Emily Shields

At the recent IWTO Congress in Adelaide, we met up with some of our Women in Wool members for a chat.

Emily Shields works for WoolWorks in New Zealand as their Continuous Improvement Manager.

Firstly, was this your first IWTO, and what was your impression of the Congress?

This was my first IWTO, I was really impressed by the willingness of global industry participants to work together, share ideas and get on the same page. I took part in the Young Professionals Program and was very surprised at how industry leaders were excited to speak with the Young Professionals and learn about our careers and aspirations, as well as offer opportunities to see their businesses in person. The Congress itself was an effective way to get up to date on issues affecting the industry globally, that may start to affect my day-to-day. It was a friendly environment to develop my networking skills, and a great experience. 

Can you tell us what your company does, and what your roll within the company does on a day-to-day basis?

WoolWorks is New Zealand’s sole-provider of commercial wool scouring services. We wash approx. 80% of the New Zealand wool clip, across three processing sites in both the North and South Islands. My role with the company is quite varied, recently my day-to-day has been made up of client contact, voluntary standards and regulatory compliance, project management to reduce human error, downtime and drive the use of data in everyday decision-making and guiding farmers through the wool pipeline to create products made with wool from their own farms. This is becoming increasingly more common in my day-to-day as NZ sheep farmers took to value-add their fibre to try to turn wool back into a revenue stream after many years of low or no financial return.

Can you tell us about your previous roles?

Prior to WoolWorks, I spent 2 years with Fox & Lillie Rural as Showfloor Co-Ordinator, Auctioneer, and then Wool Marketing Representative after studying Cert IV in Wool Classing alongside my university studies. My time with FLR really opened my eyes to the opportunities that are available within the agribusiness sector. I grew up on a merino property in NE Vic and always liked working with wool but never saw myself in an agribusiness career, I was totally shut off to the possibilities. The opportunity to work with FLR in a range of roles, meet a wide range of people from various walks in life that were all brought together by wool, really ignited my passion for the industry. I left FLR in 2019 and tried to leave the industry to return to university studies and the corporate career path I always thought I would take. It was then that I realised just how much the wool industry gets under your skin. I approached WoolWorks and have now been with them for 5 years, I finally finished my bachelor’s degree in 2022, better late than never!

When you are not working for Woolworks, how do you like to spend your time?

I’m involved in several community organisations and take piano lessons from a very patient teacher. I enjoy theatre and music, and for the past three years have run a scaffolding business with my partner.

Where do you see yourself in the Next 5 years?

WoolWorks is an exciting and dynamic company to work for, so I am staying open to opportunities that might arise. I see myself furthering my leadership skills to continue my career development at WoolWorks and within the wider wool industry. I’m interested in corporate and industry governance, so I also see myself pursuing further education on that topic, while continuing to nurture my own entrepreneurial spirit on the side.

Emily, why did you decide to join the Women in Wool?

I joined Women in Wool because I truly believe there are so many opportunities in this industry that are not widely publicised and can be found during a simple conversation with the right person. Women in Wool creates a forum for those conversations that some people otherwise wouldn’t have, and the opportunity to create a network in the industry makes having those conversations much less daunting.

I also think there are some incredible women in this industry that aren’t necessarily the face of a business or seen in the media but are working extremely hard for the fibre we all love, and that they should have an opportunity to be celebrated as role models. The WIW board are an example of some of those women. Congratulations to you all!