With a billion dollars, Priya Patel would choose ‘less yacht, more infrastructure’
Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Priya Patel is co-chief executive officer New Zealand’s largest creative and media network, McCann NZ, which is owned by Omnicom.
What was your most formative life experience?
One of my earliest adult missteps was also one of my most formative. At eighteen, I missed the grades I needed to take my place at Oxford University to study and had to re-apply the following year.
At the time it felt catastrophic. My Indian immigrant parents had worked incredibly hard to send me to a top UK school, and I’d always done well academically, so falling short was both humbling and uncomfortable - not only for me, but in what I felt I owed them.
That year proved far more valuable than a straightforward acceptance would have been. It forced me to confront failure early, take responsibility rather than search for excuses, and develop a level of discipline and self-belief I hadn’t previously needed.
Reapplying and finally completing that degree was about proving to myself that setbacks only define you if you allow them to. It gave me a healthier relationship with failure and taught me that persistence, though terribly unfashionable, is often the real differentiator.
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Who is your most inspirational figure, and why?
My husband, without question. He’s been living with pancreatic cancer and outlived every prediction placed before him. Over the past three years he’s endured chemotherapy, pursued experimental drug trials in Australia, explored integrative and alternative therapies, and most remarkably, never stopped believing in the possibility of a better outcome.
Watching him navigate uncertainty with courage and determination has redefined resilience for me. His refusal to be reduced to statistics, and his steady optimism in the face of extraordinary odds, is a daily reminder that strength is as much about mindset as it is about endurance. He has an ability to make hope feel practical rather than naïve - a leadership lesson disguised as a life one.
Favourite book?
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie.
It blends history, identity and imagination in a way that feels both deeply personal and sweeping in scale. Its exploration of belonging and cultural collision resonates with me, particularly having lived across countries and identities. It’s also a gentle reminder that life is rarely tidy or chronological, and perhaps all the richer for that.
As a leader, how would you address a toxic work culture?
Directly, and early. Toxicity thrives in silence, and silence is rarely accidental. I’d start by listening - properly, and without defensiveness - and then act decisively. That means calling out poor behaviour regardless of seniority, resetting expectations, and, if necessary, parting ways with high performers who undermine trust.
Culture isn’t what’s written on the wall; it’s what you tolerate on a difficult Tuesday afternoon.
Hardest decision ever?
Leaving an established life in the UK to start over - first in Australia, then again in NZ. It meant walking away from familiarity, professional networks and a comfortable trajectory for something with no guarantees.
I’m fortunate the real challenge wasn’t logistical; it was identity. You quickly realise how much confidence is tied to context when that context disappears. In hindsight, the discomfort was the point. Growth rarely comes from staying where you’re already understood. Sometimes you have to be willing to be unknown, and occasionally mispronounced, and build again anyway.
Being an outsider means you’re never entirely “in”, which can be awkward but also rather useful. You tend to notice what others shrug off. NZ has its quirks like anywhere, yet I’ve found it a surprisingly good refuge for creativity and experimentation, particularly compared with the global circus. Whilst it was a hard decision to come here, it has been surprisingly easy to stay.
Should billionaires exist?
I struggle with the idea, because extreme wealth is often inseparable from extreme inequality and limited social mobility. When the richest 1% controls nearly half of global wealth, it stops looking like individual success and starts to resemble structural imbalance. If one person can hold more resources than entire nations, it raises legitimate questions about how fair our economic, political and cultural systems truly are.
None of this suggests that ambition, innovation or entrepreneurship shouldn’t be rewarded - they absolutely should - just not to the extent they erode opportunity and social stability for everyone else.
If I were a billionaire, I would…
Treat it like a Chief Transformation Officer role with a very aggressive deadline. I’d invest in education, healthcare and entrepreneurship to widen opportunity and create long-term impact, while being intentional about ethical investing and fair taxation. In short: less yacht, more infrastructure.
There’d be a generous line item for dog shelters too - partial repayment for unconditional love we definitely didn’t earn, and only occasionally deserve from our canine friends.
What is the one thing that could happen in New Zealand tomorrow that would make life better for the most people?
If everyone woke up and embraced their creative superpowers, life might improve faster than any policy change. I believe creativity is the quiet engine behind progress. When people feel creative, they feel capable - and capable people participate.
A nation confident in its ability to invent, improve and contribute could unlock fresh solutions to housing, healthcare, climate and education faster than any single reform. I imagine half the country prototyping sustainable housing, the other half launching gloriously unhinged solar-powered gumboots and edible coffee cups. Somewhere in that chaos, New Zealand would accidentally invent its next great industry.