Comments about Lim branded ‘stupid and offensive’
Comments about celebrity chef Nadia Lim by DGL executive director Simon Henry were ‘‘stupid and offensive’’ but the sentiments are not unique in business, according to professional director Rob Campbell.
Henry has been widely panned for misogynistic and racist comments about Lim in My Food Bag’s prospectus, after he called the meal kit company’s co-founder and brand ambassador ‘‘a little bit of Eurasian fluff’’ who was showing cleavage to sell the company’s shares.
Campbell, who has been a director for more than four decades across community, government and corporate entities, told an Institute of Directors advanced directors course in Wellington that the sentiments were not unique or from the past.
‘‘They should be but they are not,’’ Campbell said. ‘‘Whether we are perpetrators or bystanders the use of aggressive personal put downs is not uncommon in business, nor are sexism, ageism or racism. We are no better served by pretending everything is fine than by the occasional flash of unattractive reality.’’
Boards were essentially the servants of the company owners, and were very likely to reflect the attitudes and attributes of the owners, he said.
Potential new members to a board were likely to be ranked highest for their compatibility, which meant they would be ‘‘someone like us’’, he said.
‘‘We all bring different things, or potentially do, to governance and there is no telling which will be of most value,’’ he said. ‘‘We have to find more effective ways to really hear the voices of different cultures and age groups.
‘‘As a critical and pressing example in Aotearoa we need to find creative ways to link with Te Ao Māori [the Māori world view] in how we conduct everything from business to government to social services,’’ Campbell said. ‘‘This is not solved by appointing advisory groups or granting seats at unchanged tables considering unchanged matters in an unchanged way. We need to experiment and engage with Māori on their terms, their space, recognising their rights and expectations to rangatiratanga and mana motuhake [self-determination].’’