The Most FM Business Hour

The Most FM
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Sponsored by GQ The Lawyers and hosted by Naomi Harris and Jordan McFadyen, The Business Hour is on New Plymouth's MOST FM (100.4 FM) airs live every Monday morning from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. The show features local business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs discussing success stories, business growth, and strategies in the Taranaki region.

  1. Sep 14

    Jimmy Fastier on Rugby, Community & Taranaki Pride

    In this episode of The Business Hour, Naomi Harris is joined by co-host Charlotte Giblin to sit down with Jimmy Fastier, CEO of the Taranaki Rugby Football Union - a Taranaki hardcore, born and bred in Fitzroy, and a lifelong amber-and-black supporter. Jimmy shares how a passion sparked on the terraces with his dad during the 1996 Ranfurly Shield era grew into a career in the business of sport. From a commerce degree majoring in sport management, to a 20-hour-a-week ticketing role at the front desk in 2012, to the CEO chair two years ago, his journey has been about the marketing, the fan engagement, and the people who sit behind the on-field action. The conversation moves from surviving years of stadium construction and fragmented offices, to the leadership and governance behind a genuinely community-focused organisation. Together, they explore: Why "nowhere is the game more manifest than in Taranaki" - and how rugby is woven into the fabric of small-town lifeStepping into the CEO role during COVID, with the business and team performance both needing a resetBeing a visionary leader - creating memorable experiences for players, fans and sponsors alikeBuilding a healthy board: skills matrices, three-year terms, and keeping the ideas and energy freshThe touch-and-go decision behind the $1.4 million Te Whare Pounamu training facilityGenuinely leading player welfare - a dedicated personal development manager and protected weekly time for life beyond rugbyNavigating the tough, topical subject of head injuries and player safetyBalancing the amateur and professional game - the "extra layer" that sets provincial rugby apart from Super RugbyWhat's coming: big events on the horizon, from a full test year in '28 to a British & Irish Lions tour and Springbok tours in '29 and '30 A warm, insightful conversation about leadership, adaptability, and the quiet work of making a region proud. Key takeaway: "Nowhere is the game more manifest than in Taranaki." For Jimmy, it was never just about the scoreboard - it's about people, memories, and creating experiences that bring a whole community together.

  2. Sep 7

    Leaving a Legacy: Josh Hickford & Catherine Grogan on Giving Back in Taranaki

    In this episode of The Business Hour, Naomi and Jordan sit down with Josh Hickford, CEO of the Taranaki Foundation, and Catherine Grogan, a partner at GQ - for conversation about legacy, giving, and getting your affairs in order. Josh shares how a chartered accountancy career at PwC and TSB was upended by a brush with Hodgkin's lymphoma at 27 - a moment that brought his horizon in close and skyrocketed him into community work. Catherine explains why she was drawn to wills and estate planning, and the privilege of the honest, hopeful conversations it involves. Together they unpack how professional advisors and community foundations work hand in hand to turn people's wishes into lasting impact. Together, they explore: Why giving is built into the Kiwi mantra - and how philanthropy is about generosity, not just moneyThe Taranaki Foundation's rise from $1 million to over $30 million under management in five years Why only around 6% of New Zealanders leave a gift in their will - often simply because they've never been askedThe staggering wealth transfer ahead: those over 55 hold roughly 60% of New Zealand's $2.4 trillion in net wealthLeading with the story and the "what," not the number - and thinking in percentages, not fixed figuresReal legacies in action: Glenn Ferguson's journalism scholarship with the Taranaki Daily News, and donors like Beverly supporting Riding for the DisabledWhy roughly half of New Zealanders don't have a will - and how marriage can invalidate the one you've gotBuilding community, not just funding it: Destination Kawarau and Taranaki Outdoor PursuitsThinking in the "climate of the era," not the weather of the day - the 100-year viewA genuinely inspiring conversation about generosity, mortality, and the quiet power of decisions made today that others will build on for decades. Key takeaway: "If everyone just does their little bit, the ripples turn into a tidal wave." You don't have to be wealthy to leave a legacy - and the simplest first step is getting your will sorted.

  3. Aug 31

    Backing Yourself: Alison Bunyan on Building Occupy Property Management

    In this episode of The Business Hour, Naomi Harris and Jordan sit down with Alison Bunyan, founder of Occupy Property Management - a Midwestern girl with California dreams who found her way, via a fair bit of luck and word of mouth, to New Plymouth. Alison shares a genuinely adventurous path: growing up landlocked in Indiana, driving a week straight to chase the ocean in Santa Cruz, learning to surf, and then landing a one-year working holiday visa to New Zealand that turned into a decade. A chance job on the Kaikōura earthquake rebuild - where she was flown by helicopter to a slip with, by her own admission, no idea what she was meant to be doing - led her to her husband Zac, and eventually back to his Taranaki roots. The conversation moves from surf towns and slip sites to building a business, and the pivotal advice from a lawyer that changed everything. Together, they explore: Learning to take risks — and the freeing power of asking "what's the worst that can happen?"Why failure isn't the end: missing one job in Doubtful Sound led to meeting her husband in KaikōuraThe lawyer who looked past the franchise contract and asked "why don't you just do it yourself?"Building Occupy Property Management as a genuinely people-first businessSplitting roles with her husband after having their son - and the business that kept growing in her absenceThe reality of Healthy Homes standards, why so many New Zealand houses are cold, and heating that only covers the loungeNew pet rules, and the coming regulation of property managersLearning resilience through sales, and why saying yes to more things (including this show) mattersA warm, refreshingly honest conversation about adventure, backing yourself, and building a sustainable business without chasing an empire. Key takeaway: "What's the worst that can happen?" Alison's whole journey — from California to Kaikōura to running her own business — has been built on giving it a go, and trusting that even when things don't work out, they often lead somewhere better.

  4. Aug 24

    Graham Wells on Work Ethic, Legacy & Letting Go

    In this episode of The Business Hour, Naomi Harris and Jordan sit down with Graham Wells - founder of the Wells Group and a long-standing champion of Taranaki's trades, engineering, and health and safety community. Born in Hāwera in the 1950s, Graham describes himself as someone who "went to school to eat his lunch" - until an after-school job at an electrical wholesaler set him on a completely different path. From an apprenticeship, to the army (where being thrown in the deep end taught him to rise to a challenge), to founding Wells with his brother on the simple belief that contracting should be done properly, Graham has built a business now spanning some 400 staff and around 100 contractors across the country. Now stepping back into a governance role, Graham reflects candidly on legacy, succession, and what "success" really means when growth was never the goal. Together, they explore: Why being thrown in the deep end - in the army and in business - shaped his work ethicThe founding belief behind Wells: do a good job, build the relationship, and look after your peopleHis mother's example after his father died young: roll your sleeves up and don't blame the hand you're dealtThe disappearing after-school jobs that once taught young people work ethic - and the impact of social media and gaming todayChampioning trades and apprenticeships through Engineering Taranaki, the Apprentice of the Year awards, and Taranaki FuturesSetting up Be Safe Taranaki and helping spark the national Business Leaders' Health and Safety Forum, now in its 15th yearStepping back from sole director to a formal board - and asking his team to tell him when he's no longer adding valueWhere the growth is now: electrification, EV charging, solar farms, revenue metering, and the Taranaki Alliance's push into shipbuilding A thoughtful, humble conversation about hard work, community, and building something that outlasts you. Key takeaway: "Money is like oxygen - you need so much to survive, but a whole lot more doesn't make a huge difference." Graham's measure of success was never the balance sheet, but a business that's well-regarded, respected, and looks after its people.

  5. Aug 17

    Richie Shearer: There's No Such Thing as Can't, It's Won't

    In this episode of The Business Hour, the tables are turned. Jordan sits down with Richie Shearer - the man who launched this very show back around 2008 and interviewed hundreds of Taranaki business owners over the years - this time in the guest's seat. From a "could do better if he applied himself" schoolboy pointed toward industrial instrumentation by a switched-on careers advisor, to an apprenticeship, an OE that took him from a London pub to oil and gas projects across the UK, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia — Richie's path has been one opportunity leading to the next. Back home in Taranaki, that instinct turned into a string of businesses and a lasting commitment to the community. Together, they explore: Being chucked in the deep end overseas — from 30-input systems in New Zealand to 2,500 in London — and why one year in a fast-growing business feels like tenThe "cast-iron bath" lightbulb moment when web hosting revealed itself as a multiplier — and the birth of WebFarm in 1997Building FreeParking as the NZ domain registry opened up, hitting third in the Deloitte Fast 50 with 550%+ growth, and the 18-month earn-out on exitDe-risking the leap by asking "what have I really got to lose?" — and his grandmother's line, "there's no such thing as can't, it's won't"Buying and running QP Sport for nearly 20 years, niche chest-protection gear, and navigating the S-curve as cheap copies biteRescuing the Most FM from shutdown in 2008 and running it as a community-funded charitable trustHow Taranaki Futures was dreamed up live on air — and why the fancy boats at the port belong to the tradiesWhy the internet's early ethical, open ethos feels a world away from today's big-tech AI era A warm, full-circle conversation about risk, reinvention, and the quiet privilege of sharing other people's stories. Key takeaway: "There's no such thing as can't, it's won't." Richie's grandmother's words — and the through-line of a career built on backing yourself and finding the next opportunity.

  6. Aug 10

    Tough Times Don't Discriminate: Wellbeing, Community & the Taranaki Retreat

    In this episode of The Business Hour, Naomi Harris sits down with Jamie Allen of the Taranaki Retreat and Richard Williams of GQ — a trustee of the Retreat — for a moving conversation about mental wellbeing, community, and the quiet power of showing up for one another. Launched 12 years ago and designed by the community for the community, the Taranaki Retreat is the only organisation of its kind in the country offering completely free, wraparound support when people are in distress. Jamie unpacks its holistic, whare tapa whā-based approach across four spaces — the residential retreat, the food truck, the Strandon outreach hub, and Waimanako, the café and support space with its listening-ear team. Together, they explore: Why word of mouth matters so much — and how being someone's advocate can be the most helpful thing you can doThe visible and the invisible: why mental distress can feel so private and isolating, and the "I'm fine" mask so many of us wearRising stress in unexpected places — including our over-65s — and the scarcity messaging that stops people reaching outSuicide prevention as a genuine collective, and the 70+ organisations partnering with the RetreatĀwhina — the Retreat's own secure, Taranaki-built, data-sovereign software platform for community providers, with all data staying onshoreWhy men are wired to avoid asking for help — and that tough times don't discriminate, reaching even the CEO "busking it" at the topJamie's vision of Taranaki as a gold standard for trauma-informed care across schools, workplaces and support servicesHow businesses can give back in small but meaningful ways — a coffee at Waimanako, an auction item, driving a van, or a governance seatA warm, generous conversation about kindness, connection, and the difference a community can make when it decides its people are everyone's responsibility. Key takeaway: "Tough times don't discriminate." Support at the Taranaki Retreat is there for everyone, completely free — and we all have something we can give back.

  7. Aug 6

    Governance, Purpose & Giving Back

    In this episode of The Business Hour, Jordan hosts a full studio for a conversation all about governance - and the community organisations that hold the region together. He's joined by Rob Facer from the Institute of Directors (IoD), Jo Weiss from The Wheelhouse, and experienced director Diane Mason. Across Taranaki there's a plethora of well-meaning community organisations crying out for people to sit on their boards and, at the same time, a pool of talented, capable people looking for governance roles. This conversation is about bridging that gap, and why good governance matters just as much in the not-for-profit sector as it does in business. Together, they explore: The IoD and Wheelhouse "governance connections" event - which began life as governance speed datingThe four pillars of good governance: defining purpose, setting the right culture, holding to account, and complianceWhy community organisations need to be board-ready - clear on their purpose, vision, values, and the skills they're seekingDiane's journey from a 15-year international energy career with Shell to trustee roles with New Plymouth InjurySafe and the Toi FoundationDoing your due diligence as an aspiring director - values alignment, cultural fit, and finding the right match on both sidesThe genuine joy and personal satisfaction of giving back through governanceHow The Wheelhouse supports leadership and capacity across 100+ community organisations a yearA warm, practical conversation about purpose, connection, and the quiet work of strengthening a region - one board table at a time. Key takeaway: "Don't wait for the time to come - you can start right now." Diane's advice for anyone considering governance: start local, build your network, and learn as you contribute.

  8. Jul 29

    From Engineer to Advocate: Juliet Oliver on Endometriosis & Endo45

    In this episode of The Business Hour, Naomi Harris sits down with Juliet Oliver — a process systems materials engineer turned startup founder, and the creator of Endo45, a digital health platform supporting people living with endometriosis. Originally from Auckland, Juliet came to Taranaki for its energy sector and built a career at Todd Energy — until, at the height of that career, she was hit by stage four endometriosis. Drawing on her engineer's instinct for data, she built a "biological blueprint" of what was broken in her body, overhauled her health, and reached a remission she's now maintained pain- and symptom-free for a decade. The conversation explores how a personal health crisis became a mission to help others — and what it takes to leave a secure industry with no background in tech or women's health and build something from scratch. Together, they explore: Navigating a high-demand career in a male-dominated industry while managing a hidden chronic illnessWhy endometriosis is a whole-body inflammatory disease — and why cutting it out isn't the end of the storyThe staggering economic burden: upwards of $22 billion a year to New Zealand, most of it lost productivityBuilding an app to make evidence-based support accessible, bootstrapped largely on volunteer powerA new schools pilot with Spark Health and Deborah Bush's "What About Me" programme, bringing menstrual health education into five Waikato high schoolsWhy sales and marketing was harder than working offshore on North Sea rigsTelling your story to connect — and leading with hope rather than only painThe emerging diagnostic tools (saliva, blood and urine tests) that could change the landscape overnightA candid, generous conversation about resilience, taking your health into your own hands, and turning privilege and hard-won knowledge into help for others.

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About

Sponsored by GQ The Lawyers and hosted by Naomi Harris and Jordan McFadyen, The Business Hour is on New Plymouth's MOST FM (100.4 FM) airs live every Monday morning from 10:00 am to 11:00 am. The show features local business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs discussing success stories, business growth, and strategies in the Taranaki region.

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