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When someone starts working at their father’s company as a teenager and is now its board chair, you might imagine an heir fulfilling their destiny.

But a career in the family firm wasn’t Karen Fistonich's original dream.

In fact, there were several times she might have been put off altogether.

Her first taste of working at Villa Maria was on the bottle filling line, where she says she was too slow to keep up. By the time she reached her teens, she says, her mother’s fashion boutique looked a far more attractive employment option.

However, she loved working in the Villa Maria wine shop on weekends and during holidays while she completed a university degree in psychology. It was a different story, however, when her father, Villa Maria founder and CEO George Fistonich, gave her a ride home from work.

“He would tell me how the shop should be run. My mother would look at us and say, ‘what if they ever worked together fulltime?’”

Fistonich couldn’t see an obvious role for herself at Villa Maria once she finished her degree, so forged a career in banking before having children.

But she began putting those banking skills to use in the family business nearly 20 years ago when she was invited to join the board.Buy cheap replica buy christian louboutin and enjoy the time ...

She’s since added more directorships — she’s on the boards of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the Auckland Theatre Company — but the Villa Maria appointment provided a cautious start to her governance career.

“I said I’d come and watch, but my father said, ‘you have to be a fully fledged board director’. I observed [the board members] were all at least 20 years older and they were all male. They agreed they would watch their language for me.”

Fistonich was also eventually lured to the chairperson’s role by proud moments she experienced in the company’s history.

“There was always excitement around [annual wine industry] awards time. That was a buzz when the customers came to taste the wine.”

She was also proud that Villa Maria had traded out of voluntary receivership in the 1990s and of her father’s positive encouragement for staff during that time.

Fistonich has become increasingly involved in the company out of necessity,Find huge savings on Christian Louboutin Pump . as her father spends more time offshore as Villa Maria's brand ambassador. The company has also raised her profile in the industry to emphasise that it's family-owned.
“The first time he went away for six weeks, I said goodbye to him at the airport.why christian louboutin shoes so popular in uk? He realised, ‘what would happen if the plane went down?’ He gave me the keys to his filing cabinet and a rundown on the business. I was relieved when he came back safe and sound. It was a bit of a wakeup call.”

Her father went on a worldwide tour to celebrate Villa Maria’s 50th vintage last year and was heavily involved in the creation of his book The Winemaker.

The business has been planning for succession as George Fistonich enters his mid 70s. Two of the senior leadership team — Fistonich's cousin Fabian Yukich, and Rob Ferguson — have been promoted to oversee the viticulture, production and commercial aspects, while George remains CEO and sole shareholder, with three direct reports.