Jack Cocks has just finished a one year term as Associate Trustee for the New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust (Rural Leaders).
Jack is a high country farmer who holds a bachelor’s degree in farm management from Lincoln University and a masters in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois. He is as much at home in the city as he is in the Otago high country running Mt. Nicholas Station with his wife and children.
Jack suffered a life-threatening brain aneurysm twelve years ago which saw him spend eight months in hospital over six years and undergo fifteen major surgeries.
Following this experience he researched how ‘Resilient Farmers Thrive in the Face of Adversity’ through the Kellogg Rural Leadership Programme. He is now a well-respected speaker on farmer resilience.
Early in 2024 Jack joined the New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust (Rural Leaders) as an Associate Trustee to learn more about governance from the Trust’s experienced board.
“I enjoyed learning from the other trustees. They all had different skill areas and very smart perspectives too. Being part of a team was also an appealing thing to me. The frequent events, such as the Kellogg networking event in Wellington, were great too.”
Mt. Nicholas is remote, so Jack cites the board interactions, both online and in-person, as being another important draw. “You’re not in an immediate community here at Mt. Nicholas. You’re not going to the local field days, meetings or functions that often. So, keeping involved with board matters was enjoyable,” says Jack.
Jack’s plan is to now shift his focus closer to home, on family and the business.
“Our kids are going through high school, they’re both week-day boarding in Invercargill, two and a half hours away. It’s a reasonable commitment to head up and down the road every week.
I’m still doing one or two speaker engagements a month. I’m able to give back a bit to the sector and the community, and a lot of that has spun out of my Kellogg,” adds Jack.
Jack plans to continue his governance journey once his children leave school. He acknowledges the strong foundation the year as an Associate Trustee has given him and he mentions some advice he was given before he went into the role.
“Some advice I got from a wise director before joining Rural Leaders as Associate Trustee, was to look at the one year term in three parts. The first part is asking plenty of questions. The second part is establishing credentials. The final part is adding some value.
I didn’t throw any ideas around for a start, but tried to understand the business. Then I established myself in that second part and looked for ways to add value in that last part. Some of the work that Lisa Rogers and I were doing towards the end with the Value Chain Innovation Programme; like looking at an offshore component for it, fits into that.
That’s how I approached the one year, and I found that advice really useful. It reassured me that I didn’t need to go in guns blazing,” says Jack.
Kate Scott, Rural Leaders Board Chair, spoke of Jack’s measured and intelligent approach to his time as Associate Trustee, “The knowledge Jack has passed on, especially around farmer resilience, has been invaluable. Jack’s calm, clear and curious nature make him a standout as he continues his governance journey.”
Katie Rodwell recently joined as the new Associate Trustee, marking the end of Jack’s year.
“It was a tremendous opportunity. I thank the board and the Rural Leaders’ team for their openness and inclusiveness. I really felt comfortable and that I could contribute to make a difference,” concludes Jack.
