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Candace Toner
Candace Toner  Candace Toner is the chief executive officer of Biomatters Ltd, a multi-award-winning, New Zealand-based scientific software development company. Biomatters’ flagship application, Geneious Pro, is used for DNA sequence analysis and disease research by tens of thousands of researchers in over 65 countries. Having started several other companies in New Zealand through her late 20s, Candace has had prior responsibilities for Biolab Scientific (now ThermoFisher), Sun Microsystem’s distributor SolNet and Telecom New Zealand. Candace is extremely capable in creating and managing diverse teams across countries, cultures and companies and is a committed innovator of new approaches to growing businesses in the technology and health-science industries. Candace graduated with honours in anthropology and political science from the University of Hawaii and has post-graduate and master’s degrees in business and management from Massey University in New Zealand. Candace also is an elected board member of NZ Bio and is a regular speaker at international conferences on the creation and management of hi-tech companies and business units in corporates. With a wealth of business management and market development experience, Candace is a high-level ‘doer’ with networks worldwide in health, science and technology. If you could start your corporate journey again, what key business skills would you make sure you had in hand to ensure your success? I would have a stronger background in finance and accounting. My focus at university was in the Arts and Humanities area, which was great for creative writing, thinking, public speaking and the like. However, it wasn’t until I was doing my Masters in Business in my early 30s that I actually had to study accounting principles, governance and business theory. It was as if someone flicked the switch and I could link all the ‘rules of the business game’ to the actual strategy of business. What were some of the challenges you had to overcome on the journey to achieving your personal and corporate goals? The biggest challenge for me has been that I am so far away from my family and lifelong friends. I was born in the USA and went to school in the UK, university in Hawaii and moved to New Zealand in my early 20s only planning on staying a year or two. Shortly after our arrival in New Zealand, my new Kiwi husband was in a car accident, broke his back and was unable to work. We were barely surviving financially, and at that time I knew that I had to start a business to make ends meet because my entry-level job was just not going to pay the bills. Desperate to hold everything together, I reached out to a multi-national company in the USA and decided I wanted to be the sole distributor of their products in New Zealand. I achieved that goal and have learned so many lessons about negotiating contracts, how to brand, market and sell and on a personal level. I’ve never looked back. What do you think are some of the essential characteristics of a successful CEO? I think resilience is one of the most important. The ability to handle setbacks gracefully, boundless enthusiasm, courage, a plan for the worst case scenario and the ability to give others credit for their achievements are all attributes that I believe encompass a resilient personality. The best CEOs I’ve met give much more than they take and don’t give up. What challenges do you think women face when applying to join/lead corporate boards? I don’t think many people realise how much influence they have over not only the company, but also the entire ecosystem within and around the company when they are on a board. The key challenges for women are not terribly different from those of men in that the individual must be willing to take on full responsibility for the ecosystem they are leading, including the management team, employees, the employees’ families, customers, shareholders and the industry itself. People are often attracted to the ‘power’ of being on a board, but can become overwhelmed with the responsibility and real ‘work’ that is involved in being a good board member. What do you think holds women back from becoming successful in the corporate environment? Many women I have met do not back themselves enough. It’s not often that a good, credible company will promote only men – many corporates are eager to promote high performers who are confident, trustworthy and intelligent regardless of age or gender. I have seen many extremely capable women not have the confidence to step up to the plate and really back themselves. It makes me frustrated to see this, but you can’t force others to get in there and just do it unless they really want to, and equally one must have the guts to fail as well. I absolutely love the sisterhood of women who do go for it, stumble a few times, but keep going and live their dreams because they believe in themselves and don’t give up. For you, what’s the best thing about being a business leader? The amazing people I get to meet, not only at functions and abroad, but within my own team. The old saying that people don’t buy products they buy from people is very true – people make the business world go round, and getting to know talented, intelligent, passionate people who love what they do is inspiring and makes every day interesting. How do you find the balance between your entrepreneurial spirit and having to be accountable in your corporate role? I think there is a myth that entrepreneurs don’t understand business. Entrepreneurs are usually defined as risk takers, where corporate executives are usually considered well-educated business managers. I believe the balance between entrepreneurial spirit and corporate thinking is the right-brained vs. left-brained paradigm. To be successful, you need to balance the structure of the business but exude passion for the company in equal measure. The true test is to make sure that both of these aspects continue to work, even in your absence. What are the most important things you have learnt about succeeding in business? I must have drive, passion and motivation for what I am doing, or my heart just wont be in it. If you get up in the morning and go to a job that is simply there to pay the bills, it is the worst kind of self sacrifice imaginable. I have had a lot of jobs that I have not wanted to stay in because I couldn’t be passionate about them and without that passion I knew I couldn’t truly succeed. There are too many opportunities in life to choose one that you don’t feel passionate about – move on, find your passion and succeed. What were some of the core values on which you built successful companies? Have these changed over time? Discipline, integrity and passion. Discipline really encompasses the ideology that ideas are cheap, but execution is everything. I don’t particularly like processes and procedures, however, with the right kind of discipline, a company will have the room to be agile and creative without losing focus on the end goals. Integrity is crucial in business – especially in a country such as New Zealand where many people know you and your value is based not necessarily on your successes or failures, but how you have handled your business dealings. As a female entrepreneur, it can be easy to fulfil the stereotype of being a ‘dragon’ to deal with – fire breathing, cutthroat and self-centred, but that is a short-sighted view for a lifelong career. People want to know you are tough, but also that you can be counted on to make the right decisions in difficult situations for your shareholders, customers and staff. Passion is the easy value, it is critical to the success of a person or a company. A single person can have the impact of a hundred or more if they are filled with the passion for what they are doing. You work in a very competitive field. What have you done to stand out from the crowd to gain positions of greater responsibility? I have tried to look at business scenarios with a balanced view and ask how I can make the customer, company and myself succeed in a situation. By chasing opportunities that create real value for all three, you become known for getting things done. I also try to volunteer my time to speak to university students, other start-up company entrepreneurs and get involved in other industry groups to network. In the technology space, you must be on top of what is happening, who is creating change, and make sure that you are involved in the right opportunities. Your expertise in your field is internationally recognised. With some future gazing, where will technology take companies in the future? This is a huge question! There is recent debate in the news that teenagers are not able to ‘cope’ with the technology they are faced with today through social media, mobile phones and the internet. I think in ten years time, this will be a laughable commentary. Although teenagers appear to be tangled in a web of virtual life, it is the new reality and will continue to expand. Rather than run from that reality, I believe it is crucial to educate young people about how to deal with it. As for where this will take companies, I believe that Gen-Y (born from 1977-1990) will have no problem dictating where and how they work, and have a huge amount of control over how companies function. It will be nothing for an employee to work from their house in Albany for a company registered in Beijing, Los Angeles or Madrid – or even all three – on a contract basis that fits around their holiday schedule. Companies will also have to grapple with virtual offices make the internet their primary marketplace. Just what about your current role keeps you turned on and what have you done to ensure your team is continually motivated? I enjoy the challenge of growing a company that deals with such intelligent, motivated and strong people – both customers and staff. Every person in our team is responsible for a piece of the overall success of the company. I love the fact that as a company, we have real impact on the future of science and health around the world. We do our best to ensure researchers have the tools to accelerate discovery in curing diseases, monitor climate change and solve crimes. It’s hard to not be super excited about changing the world for the better on a daily basis! What have you learnt about effective leadership and managing people? I truly believe that people are capable of a lot more if they are given the space to operate effectively, and have passion for what they are doing. We employ extremely talented and intelligent people and managing high-performers requires a very different leadership and management style. Giving people the ownership of a tangible part of the business – not only in share options, but also in the strategy, direction and execution of a core area – is critical to job satisfaction and personal growth. In a start-up environment, it is difficult to set a mission statement that remains relevant for more than a year because the market changes and the capabilities of the company shift. Therefore, the cohesion, respect and discipline of a high-performing team are absolutely essential. Managing this kind of environment means keeping everyone involved in the overall business. Everyone has a vested interest in the company, so it’s important to share as much as possible without creating unnecessary distraction. This is the challenge for me, to give the right information at the right time to have the best outcomes for the whole team. What is your strategy when it comes to engaging and managing staff? What can businesses do to attract higher calibre employees? I believe that an employer must set clear objectives for a role, with specific requirements for skills, personal and emotional attributes and deliverables. Then select an employee who best fits these criteria and let them go for it. That doesn’t mean you don’t coach them or help them in the role. It means that if you get the right mix for the role, people will generally surprise you with their capabilities. I never blame an employee for poor performance but rather myself for not being more specific with the requirements of the role and selecting the person that best fits. I also believe companies should reward employees through channels they responds to (high performers often place peer recognition, additional training, flexible work environments and the like above higher wages). How important is it to have a supportive and encouraging partner at home when setting up your own business? I believe this depends on the type of person you are. Some very successful entrepreneurial women have founded companies after getting out of a relationship because they feel empowered to start their lives over. I have been fortunate to have a supportive husband who has encouraged me and taken a lot of the load off in regard to managing the household and life around it. What do you say to people who think it is too late for them to get into a corporate career? Why on earth would you want a corporate career? Start your own business with all the knowledge and experience you have gained through your lifetime. What single piece of advice would you give to someone building an export business? Start with your biggest potential market in mind. Build your website, communications, culture of customer interactions and pricing to make it as easy as possible for your export market to purchase from you. For example, if you are selling your products online and you envision 50 percent of your business to come from the USA, 30 percent from Europe and 20 percent from the rest of the world, price your product in the US dollar, have a .com website address and spell everything using American English. You will satisfy your largest market, and the European market will easily be able to convert to the Euro. Many companies in New Zealand make the mistake of pricing in the New Zealand dollar, having a .co.nz website and using NZ English – Americans are wary about purchasing from overseas companies and especially if they don’t know the exchange rate. Ideally, if you were setting up a company to also sell into Australia and New Zealand, you would replicate your primary export market site (i.e., USA, Europe, Asia, etc) with a .co.nz and a .com.au website with corresponding language, marketing and currency. What advantages are there to running a business in New Zealand? New Zealand is a very ‘small town’ in the business world – which I view as uniquely positive in the sense that when you have a good idea and can generate enthusiasm for your business, you will have great support from others in the community and wider business world. For example, we are closely tied to the University of Auckland and have a great relationship whereby we hire many of our developers straight out of the University. The department heads for biology and computer science help us to select the top performers. How have you balanced your creativity with the business side of your work? I am passionate about the outdoors and love to ride horses, especially on the beautiful beaches and countryside near where I live in Kumeu, just outside of Auckland. Getting out in the elements allows me to really think about all aspects of my life in a different way. It is critical to have this balance for me to remain ‘real’ as a person in the other facets of my life. What are some of your current personal and business goals? I want to continue to grow Biomatters over the next few years, and when the time is right, create another business success story. I would also like to get more involved in directorships of creative, high-growth companies because I feel save CEOs and entrepreneurs a lot of stress by sharing my knowledge and experience. What’s your definition of financial freedom? When you have the ‘security’ to take a punt on a dream, you have freedom to live your dreams. |