Past experiences, future impact

New Zealand chairs reflect on the board’s role in responding to COVID-19

${title}

2020 has been a year marked by turbulence and there has never been a more important time to reflect on governance in providing businesses with a strong compass.

Over two months in late 2020, Deloitte New Zealand interviewed 17 chairs representing 35 significant local organisations – 28 per cent of NZX 50 companies are represented and 20 per cent of the Deloitte Top 200 index for 2020. These chairs shared their experiences in navigating COVID-19, the role they played in supporting their organisations to respond and recover, and the lessons they’ve learned.

This report offers a snapshot of New Zealand’s business response to the COVID-19 pandemic – marking a point in time from which business will be able to reflect and consider their evolution in contrast to what may have been anticipated in pre-pandemic times.

${buttonText}

Respond, recover, thrive

The report is structured to reflect on the three timeframes over which a crisis plays out, based on Deloitte’s COVID-19 Resilient Leader Framework:

Respond: Accelerated strategic change to respond to the crisis
Recover: Embedding change and restoring focus on other priorities
Thrive: Building resilience and opportunity for future success

Click on the tiles below to explore the full report or download specific sections of interest.

${type1}

Past experiences, future impact | Chairs' research report 2020

Read the full report including local findings, advice for future chairs, and perspectives from similar research in the United Kingdom and Australia

${type2}

Overview

Understand the report and findings at a glance

${type3}

Respond | Accelerated strategic change to respond to the crisis

Understand how boards rose to the challenge of COVID-19 including adapting their processes and supporting their people in an environment of uncertainty

${type4}

${title4}

${description4}

${type5}

${title5}

${description5}

${type6}

${title6}

${description6}

${type7}

${title7}

${description7}

${type8}

${title8}

${description8}

${type9}

${title9}

${description9}

${type10}

${title10}

${description10}

${type11}

${title11}

${description11}

${type12}

${title12}

${description12}

${title}

${description}

${type1}

Recover | Embedding change and restoring focus on other priorities

Explore how boards enabled and supported the shift from the 'respond' phase into 'recover', embedding change into the business and returning focus to other priorities

${type2}

Thrive | Building resilience and opportunity for future success

COVID-19 provided organisations with a unique opportunity to leverage the current climate to accelerate and thrive. For some, a new set of parameters now exist for business with assumptions challenged or even re-written

${type3}

The way forward

The pandemic has shaped the way chairs are thinking about the future for business. This section includes advice for future chairs, and findings from similar research conducted in the United Kingdom and Australia

${type4}

${title4}

${description4}

${type5}

${title5}

${description5}

${type6}

${title6}

${description6}

${type7}

${title7}

${description7}

${type8}

${title8}

${description8}

${type9}

${title9}

${description9}

${type10}

${title10}

${description10}

${type11}

${title11}

${description11}

${type12}

${title12}

${description12}

UK and Australia chairs' research reports

Alongside the New Zealand chairs' research project, similar research was conducted simultaneously by Deloitte firms in the United Kingdom and Australia. Click below to read the findings of these research projects for each region.

Read the UK report here

Read the Australian report here

${buttonText}