Newly appointed Christchurch BNI director, Rob Bakker

“Business in Christchurch is my focus,” says Rob Bakker, the recently appointed BNI New Zealand regional director for the city.

Rob has seen what BNI can do for business, and is passionate about the country’s largest referral networking organisation which has 2,600 members nationwide.

Having learnt a few business lessons the hard way when he first started out, he is inspired to help business owners avoid making the same mistakes.

Being someone who enjoys networking and meeting people, he has a passion for matching a person’s needs to ‘that right someone’ who can help. He is also particularly keen on applying BNI’s principle of givers gain’, which is based on the philosophy that the more you contribute to society, the more you receive in return.

Rob feels his role as director has been a natural progression and looks forward to coaching other business owners: “I have a pretty sharp eye for systems and processes and, when invited to help, am able to size up issues in businesses.”

Applying his skill set, he has made some significant contributions to businesses in the past – something he hopes to continue doing for his counterparts in Christchurch: “I once identified an issue that saved a client $20,000 in my free initial consultation. Needless to say he thought his time was well spent that day!”

With experience in industries ranging from real estate sales to audio visual technology to business coaching and consulting, he now spends most of his working day focusing on Bookkeeping Business Development and business mentoring.

Rob says about Christchurch: “I think there is massive opportunity for BNI to help business get back on its feet by practicing the ‘givers gain’ principle – whether it’s in some form of training, equipping people to be better networkers, or by offering practical help like getting them along to chapter meetings where they can promote themselves and make new connections.”

In his spare time, Rob enjoys motorcycling, supporting the Crusaders and the All Blacks and raising four very lively girls.

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