Fiona Bycroft

Fiona Bycroft, CEO of Naut (electric boat propulsion) and chemical engineer, delivers one of the most thought-provoking conversations on diversity and equality in the podcast's history. Her career spans Kinleith pulp and paper, Siemens power line maintenance, ABB at NZ Steel (where she met Andy), China, Quant, electrical construction, and now Naut, where she built the first fully electric ferry in the Southern Hemisphere for East by West in Wellington. As a queer woman who has spent her entire career in male-dominated industries, Fiona brings a unique and uncompromising perspective: women's diversity events that exclude men miss the point entirely, gendered language like "tradesmen" actively shapes reality, and society conditions children into gender roles by age five. She offers practical frameworks for recruiting diverse workforces and making workplaces genuinely ready for them.

Key Topics Discussed

• First electric ferry in the Southern Hemisphere. Naut built the propulsion system for the East by West ferry in Wellington harbour. A milestone for electric marine transport in NZ and the region.
• Diversity events that exclude men. Fiona argues that women-only diversity events miss the point. The people who need to hear the message and change behaviour are the men, excluding them defeats the purpose.
• Society conditions children by age 5. Fiona's 5-year-old son already believed "men are strong" despite having a 6-foot-tall mum and a strong police officer mum. The conditioning happens through media, school, and everyday interactions before children even start formal education.
• Gendered language shapes reality. A teacher asked for "4 strong boys" to help move something, excluding girls by default. The word "tradesmen" vs "tradespeople" is not pedantic, language actively shapes who feels welcome and who feels excluded from an industry.
• Recruiting for diversity requires effort. It takes 1 phone call to recruit a white male, 2 calls for a woman, and 3 calls for Maori or Pacifica candidates. Diversity does not happen by accident, it requires deliberate, sustained effort in sourcing and outreach.
• Workplace readiness for diversity. Having period products available, PPE that fits women's bodies, and a male workforce prepared to defend and support diverse hires. Hiring diverse people into an unprepared workplace sets them up to fail.
• Conflict is good when managed. Diversity of thought produces better outcomes, but it also produces conflict. The key is managing that conflict productively. There is an optimal level of diversity of thought, too little produces groupthink, too much produces dysfunction.

Notable Quotes

• On her son: a 5-year-old already believed "men are strong" despite having a 6-foot mum and a strong police officer mum, society had already done its work.
• On a teacher: asked for "4 strong boys", gendered language excludes without anyone noticing.
• On language: "tradesmen" vs "tradespeople", the words we use shape the reality we build.
• On recruiting: 1 call for a white male, 2 for a woman, 3 for Maori/Pacifica, diversity takes deliberate effort.

Guest Background

Fiona Bycroft is CEO of Naut, a company specialising in electric boat propulsion, based in Fungatai. She is a chemical engineer by training with a career spanning heavy industry: Kinleith pulp and paper mill, Siemens (power line maintenance), ABB (NZ Steel, where she first crossed paths with Andy), a stint in China, Quant, and electrical construction, before founding Naut. She built the first fully electric ferry in the Southern Hemisphere. As a queer woman who is 6 feet tall, she brings a deeply personal and practical perspective on diversity, equality, and inclusion in male-dominated industries.