Mema o Te Apārangi | Member profile: John Bongard CRSNZ
In this month’s Member profile, we hear from John Bongard, a Companion of the Society.
Tell us about what you are currently involved with.
I am currently happily “retired” from a day-to-day role, but I keep myself busy as a very proud grandfather of two gorgeous twin girls. Apart from that, I sit on the board of two commercial companies in New Zealand, being WilliamsWarn and H J Asmuss. I am also a board member of an Australian-based electrical retailer cooperative, Narta, run out of Sydney, and Chair of a Thailand-based metal processing company called PSCTH. The majority of my time though is spent in the charitable sector in New Zealand, as Founder and Chair of The Rising Foundation, working with youth in South Auckland, Chair of the Waka Pacific Trust that runs the Due Drop Events Centre and Wero Whitewater Park In Manukau, Deputy Chair of Totara Hospice Foundation, Chairman of the Asmuss Charitable Foundation, and Chair of The Stars Netball Management Committee.
How long have you been a Companion of the Society?
I was very proud to have been made a Companion in 2019 and my involvement since has been to serve as a Trustee of The Royal Society of New Zealand Endowment Trust Fund, which I remain a trustee for.
What has been a defining highlight of your career?
It is very hard, but to pick one from my business background it would have to be the day that Gary Paykel asked me to head up the soon-to-be-floated public company Fisher and Paykel Appliances. This led to a 36-year career with this fantastic company and its incredible staff that grew worldwide. I retired in 2009 to address prostate cancer issues. Post Fisher and Paykel days, the defining highlight for me has been founding and chairing The Rising Foundation. The Foundation has been going for 15 years now and along with my wife Diane, a fantastic group of trustees, a loyal group of staff, and now more than 2,300 students, we continue to make a positive difference for young adults in South Auckland who are looking to pursue leadership roles and unlock their undoubted potential in that awesome community.
What were the contributing factors for choosing to work in science?
I have always been interested in science, going back to my early university days in Auckland, where I started off studying for a BSc to become a secondary school teacher. My early student days were not such a success, and I had to find a job quite urgently. I applied for a chemistry assistant role at Fisher and Paykel but missed out. I ended up accepting a junior office role instead! I was approached in 2014 to become the inaugural Chair of one of the National Science Challenges, Science for Technological Innovation. Professor Margaret Hyland FRSNZ and her team had already set out very clear objectives and mapped out an initial plan. I found that opportunity very interesting, and a personal challenge given that I had quite a bit of commercial experience but no real science-system experience. I soon came to realise that when I sat down at each Board meeting I was, without a doubt, the “dumbest” person in the room when it came to the intricacies of the science at play with the projects we were considering and overviewing. I thoroughly enjoyed this role, enjoying working with the staff, Kahui Māori group, science advisors, staff, and of course the researchers, both young and old, for the 8 years that I was involved.
When not working, I enjoy...
Family time with my wife, son, and daughter, their respective partners, and two granddaughters. I enjoy traveling with my wife and friends, both sea and river fishing, golf, and duck-shooting season each year.