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Katrina Troughton

It’s a good time to return home, according to one of New Zealand’s top business executives who lived overseas for five years.

Katrina Troughton returned to New Zealand to take up the role of Managing Director at IBM New Zealand at the end of 2004.  Prior to her move home she held executive positions, initially for IBM in the Asia Pacific region, and then running IBM’s software business for the Australian and New Zealand markets.
 
According to Katrina one of the most appealing aspects of moving home was improved lifestyle.

She believes that, as a smaller nation, New Zealand offers the opportunity to work closer to home which leads to less commute time and more time enjoying the company of friends and family.

"There’s a lot of opportunity to live, work and play all in the same area which I think is an obvious draw-card," Katrina says.

Katrina, who also plays tennis and goes skiing in her spare time, says she appreciates being closer to the people who matter back in New Zealand.

"I think it's really easy to forget how much of a difference it is being around family and friends when you’re away from them. Suddenly you come home and you do appreciate how good this is," she says.

As a Managing Director, Katrina is grateful for New Zealanders' attitude to work. She says Kiwis have a good work ethic and are not afraid of responsibility - "at the same time, New Zealanders enjoy having a lot of fun."

In terms of job opportunities in New Zealand, Katrina says the current business environment is very strong and offers a number of incentives for expats to return home to New Zealand.

"There is an abundance of "exciting" positions available in the broader business community at the moment, including the IT sector, and so now is a very good time to consider coming back and looking for a role here."

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