Annabel Toogood is a high flier in every sense. The CEO of New Zealand Air Ambulance Service is Director of three companies, mother of two, and not afraid of speaking her mind. Here, we find out more about her extraordinary career journey...
“I work in a very male dominated sector”, says Annabel Toogood, the CEO of New Zealand Air Ambulance Service. So male dominated in fact, that at one particular meeting held at a men’s only club, she was told she should ‘feel privileged’ to be at the table. “As you can imagine it was not met with a favourable response!” But despite the challenges - “I think as a woman I had to work harder to be respected in the role of CEO”, she says - there’s a sense of deep satisfaction that comes from dedicating your life to something so meaningful.
And for those of us who struggle to deal with work-related stress, Annabel has had to learn how to keep that in check. She can be on call for 24 hours at a time, helping people through some of the worst days of their lives. So how does she avoid bringing that home? “I have gotten very good at focusing on supporting families in what is their tragedy or time of need, not mine”, she explains. “My line of work helps to keep things in perspective, helps me to practice gratitude for the health of my children and family, and to not lose sight of what brings joy and fulfilment into my life.”
And what a life it is. She grew up on the outskirts of the small picturesque village of Havelock North on the East Coast of New Zealand’s North Island. She lived with her parents, younger brother Nick, a pony called Jellybeans and a roving menagerie of cats and dogs.
“My father started a property development business around the time I was seven”, she recalls, “gained his pilot license and bought a helicopter. My mother worked in the fashion business with my Grandmother, who owned and piloted a Tiger Moth plane. We spent many hours flying with dad in the helicopter with the whole family, and sometimes plus the dog! My parents both had a strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirits, which spurred my ambition to succeed and build businesses.”
We ask Annabel about having it all, about Mum-shaming and leading with compassion, and the story of the little boy on holiday that’s stayed with her forever...
Tell me a little about your work and what it is that you do. What does an average day look like?
There is no normal day managing an air ambulance service. My day can start in the middle of the night with a phone call from mission coordination, needing my input on a retrieval activation. Over the years I have got very good at waking up quickly, making decisions, and going back to sleep until the next call. On a busy night this can be somewhat relentless. In the morning I wake and check my emails and respond as required, then help the children get ready for school. I like to take them to school on my way to work to ensure I spend some time with them at the start of the day. I get into the office based at our air ambulance centre in Napier and attend to managing all aspects of our domestic and international air ambulance transfers, meet with our senior leadership team, receive updates from our bases around New Zealand, engage with the clinical team and understand the workload for the day, how many patients we have to fly where. The day can rapidly change with emergency retrievals coming in, which may require dispatch to a destination in New Zealand or the South Pacific and an all hands on deck approach.
The Skyline Group consists of three companies: Skyline Aviation, NZAAS, and Med Assist NZ which offers medical treatment in New Zealand for patients in the South Pacific. Collectively the group holds contracts with hospitals and government agencies to provide air ambulance services, including the National Starship air ambulance contract (the NZ specialist children’s hospital). I am responsible for managing service delivery and we hold the responsibility of having an aircraft available any time of the day and night to retrieve critically unwell children from anywhere in New Zealand. I am a Director of all three companies, and CEO of NZAAS and Med Assist NZ. Our aircraft with the various demands can move up to 15 patients a day. It can be very busy!
We don't see many female CEOs - and we want to see more - so I want to know what your dreams were as a young girl. Did your parents raise you to believe that you could be anything you wanted to?
School wasn’t for me, and I think if you don’t do well at school it can limit your self belief in what you can achieve in the real world. I completed an international Diploma after leaving school, as a beauty and body therapist, and worked for luxury lodges managing spas and spent some time in London.
On return there was an opportunity to join my father’s business. This was never the plan, but starting an aircraft charter division within the company with my luxury lodge contacts was an opportunity that I pursued, and later founded New Zealand Air Ambulance Service and Med Assist NZ out of demand for our air ambulance service.
As a child my parents always focused on finding something I was passionate about and pursuing it, there is no substitute for hard work and anything is possible. Having role models who show you dedication, leadership and the workings of an entrepreneurial mind is so important in shaping how young children see the future. For me, seeing my dad successfully start many businesses over the years and witnessing the journey, inspired me to follow in his footsteps. I knew by the time I was in my twenties I wanted to run my own business and there was never any question from my parents on my ability to achieve whatever it was I aspired to achieve.
Being competitive, compassionate and resilient are all traits I got from them. As my father transitions into retirement I have certainly reflected on how privileged I have been being able to work alongside him for the last 12 years. It has been an amazing journey, he has taught me a lot and he would say I have driven him into pursuing growth opportunities when perhaps most of his friends were trying to wind down and play golf! With my brother and husband in the business it is certainly a family affair, and we are still talking to each other which is a bonus!
On the same note, what’s been your experience as a female CEO? Have you felt supported throughout your career progression, or have you had to battle any discrimination or even casual sexism in the role?
I work in a very male dominated sector. More often than not I am the only female in a meeting. I have encountered an ‘old boys club’ mentality, and in fact one particular meeting was held at a club in Napier that only allowed men inside, and I was told I should ‘feel privileged’ to be at the table. As you can imagine it was not met with a favourable response! I think as a woman I had to work harder to be respected in the role of CEO, I have been challenged more, but demonstrating industry knowledge, business acumen, staying true to my own values and being assertive but respectful, has served me well.
You work very long days and are sometimes on call for 24 hours. We know that women bear the brunt of unpaid domestic labour and many of us struggle to manage childcare and work as it is. So as a mother of two, how do you do it?
Although the nature of the 24/7 on call seems arduous it is my way of life. The unpredictable nature of my role does present some logistics challenges, but with a very tolerant and supportive husband who also works within the business as charter manager, and a wonderful nanny, Brooke, we make it work. My mum forms a huge part of our support network, has a very close relationship with my kids and happily looks after them. I couldn’t fulfil by business dreams and raise a family without my support network, so I am very grateful.
You support people through some of the hardest days of their lives. Are there any stories you can share that have really stuck with you?
A phone call from a young boy’s mother and my words to her, “no matter what, we are coming to get him”. She sat by her child’s side begging me to help as she watched him deteriorate in front of her eyes, and it was certainly a moment I will always remember. My little boy was 4 at the time, the same age as hers, and we holiday in Fiji every year. The similarities certainly rung home....
We’d received the call to urgently retrieve a 4 year old child from Fiji, who while on holiday with his family, playing in a pool, turned into a nightmare. It took a split second - the filter in the pool was missing the lid and sucked the little boy in. In that moment everything changed, he suffered life threatening and complex injuries. After a primary medivac off the remote Island to the mainland, our team took over providing telemedicine advice and preparing to take off from New Zealand with a specialist team onboard.
He was showing critical fluid loss and his blood volume was dropping. With a flight time of three hours our team arrived, took over life support and stabilised the little boy. He returned to Starship hospital and after multiple surgeries and a long stay he has made a remarkable recovery and is now 12 and enjoying school and family life. Knowing our incredible team including a clinician from Starship, and the ongoing care at Starship, saved his life, is why we dedicate our lives to this business. It is incredibly rewarding.
And when it comes to seeing and experiencing trauma, how do you manage that on a personal level? Do you have strategies to help you process those experiences, and how do you compartmentalise so that you don’t bring them home with you?
As a team we debrief on complicated missions and provide very good peer support as well as having professional support available to everyone in our service. For me personally I have gotten very good at focusing on supporting families in what is their tragedy or time of need, not mine. I can guide them through step by step what needs to be done, to help them get a loved one home and navigate many of the logistical challenges. When overseeing international missions which can take weeks of planning, you get to know the families very well and they rely on you, it can be sad at times but I am focused on solutions and optimising patient outcomes.
I love the beach and after particularly hard weeks, going to our beach house and enjoying time with friends and family is very therapeutic.
You founded Med Assist NZ, a sister to company to New Zealand Air Ambulance, which provides world class healthcare to patients in the South Pacific, two years ago. Tell me about what motivated that and what the experience has been like so far?
Having spent 7 years operating our aircraft throughout the South Pacific and travelling to many of these countries myself, you understand the resource limitations many countries have in healthcare. This in turn sees many patients, including children, not receiving treatment they need and poor health outcomes. Med Assist was born out of demand for this service from our existing clients but also from a passion to provide access to world class healthcare for patients that could otherwise not receive it. We have achieved incredible outcomes through this service and helped over 400 patients. When we launched the service we were inundated with patients, it was a whirlwind, employing new staff weekly, training them, setting up hotel accommodation, translators, specialist networks, travel arrangements, cost containment initiatives and holistic support 24/7 was a challenge. We built an amazing team who were dedicated to helping our patients and the company continues (at a reduced rate due to COVID) facilitating these services for the people of the Pacific.
As a leader, what are the values that are important to you to have and demonstrate? What kind of leadership style do you try to have?
My leadership style I would say is collaborative. I lead a team of professionals who all contribute hugely to the success of the business. Hierarchy is not important, everyone is valued and together we make decisions. We are a family business and we treat it that way which drives our values of integrity, clinical and aviation excellence.
Despite the intense challenges, your work must be incredibly rewarding. Has work always felt like a part of your identity?
Yes, very much so. I think at times I have to remind myself I have other roles equally important, being a mother, wife and friend, that also define my identity. It can be all consuming. I feel privileged to work in a service that provides immense satisfaction. It doesn’t feel like work as such, and as a family business my kids have always been a part of the journey, joining us in the office after school on occasion and when they were younger coming to work with both my husband and I.
How do you cope with stress? Do you have any self-care practices or routines?
In the early days of NZAAS I was on call 24/7 and would be lucky to get 4 hours sleep uninterrupted. Now with a fantastic mission coordination team I mostly get a good night’s sleep. Sleep and exercise are incredibly important as I have gotten older, and really drive my effectiveness as a business leader. I enjoy Pilates when I can get to the class! And love being at our beach house with friends and the kids, relaxing over a dinner and a glass of red.