Kathryn Drew

Kathryn Drew knows exactly where she is heading in her career, and undertaking a Master of Business Administration (MBA) has always been on her ‘to do list’.

As an experienced resource management planner, thinking about the future comes naturally to Kathryn, who is one of four Waikato MBA students awarded the Waikato Management School Emerging Leaders Award in 2024.

Kathryn is a Planning and Land Development Manager at BBO in Hamilton, where she oversees a team of 10 surveyors and planners who work on major projects like the design and construction of the Waikato Expressway, the new Peacocke bridge over the Waikato River, and the development of the Tamahere Country Club.

“Consenting these sorts of big projects doesn’t happen overnight; it can sometimes take 18 months before you get approval. You have to be patient, determined and adaptable to change, because you’re working in a policy framework that’s very political and is constantly evolving," she says.

After training to become certified as a Resource Management Commissioner in 2022, Kathryn says it opened her eyes to the idea of doing further study “to broaden my horizons and challenge myself”.

As a member of the leadership team at BBO, this year she decided to enrol for the Waikato MBA, which is a part-time programme designed to fit around the busy lives of working professionals.

“I’m pretty ambitious for my career and my goal is to join the board of directors at BBO one day. But I also want to be informed enough on business issues to know that my voice will add real value at the table," she says.

“Geographic location did play a part in choosing the Waikato MBA, but I’ve known a few other people who’ve already completed it and in my mind it’s a very well respected programme.”

Kathryn is impressed with what she has seen of the programme so far.

“The lecturers are there to support you every step of the way; they’re really driven to ensure that you can succeed. As a student, your focus should be about taking their constructive feedback on board, rather than getting too hung up on your grades.”

“Each paper in the MBA looks at how you can become an effective people manager, as well as mastering the nuts and bolts of business. So, for example, the first paper was on marketing and how to sustain a company’s competitive advantage."

"It’s already changed the way that I think about my job on a day-to-day basis in terms of what I can do to help support the growth of the business, and more importantly retain valued staff," says Kathryn.

“It’s also encouraged me to critically analyse what my strengths and weaknesses are and understand how I can become a better leader.”