From the frontline to the top job: Tessa Auelua’s Pacific leadership journey

For Tessa Auelua, becoming the new chief executive of Kinetic New Zealand is not about stepping away from the frontline.

It is about taking what she has learned there into one of the country’s biggest transport leadership roles.

The Wellington-born Sāmoan has spent more than 20 years working across aviation, transport and supply chain, including senior roles at Air New Zealand and Port of Auckland.

From November, she will lead Kinetic’s New Zealand operations, overseeing more than 4,000 staff and a network carrying people to work, school and everyday life.

Speaking with Pacific Mornings host William Terite, Auelua says her experience working alongside frontline staff has shaped how she wants to lead.

“I came from frontline, and one of the things that I've truly always appreciated is the complexities and challenges you have in the frontline roles,” she says.

Tessa Auelua spent more than 20 years with Air New Zealand, rising through the ranks before moving into senior leadership roles across transport and supply chain. Photo/Air NZ

“As you go higher, those things become more filtered the way that it gets fed to you, so for me to do my own validation is as safe as the type of work that we're ultimately trying to create.”

Auelua says working directly with staff is one of the best ways for leaders to understand what is really happening inside an organisation.

“Working alongside people in it is the best way to see and learn and connect in with the people who are actually doing the hard yards,” she says.

Watch Tessa Auelua's full interview below.

That approach will be particularly important at Kinetic, where safety is her first priority.

The company operates more than 390 electric buses from 12 electrified depots across New Zealand and employs more than 4000 people.

Auelua joined Port of Auckland in 2023 where she led the container and engineering business, responsible for the organisation's largest operational team, representing nearly two-thirds of its workforce, through a major business and safety culture transformation.

Michael Sewards, Kinetic Group chief executive, says Auelua's experience was only part of what stood out during the global search for the role.

“Tessa brings an impressive track record leading complex operations and helping organisations through significant periods of change, but what really stood out to us was how she leads.

"She understands that businesses like ours are ultimately about people, whether that’s the people behind the wheel, the teams supporting them or the communities who rely on us every day.”

Kinetic Group chief executive Michael Sewards says Tessa Auelua's leadership style stood out during the global search for the company's new New Zealand chief executive. Photo/energynews.net

Auelua says her experience working alongside frontline staff has shaped how she wants to lead.

“What does that look like on the ground? It's why I've always worked in frontline,” she says.

“Getting our people on safe journeys every day and getting them to where they need to get to and our people to go home safe every day that are working across New Zealand, that's going to be the biggest priority from my perspective.”

But Auelua says her focus will extend beyond safety.

She wants to build leadership talent, attract and retain workers and strengthen diversity and inclusion across the business.

“I'd love to see more of the diversity and inclusion kind of be lifted across Kinetic,” she says.

Kinetic operates bus services across New Zealand, including more than 390 electric buses from 12 electrified depots. Auelua will lead its New Zealand business from November. Photo/Kinetic

For Auelua, that leadership style is also deeply connected to her Pacific upbringing.

“I've always been family driven. I come from a large family. I'm second youngest of 11. I've been raised by my village.”

She says that experience has shaped the way she treats people.

“How I treat people with respect, how I give mana in order to elevate the mana of others is really important to me,” she says.

“So service is a key part of my leadership and just being very respectful of everyone.”

Auelua also understands the visibility that comes with becoming a Pacific woman in a senior corporate role.

Tessa Auelua is currently General Manager Containers and Engineering at Port of Auckland, where she has led the organisation's largest operational team through a significant business and safety culture transformation. Photo/poal.co.nz

She says the response to her appointment, particularly from young Pacific people, has been humbling.

“There's so few of us is to be seen,” she says. “Normalising seeing Pacific Islanders in very senior corporate executive CEO roles is something I would love to kind of pave the way for and allow others to have that ambition to drive for it.”

She says she did not grow up seeing many people with a similar background in the positions she is now entering.

“So it's certainly an opportunity for us to help lift, you know, one rises, we all rise.”

Auelua will take up the Kinetic New Zealand CEO role in November.

She will replace Calum Haslop, who is stepping down as Kinetic's Managing Director New Zealand in October after four years leading the business. Haslop will remain with Kinetic as a strategic adviser to the board.