Learning out in the cold

Linda Mulvihill in the Antarctic.

At the beginning of November Linda Mulvihill flew to Ushuaia, Argentina, boarded a ship and began a 19-day voyage to Antarctica.

“It takes two days to travel from Ushuaia across the Drake Passage, which is known for being very tumultuous – it was bumpy!” says Linda, Fonterra’s general manager Energy and Climate, who is based at Hautapu site.

The trip was part of Homeward Bound, a global leadership programme for women with a Stemm (science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine) background and included a one-year online course and expedition to Antarctica.

Linda Mulvihill took in the incredible views of the Antarctic.

The purpose of the Homeward Bound programme is to create a diverse group of leaders in Stemm who are equipped with the skills required to navigate a changing world.

She was the only New Zealand woman selected for her cohort, which was originally postponed due to Covid.

During the voyage, Linda learned about leadership, strategy, and collaboration, with seminars including strategy, generative dialogue, systems thinking, planetary boundaries, polyvagal theory, policy, eco-grief, and many Antarctica topics.

Linda leads the co-op’s decarbonisations strategy, which includes the conversion of coal boilers to wood pellets that is currently underway at Fonterra’s Hautapu site and the transition to wood biomass at Waitoa.

In Antarctica participants were met with a challenging and inspiring backdrop.

The earth’s southern-most continent has experienced some of the greatest warming on earth over the last 50 years and is central to understanding the global impacts of climate change.

“We saw humpback whales two metres off the ship, which was incredible. It was also special to see penguins in their home – it was mating season, so we saw them building nests, and the males bringing pebbles to the females, which is part of their mating ritual.”

Linda also took part in the ‘polar plunge’ (jumping into near-freezing water) to raise money for three charities she is passionate about – Endometriosis New Zealand, Surf Lifesaving New Zealand, and RestoreNative.

Linda hopes to bring back to the co-operative stories of hope about what can be done to improve our planet, as well as a renewed focus and passion to continue to make a difference in her role as a leader in energy and climate.

She is now training for the kayak leg of Coast to Coast next month.

“I’m a very driven person, and I love pushing myself. I often ask myself why I want to keep doing so many things, there are so many great things to be done and I don’t want to miss out,” she says.

Whilst there are no more formal Homeward Bound seminars planned, the group plans to stay in touch.

“We’ll continue to look for collaboration opportunities and ways to share what we’ve learnt.”