When Chairs apply to be CEOs

Consumer released:

The Consumer NZ Board is delighted to announce the appointment of Jon Duffy, Assistant Privacy Commissioner, as the new Chief Executive of Consumer NZ.

Jon has had a long association with Consumer NZ, most recently as its chair. Today he said: “I am relishing the chance to lead Consumer NZ and represent consumers as we continue to fight for better information and protection, and a fair deal for all New Zealanders. I see the big consumer issues of our time as sustainability, privacy and inequity.”

Deputy Chair Kate Tokeley said the Board had been through a robust recruitment process, using independent consultants to guide its thinking. “We were extremely fortunate to have an outstanding field of candidates against whom Jon stood out as having the skills, experience, expertise and passion for consumer issues that most closely matched our requirements.

I’m a member of Consumer and use their website often when deciding on purchases. A great organisation.

Jon Duffy has a great background, and I am sure will be a very good CEO.

I’m interested in the fact that he is the current Chair, and became CEO. That means the Board had to have a process to deal with the conflict of interest and have a fair process.

It is possible to do so. I’ve three times been on a board where the Chair has applied for the CEO job. Twice were unsuccessful applications, and once was successful. They are very challenging situations, but you can manage it with integrity.

One challenge is what if the Chair is unsuccessful? Then the new CEO is reporting to them as Board Chair, which could be difficult.

And if they are successful, do other candidates feel they had a fair chance?

I think in the case of Jon Duffy, his suitability is very obvious, that he obviously got the job on merit. But it must have been challenging for the board in working through the issues.