Sitting in Barcelona across from one of Animation Research Ltd’s main competitors, the conversation was not one he was expecting to have, John Rendall says.
The chief executive told him his company had never tried to take on the Dunedin-based company in certain areas because it had "the strongest relationships in the world".
It was this compliment that solidified for him just how hard Animation Research Ltd (ARL) had worked to treat its customers well, Mr Rendall said.
"We treat our customers like family.
"We always answer the phone; we always do everything we can to make sure they get the best-quality product and services from us ... That’s what we love doing.
"I do believe that’s a southern thing."
The 38-year-old head of technology and innovation at ARL received the 2024 Innovation Leadership Award at the recent New Zealand Leadership Awards.
His job involves guiding the company’s technological growth, growing the company’s culture and working with developers to try to innovate beyond anything its competition is doing.
He also manages the company’s relationship with Major League Baseball and is working on scaling up ARL’s cricket operation.
He said he did not expect to receive the award and was still "really blown away by it".
"I live a very simple life.
"People often laugh when I tell them I just still live in my wee house down in Tainui ... I don’t really care about any of that stuff — as long as I’m doing what I enjoy, everything else that happens is just sort of a by-product of that."
He started at the company when he was 18 years old, fitting equipment on to America’s Cup yachts, operating the computer and video distribution systems and generally doing what needed to be done, which he still made an effort to do today.
He never thought he would still be at the company he started at when he was a teenager.
"It just got away on me because I was having so much fun and just being around amazing people.
"The years just keep flying by and I realised that, oh my God, I’m turning 38."
He remembered being "very passionate about electronics and technology" from about age 5, even before computers had become a big thing.
"I managed to convince my parents, who are farmers, to purchase a computer for me.
"Of course, my dad had other plans. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps ... because he’s a true southern man and wanted his son to do the same thing.
"But he dug deep — we didn’t have a lot of money — and he bought a computer for me.
"Neither my mum nor dad really understood why I had that interest or where it came from."
His family moved to Dunedin when he was about 6, and at primary school and all throughout high school at Kavanagh College (now Trinity Catholic College) he "started sort of running the computer networks" and ended up becoming the "de facto IT person at the school".
"I knew more about computers than the teachers did at the time."
A pair of teachers got him involved in an initiative to start the school’s television network, and over his final years of schooling he built a studio and ran all the productions.
His principal recognised he "wasn’t really interested in traditional schooling" and about age 17 enabled him to pursue other opportunities, including working as a panel operator with a radio network and operating the referee intercom system for the rugby on Sky.
Some of the older guys working for Sky recommended him, without his knowledge, to Karen Shaw — the executive assistant to Sir Ian Taylor — who offered him a trip to Valencia to work on the America’s Cup, in 2006.
"I’d never been anywhere apart from Australia before in my life, and within a week of that, I was working on the back of America’s Cup boats installing equipment ... and that sort of kick-started my career at that point."
It was in Valencia where he first met Sir Ian, and the pair immediately sparked a close friendship.
"He’s just an amazing person in my life, and he’s done so much for me."
A defining moment for him was in 2010 during a "rough patch" for the company off the back of a boom, with some people leaving the business.
The opportunity came around again to work on the "dog match between Oracle and Alinghi" in Valencia, and he recalled Sir Ian asking him whether he thought they could pull it off.
At 22 years old, he had to take "complete responsibility" for a half-a-million-dollar job that would mean a huge amount for the company, at a time where things were not that great.
But he succeeded, and from there began working directly with Louis Vuitton, Audi and other big organisations.
He had had "the most incredibly blessed life", but had worked hard for it.
The people and the culture were the biggest reasons that had kept him at ARL for so long, as well as the fast-paced innovation.
The principles he lived by were to believe in your path and to learn from your mistakes and pick up the pieces.
"It might seem really hard in this day and age to get anywhere but there’s still lots and lots of opportunities.
The best hope New Zealand had was getting on the innovation bandwagon.
"Tourism, agriculture, sciences — we just need to promote more of that and those opportunities will just start flying."
