Catherine Jones - CEO, Creative HQ
My first job was after school in the delicatessen of the local New World Supermarket: serving customers, cleaning the large commercial ovens, scouring mountains of pots and pans, making salads. Their gourmet potato salad recipe is still my go to potato salad recipe today.
The first job that really started to build my career was as a finance solicitor for Linklaters, one of the large law firms in London.
Working at Linklaters immersed me in a culture of rigour, excellence and high standards, surrounded by people who were exceptionally smart, driven, and generous with their knowledge. It was a great training ground for working on complex transactions under pressure and to learn how large organisations operate. The role built core skills in structured thinking, clear communication, and accountability that have stayed with me throughout my career.
I learnt that the best outcomes stem from disciplined practice, high standards, and a shared sense of ownership on projects. Whilst brilliant individuals will always shine, excellence is a team sport that cascades down from the leaders in the organisation. It’s collective accountability and trust that deliver consistently high-quality results for the customer.
I moved to the client side of finance working for some of the world's largest investment banks. In hindsight, this set me up well for a CEO role which requires holistic focus on:
1. Brand - building the brand and keeping it fresh
2. Customers - keeping them happy and central to all product and service design
3. People - the ability to attract and retain the right staff
4. Sustainability - being good for the planet
5. Financial Results - hitting financial targets unlocks a lot of freedom. All of the above matters.
I remember being in Canary Wharf the day Lehman Brothers collapsed. Experiencing both booms and downturns has deepened my respect for risk, sharpened my problem-solving ability, and reinforced the value of a reputation built through consistency of how you show up over time. The skills and confidence gained through lived experiences, one project at a time, have been invaluable as a CEO.
Before becoming a CEO, I held nine roles across six companies over 24 years, including a five-year career break when my husband and I returned to New Zealand and I prioritised time at home with our three children under five. I believe that a life well lived is one that is lived in seasons. The best career decisions are those that are right for you in each of those seasons. Commit fully to your decisions, without second-guessing, lift others around you, and allow the rest to fall into place. Then adjust as the next season emerges.
Whilst I haven’t followed a textbook path to CEO, my journey reflects common traits of other CEOs: drive, resilience, seizing opportunities, delivering results, and recognising the role of luck alongside hard work. That last point matters — there's a lot of hardworking people who aren't CEOs.
Leadership is about service and contribution rather than title. Stepping into the CEO role followed my career track record of saying yes when the timing is right, stepping forward when I've had something useful to offer, and focusing on the value I can add to the organisation and its people.
I never set out to be a CEO. When the opportunity to lead Creative HQ arose, others encouraged me to apply. Before doing so, I engaged in candid conversations to better understand the role, why others believed I could succeed, and where my development edges lay.
I stepped into the CEO role just as Covid and the first lockdown hit New Zealand. This created far more complexity and urgency than anticipated. Fortunately, we had a strong team grounded in collaboration, agility, and care for each other. That period of disruption also created opportunity of course: to listen deeply to customers, and to empower staff to shape what our post-Covid organisation could look like.
Most people have never been listened to, uninterrupted, for five full minutes in their lives (I recently read that observation from a former CIA officer). It’s a reminder of how powerful listening can be in building trust and navigating uncertainty by building new together.
Before stepping into the role, I was told it could be lonely and that the pressure would be immense — both of which proved true. What I came to understand quickly though as CEO is that the pressure is not to succeed for yourself but to succeed for others.
CEOs don’t need to have all the answers, nor do they need to carry challenges alone. The most effective way to succeed is to deeply understand why people are there alongside you, what matters to them, and then to empower them to create collective success.
Ultimately, leadership is a privilege, and CEOs are uniquely positioned to make the path better for those who follow, acknowledge the contribution of others, and embrace failure. The fundamentals — business acumen, scale, and profitability — are essential, but curiosity and humility are equally critical for driving change and adapting in an increasingly uncertain environment. These qualities come more naturally to some than others and, over the past five years, have never been more essential.
My “why” is impact. I’m motivated by working in a sector where ideas, innovation, and ambition can translate into real outcomes. Leading Creative HQ allows me to work with an incredible team of intelligent, experienced and thoughtful humans. We're supporting equally incredible founders who are contributing to New Zealand’s long-term economic, cultural, environmental and social wellbeing. That combination of people, purpose, and impact is what keeps me energised in the role.
