Growing up with four brothers ‘the best leadership training’

Wednesday, 19 November 2025

FCB Aotearoa chief executive Paul Wilson has held senior leadership positions across ad/marketing - and has had to make tough calls about people he’s worked closely with in this country’s tight-knit advertising industry.

Paul Wilson is group chief executive at ad/marketing communications agency FCB Aotearoa.

What was your most formative life experience?

Growing up as one of five boys in a pretty hectic household. That's where I learned leadership isn't about volume — it's about reading the room, negotiating a truce, and finding a way forward together. Of course, not every family meeting ended peacefully, but those years taught me that leadership is more about listening than winning. My family can be my biggest critics when needed, but have always been my biggest supporters. They keep me grounded, remind me where I came from, and have probably given me the best leadership training anyone could ask for.

Who is your most inspirational figure, and why?

Paul Wilson (left) and his four brothers - a busy household.

Fraser Buchanan. He started out as my leadership coach and became mentor and a very good mate. Fraser had this rare ability to strip things back to what really mattered. His superpower wasn't giving answers — it was asking the kind of questions that forced you to look deeper. Things like, 'What are you pretending not to know?' or 'If you weren't afraid, what would you do next?' Those questions stuck with me. Fraser passed away far too soon in 2022, but his influence shows up in how I lead and how I try to show up for others every day.

What's your favourite book?

These days I'm more into podcasts and non-fiction, but one that's stayed with me is Let Them by Mel Robbins. It's a sharp reminder about the power of letting go — of control, perfection, and the urge to manage everyone's opinions. As a leader, it's about setting direction, creating the right conditions for success, and then trusting your people to deliver. When you do that, you usually get surprised on the upside.

As a leader, how would you address a toxic work culture?

I always start with values — being crystal clear about what we stand for and what we won't tolerate. Accountability matters too. People deserve a chance to improve, but if change doesn't happen, you have to protect the culture for everyone else.

The real test is consistency. You can't say one thing and do another. If you want collaboration and respect, you need to model it daily. People will forgive mistakes; they won't forgive hypocrisy.

You'll never have everyone pulling in the same direction all the time — that's life. But you can build a place where most people are aligned, the right behaviours are rewarded and toxicity simply can't find oxygen.

What's been your hardest decision?

Any decision that affects someone's livelihood. Our industry's small and tight-knit, so tough calls often involve people you've shared years, pitches, and late nights with. Those are brutal moments. I try to handle them with integrity and compassion. It doesn't make it easier, but it makes it honest.

Should billionaires exist?

The real question isn't whether they should — it's what they do with it. Wealth brings reach and responsibility. Are they sharing opportunity, backing ideas that make the world better, or just collecting zeros? Real success shouldn't be measured by what you gather but by what you contribute.

FCB Aotearoa's 'Finding Jade' campaign for One New Zealand.

If you were a billionaire, what would you do?

I'd invest in the people who hold our society together but rarely get recognised — teachers, nurses, social workers, and those who protect and care for our kids. They're the backbone of any community, and we've undervalued them for too long. Beyond that, I'd back initiatives that keep young Kiwi talent here and give them reasons to build their futures in New Zealand rather than looking offshore.

What's one thing that could happen in New Zealand tomorrow to make life better for the most people?

There's a sign in my office that says, 'Be f..king nice”. It's blunt, but imagine if we actually lived by it.

On a more practical note: getting serious about a zero road-toll goal. Every year we lose hundreds of lives we don't have to lose. As someone who helps brands change behaviour for a living, I know we have the tools and insight to shift this. Achieving it would save lives, families, and futures, and that's a legacy any country should want.

Paul Wilson was appointed group chief executive of FCB Aotearoa earlier this year, from the role of chief executive, FCB Auckland. Prior to that Paul has held a number of senior leadership roles in the New Zealand advertising industry and was formerly managing director of Saatchi & Saatchi.