Jonti Rhodes
Vice President: Network Design, Infrastructure, Facilities & Sustainability, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) in Mechanical Engineering
Over his almost two decades working at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Jonti Rhodes has had the opportunity to work in many areas of the business both here in New Zealand and overseas.
Now Vice President for Network Design, Facilities, Infrastructure and Sustainability within F&P’s executive team, he first joined Fisher & Paykel (F&P) Healthcare as a product design engineer straight out of university. Since then, he has worked in numerous business functions across the world within F&P. Engineering, quality, regulatory, supply chain and operations have all been part of his journey and he says that the vast array of roles he has had the privilege of experiencing speaks to the breadth of opportunities that engineering can take you to.
“Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is a global healthcare innovation company headquartered in New Zealand with a strong commitment to continuous improvement. It’s always growing and so the opportunities are vast, while also having the ability to do truly meaningful work every day to improve patient care and outcomes. There are many things that we’ve achieved as a business to be proud of.”
The people are a big part of what has brought him back every day for nearly 20 years.
“Personally for me, the work we do really matters, and I’ve had a great deal of enjoyment in working with so many people. Seeing and playing a small part in enabling how some of those people have developed over the years and the opportunities that have then come up for them has been very rewarding to see.”
The road to engineering
Jonti grew up on a Northland farm. He has always been interested in solving problems and building things; skills that would eventually lead him to AUT’s Bachelor of Engineering and achieving honours in mechanical engineering.
“I’ve always gravitated towards the STEM subjects. I was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship for my first year to study engineering at AUT. This helped me get established at university and encouraged me into the engineering degree.”
It's a decision he hasn’t regretted, and he still has fond memories of his time at AUT.
“AUT’s mechanical engineering programme offered both an academic and practical industry-focused approach to learning. The highlights for me were the close networks and relationships that I developed both within my cohort of engineering but also more broadly along with the academic advisors, and the focus we were able to receive. I completed my engineering degree with honours in 2006, and since then have had a number of engagements with AUT, hosting students at our company, supporting research and reviewing the studies and programmes on offer at AUT.”
Advice for other students
Jonti has some great advice for other students who are only at the start of their own university journey.
“Being a good communicator is very important in the working world. It’s good to be disciplined in your approach to life. Work hard and do the best you can but remember that if you have the answer but can’t communicate it, that will be a challenge. Soft skills – communication, influencing and teamwork – are just as important as the answer to a specific problem.”
Embrace ambiguity, he adds.
“Prior to my working career I really liked the certainty and binary outcomes that STEM subjects typically provided. Something I’ve learnt over the course of the last 20 years is that ambiguity, risk and uncertainty are common, and not something to be afraid of but rather opportunities to embrace. It’s good to be disciplined and study hard but it’s equally important to be adaptable and free to think about alternative outcomes.”
