5 Minutes With UNICEF Australia CEO Tony Stuart
He’s painted houses, run airports and taken the wheel at the NRMA but this CEO has found real purpose in his long-standing role at UNICEF.
My first job was as a house painter and wallpaperer with Peter the Painter in Pahiatua, New Zealand. I was a long-haired, fresh-faced high-schooler and I really learned how work works: preparedness, execution and building camaraderie and banter across a team, something I’ve continued all my career.
My first lesson in good leadership was this: If it breathes, you lead it. If it doesn’t breathe, you manage it. You must get the people side of the coin right before you can succeed on the results side. It was role-modelled to me by Sir Colin Marshall, former CEO of British Airways, and really drummed in by an incredible Australian mentor, the late Dr Allan Hawke [senior public servant and diplomat].
The first true test of my own leadership came when I was CEO of Sydney Airport. About six weeks before the Sydney 2000 Olympics, the baggage system broke down. Three-and-a-half days where every single bag at the International terminal had to be lifted and carried through the system, including by passengers. It was pandemonium. The people trying to fix the problem had a certain mindset so I got someone to look at it from a completely different angle and they found a fault in the software code. They were the longest days of my life.
The first time I had to question what I was doing came near the end of my time at the NRMA. I felt that we had lost sight of our purpose in pursuit of profits. I realised that I needed to adjust my own North Star and finish my executive career at a trusted brand with a really compelling purpose, an organisation where I could help shape and share a vision that gives meaning to our work. That’s what I’ve been able to do with UNICEF.
The first significant donation I secured didn’t happen overnight. I already knew a very large Australian family foundation outside of my work at UNICEF. It took several years of understanding where they were aligning their strategies and illustrating the impactful work we do to improve the lives of children, particularly in war zones and after disasters. I never made an ask. I just said, “When you’re ready and you think we can align, I’d love to be a partner.” Then one day, we were informed of a multi-million-dollar gift. In this sector, you have to build long-term relationships and trust.
Defining moment
“In my first few months at UNICEF, I flew across South Sudan to a displacement camp in a conflict zone. There was no electricity, very basic supplies and a lot of malnutrition. I’d come from a place with so much to a place with so little. I saw kids studying by kerosene light at 9pm. They were learning at the same level as our kids in Sydney but with absolutely nothing and they had the most incredible hope for the future. That defined the purpose in my career for the next few years.”
