Student president to business leader

Learning how to shape an argument and analyse a problem are amongst skills that alumna Kirsty Graham attributes to her time at the University of Otago’s Philosophy Department.

After growing up in the small rural North Canterbury town of Cust and attending Rangiora High School, she went to Otago on the recommendation of her parents, fellow Otago alumni Judith and Reg Graham.

Judith Graham (nee Hobbs) did her MA Honours in English and had a career as a teacher, while Reg Graham completed an MA in Linguistics and worked in education and as a photographer.

Kirsty says she chose Otago for the well-rounded academic and student life. She graduated with a BA in Philosophy and English in 1991 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Philosophy in 1993.

She spent her first year at Carrington College and then four years flatting in North Dunedin.

“I had five great years at Otago and made many friends for life there,” Kirsty says.

Philosophy professors that stood out to her during her time at Otago were Emeritus Professor Alan Musgrave, Professor Charles Pigden and the late Professor David Ward, alongside the late Professor Pavel and his wife Dr Jindra Tichy.

“I absolutely loved the Philosophy Department at Otago and had a wonderful group of teachers who all had a profound impact on me.”

She also met her future husband Craig Marris (BCom, Economics and Marketing) at Otago and their bridal party were all Otago alumni, with whom they still keep close contact.

After finishing his studies, Craig was a co-founder of the fleet management software company Coretex in 2004. He is currently the Chief Sustainability Officer at vehicle management company EROAD in New York.

Student politics was a huge part of Kirsty’s time at the University, and she spent four of her five years on the Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA) executive, including being President in 1992. The following year, she was the New Zealand University Students’ Association (NZUSA) President, based in Wellington.

“Many of the people I was with in student politics have gone on into national politics – in Labour, National and the Greens.”

Kirsty says current University Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson is a good friend and was in OUSA student politics at the same time as her. He followed her as OUSA President in 1993 and was joint NZUSA President in 1996, and also worked in the diplomatic service.

After student politics, Kirsty joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade – she spent her first two and a half years as Private Secretary in then Deputy Prime Minister Don McKinon’s office and says she caught up with Sir Don recently on her recent trip to New Zealand.

“He’s still an incredible mentor of mine.”

In 1996, Kirsty was posted to the NZ Embassy in Washington DC. Her first role was a secondment on Capitol Hill, before covering US domestic politics for four years.

“My job was to understand how Congress, as well as the administrative branch of government worked, and how the discussions and decisions made there would impact New Zealand.

“I’d always been fascinated by American politics, so it was incredible to see it up close.”

Kirsty then worked for the British Embassy in Washington in the early 2000s, at a time that included Camp David meetings between the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush and the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in September 2001.

Kirsty says Law, Economics and a foreign language are often seen as good subjects for a diplomatic career, but she would argue that Philosophy offers skills in analysis and negotiation that are crucial to success in the field.

“Former NZ Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) (current NZ Ambassador to the United States) Rosemary Banks was a great mentor. We still talk regularly and I learnt so much about diplomacy and the UN from her.”

She also worked closely with former NZ Prime Minister Helen Clark during her successful bid to be Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.

In 2010, Kirsty joined giant pharmaceutical company Pfizer in its global office in New York, where she rose through several roles to become the Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs.

“Pfizer taught me so many things as it was my first entrée into business and into a huge company. I learnt a lot about healthcare delivery, global health policy, as well as M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions) and earnings issues with Wall Street. The skills and experiences I got during my 10 years there were enormously valuable, and the calibre of people I worked with was amazing.”

Her time in Pfizer saw her travel the globe, including around 20 trips to China and 12 trips to Africa as well as frequent visits to Europe and Latin America, joining senior company leaders for meetings with Prime Ministers, Presidents, and non-governmental organisation (NGO) leaders.

“I got to see how global health worked up close.”

From this role she was headhunted into the world’s largest communications company Edelman (established in 1952, which has 6,000 staff working in 60 global offices and is known for its Trust Barometer, which measures trust in business, government, media and NGOs), where she is in her fourth role in five years and is now its CEO for the US business.

“I’ve seen it from all sides now – from government, business, and now from an agency.”

Sitting in her New York office, Kirsty says she has never lost her Kiwi roots – she follows NZ news closely and is very active in the NZ/NY community. Her professional time is spent advising CEOs and business leaders how to navigate geopolitical, social, and commercial issues in the global environment.

“In a time of such incredible volatility, CEOs want help assessing risk and opportunities. I think Kiwis tend to be very straight shooters who operate with a sense of pragmatism and candor. We tell people how it is.”

Both Kirsty’s sons are at university. Guy (21) is studying Finance and Communications at Purdue University in Indiana. While Will (19), is studying International Business and Communications at Northeastern University in Boston.

She is a keen skier and runner, but says swimming is her main current physical activity.

“I’ve always wanted to do the New York Marathon. I have been here for over 20 years it’s still on my bucket list and I hope to do it in the future,” Kirsty says.

- Kōrero by Kerry Dohig, Communications Adviser Development and Alumni Relations Office.