MEETING A LEGENDARY ROTARIAN - DAVID REED

I have been part of Rotary for 10 years and joined in my mid 20’s. Outside of Rotary, I work as a marketer in the aged care industry and volunteer at Global Hand Charity. I also help my uncle at his Buddhist/Taoist temple every Sunday. Continuing on the REQ board for my second term there are 3 things I would like to achieve for the Rotary Club of Elizabeth Quay;

Building an Inclusive Culture
Increase Members’ Value Proposition and
Enhance Members’ Personal and Professional Development

ABOUT DAVID REED

Whilst on a break ‘in between jobs’, I decided to catch up with David Reed who has been part of the Rotary family for 47 years and counting. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Perth and a Past President for both the Rotary Clubs of Perth and Kalgoorlie. He has won every Rotary accolade and award under the sun, including the Service Above Self Award that was awarded to 150 people in 2002.

What keeps David motivated after all these years is simply just helping people. One of David’s key projects is Passages, which David has fundraised over a million dollars for Passages who support those at risk of youth homelessness in Western Australia and the need for a unique specialist engagement service.

David recognises some of the benefits of being a part of Rotary as; learning from others; honest business dealings; visiting overseas Rotary Clubs; and, working on international and other projects.

LEADERSHIP

David has not slowed down as he still manages a variety of businesses outside of Rotary such as a cattle station, retirement housing, stockbroking and more. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Neometals, which sparked my interest in learning about how to progress to a paid public board position.

Being on a few voluntary board positions, I would like to understand what are the qualifications and skillsets required to be a public board director (paid position).

David mentioned being on the Rotary board is a good stepping stone for a paid gig. The difference between the Rotary board members and public board directors includes that the Rotary International organisation has a comprehensive governance body that supports Rotarians along their term whereas the obligation on compliance and governance falls heavily on the public board directors; one mistake can cost millions. So, what are companies looking for in a board member? They are looking for a specialist (specific engineer, geologist, lawyers, etc) that can help the organisation grow and an understanding of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) which is now the buzz acronym.

The best way to find the right organisation or understand the board director skillset and experience required is through a head hunter as head hunters are normally contracted to source the right person for the job.

Rookie tips on your first board job:

Listen
Understand the organisation for the first six months as you need to be in sync with the same mindset as the other board members

MENTORSHIP

David’s father was a Rotarian and his mentor. The best advice given to him was ‘Do what you know’. The best successful mentorship is honest and does not involve micromanaging. David told me a story about how he took Andrew Forrest under his wings when Andrew was in 30’s for a few months, to this day Andrew still calls him Boss.

As promised, I have rolled out two events for personal and professional development.

7 & 14 August 2021 – Mental Health First Aid Training, facilitated by HelpingMinds

8 September 2021 – Women in Leadership, Judge Charlotte Wallace and Panel