’d like to think it’s pretty much what you’d expect based on what you might have seen of us online or on TV. The caring bit is all about how we look after our customers our people and our environment.
Q. Have you had any feedback on your singing debut in the Electric Kiwi ad?
A. Yeah plenty, none of it good! Not that I particularly want a high profile, but recently I was asked for a selfie with a guy in Rotorua so he could show his family. I think it’s the beard. It’s quite funny. The key to it’s success is connecting with kiwi values in an authentic way by being prepared to laugh at ourselves and not take ourselves too seriously.
Q. It might be hard to compete with the heady heights of your new celebrity status, but where to next for Electric Kiwi?
A. To keep engaging our team and our customers. Most importantly to have fun doing it. We’ll keep taking the piss out of ourselves!