From oil to soil: Kate Faulks’ journey of grit, grace, and governance

From oil to soil: Kate Faulks’ journey of grit, grace, and governance

Kate Faulks’ governance journey doesn’t begin with titles or boardrooms. It begins with family.

For a long time, Kate felt she needed to keep her family and professional life in separate lanes – tidy and contained. But the truth is she wouldn’t have one without the other.

“Every decision I’ve made has been shaped by my family.  The same attributes and grit it takes to be a mother and run a farming business are the same qualities I draw on in governance. They aren’t competing, they are reinforcing”.

Kate and her husband Adam run a 623-hectare dairy grazing and beef farm inland from Ōamaru, where they raise five children aged between one and nine. It is a life filled with calves, children, board papers and community. “Organised chaos”, she laughs. But it works. And for Kate, it’s an absolute privilege to be able to raise her family there.

This is a life that feels full in every sense of the word; purposeful and deeply connected to what matters most. Yet Kate’s path to governance started a long way from the farm.

From the boardroom to the back paddock

As one of ten children growing up in a busy household, Kate learned early how to hold her own. “You have to be resilient and tenacious in a big family,” she reflects.  Her parents were big on two things: strong work ethic and good communication, and they provided speech and drama for each child right through school. This taught her to know her voice, and to use it. “My speech teacher once told mum I was the stroppiest girl she’d ever taught,” she laughs. “I’ve matured somewhat since then; a bit more polished, but the spirit remains intact.”

This confidence, coupled with a curiosity in the sciences and systems, carried her into engineering. After studying chemical process engineering at Canterbury, she worked in the oil and gas industry joining ExxonMobil and spent seven years working in operations, management and project engineering.

“It was an amazing foundation. Systems thinking, risk management, logistics, problem solving, stakeholder relationships. All of it shows up in governance. I’m grateful to have had those experiences at the coalface; they give me perspective at the board table.”

During that time, she and Adam had their first two children. Then, in 2018 an opportunity came up to manage Altavady Farm in North Otago. She recalls that people thought it was a hard decision to leave her corporate career, but in reality, it was the easiest decision she ever made. For Kate, it was about giving her children the upbringing she had always envisaged. And so, leaving the city for the farm felt like coming home, even though it also meant stepping into the unknown.

Shifting from value to values

Life on the land brought new lessons and a different rhythm.

“At first I saw the farm as a business,” Kate says. “A career move. But as part of my MBA at Otago, I worked with AWDT on a research project called ‘Shifting from Value to Values’. That changed everything.”

The project with AWDT explored how farmers could align business decisions with personal values. And it taught her something important – that it’s not just about what we produce, but also why. For Kate, the focus became less about bottom line and revenue, and more about integrity, stewardship, courage and connection.

“It was a lightbulb moment,” she says. “In a KPI-driven world, outcomes can cloud our thinking. But they’re just feedback in the system – ideally positive byproducts of strong inputs and good processes. Now, I focus on leading indicators and doing the simple things extraordinarily well. When the process is right, outcomes follow.”

Through exploring case studies with AWDT alumni, Kate saw values lived out in action.

“The women I spoke to were on completely different paths but were so deeply aligned to their purpose. They had this unassuming ambition. Talking to them really changed how I saw my work, my purpose and even my life here on the farm.”

She smiles; “It stopped feeling like a business and started feeling like a legacy.”

Finding her place in governance

That shift in mindset opened new doors. As a farmer, I developed a keen interest in the importance of our cooperatives, both their influence on our economy, and the principles that underpin them. While Kate applied for a governance role and didn’t get it, one of the interviewers saw potential in her and encouraged her to apply for a Port Otago board internship.

This was something she hadn’t considered, but she went for it, got it, and loved it. “Sitting around that table and being part of those conversations, I was hooked. It was the first time I really saw how my background in engineering, operations and farming converged, and that I had something meaningful to offer.”

The experience gave her the confidence to stand for election to the Ravensdown board in 2024. “It was a massive leap out of my comfort zone,” she admits. “I never thought I’d have the guts to do it. It took a lot of courage, but I’d built a support team who backed me every step of the way. I remain incredibly grateful to those who saw something in me I hadn’t yet recognised.”

She acknowledges that governance roles carry significant responsibility, which makes being clear on why you’re doing it essential. For the Ravensdown directorship, Kate did extensive due diligence to ensure the alignment was right. She had no interest in pursuing director roles just for the title because, quite frankly, the stakes are too high. She needed to be confident she could add value and that the organisation was the right fit. “I would emphasise having clarity on those two aspects of compatibility.”

A year on, she still calls it one of the best decisions she has ever made. While the role has its challenges, Kate embraces these as important learning and growth opportunities. Governance brings together everything she has learned over the different stages of her career and life: strategy, purpose, people and courage. And it reminds her every day that growth only happens because she has been willing to be uncomfortable.

Failure, courage and the power of mindset

When asked what advice she would give her younger self, Kate says, “Fail more. Failure is a prerequisite for success. Sometimes imperfect action and iteration will get you there faster than the perfect plan. I wish I’d taken more risks earlier, when the stakes were lower.”

She laughs as she recalls listening to a podcast about ‘rejection therapy’, which encouraged people to seek out rejection to build resilience. “It said to go ask a café for a free coffee. So, I did. And they actually gave me one. I failed at failing. But the point stuck. The more you face rejection, the less power it has. Failure is feedback, not an identity.”

That mindset, light-hearted but determined, defines how she leads today. “You don’t have to have it all together. I certainly don’t. But I’ve learned to focus on what matters, set clear priorities and back myself to figure the rest out.”

Women, leadership and challenging the system

Kate believes strongly in creating pathways for women in governance, especially in rural communities. She says there’s no shortage of capable women. Perhaps instead, what’s missing is courage. According to Kate, that’s something you can choose.

For her, real change starts long before board appointments. “Diversity policies treat the symptom, not the cause. If we empower and equip girls, or any underrepresented demographic, from a young age to be strong, curious and confident, diversity will take care of itself.”

Kate is clear: she believes in board appointments based on merit. “But true merit can’t exist without equity,” she adds. “Systemic barriers – those built-in obstacles in society and institutions – can limit who even gets the chance to demonstrate their potential. Access to education, networks, or support isn’t always equal. That’s why creating early, intentional pathways matters. When we remove those barriers, real merit can shine, and that’s how we build high-performing, genuinely diverse boards.”

When women are at the table, Kate believes that the quality of decision-making lifts.  She observes that you still get the commercial sharpness and strategic judgment, but you also get compassion, context and connection. It’s not about what the board looks like, more what it unlocks.

Her hope is that more rural women will back themselves. “There are so many women already holding families, farms and communities together. The capability is there. Sometimes it just takes someone, or in my case a lot of people, to give you a nudge.”

Motherhood, priorities and perspective

As a mother of five, Kate laughs when people ask how she does it all. “I don’t. I don’t believe in balance, I have clear priorities. It’s what’s important, and what just needs doing. There are trade-offs, messy moments, you must exercise grit but fundamentally my values guide my choices”.

Motherhood, she says, has made her a better leader. It has sharpened her decision-making, and she’s stopped sweating the small stuff. Kate also says that motherhood has given her perspective and patience.

She is also quick to acknowledge her support network. “It takes a village. I have an amazing husband, great family and friends and a supportive community. I couldn’t do it without them.”

“But I do choose to be courageous, not just to build a successful career, but to show my children all facets of leadership,” Kate says. For her, leadership starts at home on the farm. “Kids don’t just hear what we say, they watch what we do. They see how we grind through the challenging times, how we treat people, and how we show up each day. If I want them to be brave, to take risks, to speak up and try again when it doesn’t work out, then I must model that.”

That same courage carries through to the boardroom. “Directors are required to make decisions in complex and often uncertain environments,” Kate says. “Nothing is without risk. You have to weigh the inputs, trust your process, and be prepared to take responsibility for those decisions. That takes a steady hand, and a mindset that’s both bold and considered.”

Looking ahead

From a childhood in a family of ten kids to a place at the Ravensdown board table, Kate’s journey has been one of courage, learning and love – for her family, her work and the land that connects them.

Kate is clear that her journey is ongoing; “I just want to keep learning, growing and contributing. You can’t have it all, but you can choose what matters most. For me, that’s family, purpose, and how I show up each day at home on the farm or in the boardroom. Progress isn’t linear; sometimes it even feels like you’re going backwards. Still, choose courage and lean into discomfort – that’s where the magic happens”.