Meet the Rata Professional Services Team
Great companies don’t happen by accident. We are no different – Rata Professional Services is the brainchild of two people who firmly believe in the motto “Think different”.
Sandra Pringle, Co-Founder, Rata Professional Services
Sandra is passionate about building a more productive New Zealand economy through the development of smarter, more ethical business practices that help people, the planet, and Kiwi companies to thrive together.
Ask her what she thinks about New Zealand’s supply chain status quo, and she’ll tell you straight: she believes it’s failing to meet the needs of today’s Kiwis and jeopardises tomorrow’s future.
But she says that’s all fixable if business leaders are open to letting go of the narrow – but widely-held – view of sustainability as being about planting trees and scrapping plastic bags. Instead, she wants Kiwi companies to develop genuinely sustainable business strategies. Strategies with ethics at their heart that drive values-based workplace cultures and treat employees, customers, and suppliers with intelligence and respect, whilst promoting transparency and traceability across operations.
An articulate speaker and communicator, Sandra is known for her growth mindset and ability to unite people for a common purpose. She loves encouraging others to think ‘outside the box’ when it comes to personal development and self-reflection and has a growing interest in health and wellness advocacy.
“My goal is to encourage New Zealand organisations to place a greater focus on employee health and wellbeing at a cellular level to create happier, more innovative, and more productive family units, communities, and workplaces. This approach to business not only helps Kiwi businesses to attract and retain top talent, but it also has a ripple effect across industries, leading to stronger, more sustainable partnerships, and opening doors to innovative new supply chain practices that can boost profits whilst delivering for society and our planet.”
Warren Pringle, Co-Founder, Rata Professional Services
Warren is a firm believer that truly sustainable business practice starts with people, and he wants more business leaders to pause and challenge themselves to consider how and why they operate the way they do.
His passion for sustainable business growth led him to co-found Rata Professional Services, with his wife, Sandra, to help more Kiwi companies to develop ethical, transparent, and value-based growth strategies.
A fresh thinker, Warren is known for his ability to transform organisations through the implementation of modern people and governance models and intelligent business practices.
Warren believes that with a supportive and inclusive culture inspiring employees at all levels to take ownership and accountability for business performance, companies can create positive, sustainable change.
Before co-founding Rata Professional Services, Warren was responsible for CatzDesign Ltd., the first company in New Zealand to achieve Enviro-Mark Diamond certification in just seven months.
“If there are two things I want Kiwi business owners to understand, it’s that 1) the way they value their people will determine their ability to deliver genuinely sustainable growth and 2) that wealth isn’t just financial. Yes, we business owners need to deliver profit, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of people or the planet. The reality is that, by being innovative with your employee wellbeing programmes and business culture, your business can increase its productivity and profit. You can have it all; it just takes planning and commitment.”
Tony Hocking, Lead advisor, evaluator, and auditor
Around 2013, Tony bumped into Sandra and Warren by chance at a function in Hawke’s Bay and immediately connected with their ambitions for Kiwi businesses. The trio kept in touch, and, a few years later, Tony agreed to become an independent auditor for the Rata Certification Programme during its marketplace trials. The rest, as they say, is history.
Known as a ‘why’ guy, Tony enjoys working with small to large-sized enterprises, asking questions to understand the cause and effect of the issues that need to be addressed, and supporting companies to become more effective and efficient in order to thrive.
He also loves Venn diagrams because he firmly believes that all areas of any business are interconnected i.e., if you tinker with one part, you need to understand the consequences to the other parts of the business.
As part of his certification work with Rata, Tony prides himself on getting to the heart of business management issues and supporting organisations and employees to understand their operations and output. In doing so, he hopes to help embed a genuine sustainability mindset into Kiwi companies to help them generate points of difference and competitive advantage in the marketplace.
“As a business consultant, I specialise in ‘business best practice’, which, when you boil it down, is about doing things right the first time and building value into your business. If you consider the definition of sustainability in a business sense, the key messages align closely with what we generally consider to be sound business practices, such as ensuring the health and well-being of your team, building efficiency, minimising waste, and maximising resources. So, there is a natural fit between what I offer and what Rata does.’