Dennis Chapman

• National College of Electrotechnology Ltd (Electec College)
• Heurisko Ltd
• Stratatech Ltd
• Fraemohs Industries Ltd
• Canterbury Television Ltd

• No.8 Investments
• Science Alive - as trustee

READING THE DRIVERS

An interview with Dennis Chapman
By Fraser Scott of Design Industry www.designindustry.co.nz

Many people know Dennis Chapman as the man that created Switchtec Power Systems and sold it to a UK company at a time when it had over 400 staff and a turnover in excess of $100 million.

Others know him as a man with a year-round penchant for short-sleeve shirts and jandals.

But everyone that knows him, or knows of him, recognises that he has an eye for the future; for figuring out where the world is going and directing investments and ideas into companies that are ready with the right products.

Chapman began his career as an apprentice with Tait Electronics in the late sixties. He was their first apprentice back when Tait's had just twenty staff, but quickly rose through the ranks to a role as a technician designing radio telephones. Chapman's landmark design for an FM radio telephone (when everyone else was using AM) paved the way for Tait to become a global player.

After leaving Tait's (he preferred not to be promoted into management) Chapman began privately designing products that no existing company could make due to the advanced nature of the technology his ideas required. Switchtec was formed largely in response to this need; so that Chapman's ideas could see the light of day as fully formed products.

Switchtec focused on producing power supplies for the telecommunications market just as New Zealand was moving into digital communications. This fortunate timing, matched with Switchtec's innovative designs helped it to grow into New Zealand's second biggest electronic exporter.

Chapman sold Switchtec in 1998, and now focuses on investing in start-ups in the education and electronics sector, as well as keeping his hand in the telecommunications market as Research and Design Director of Enatel, along with several other Switchtec alumni.

Chapman says his activities working with new and innovative electronics companies provide him an opportunity to meet the future market demands he perceives by looking at the drivers in society.

"The key to achieving prescience is in understanding the drivers in society; what people's needs are" says Chapman. "But," he adds, "you won't find these out by simply asking people. If you ask the customer what they want you end up with a me-too product that is quickly obsolete".

Chapman says the answer is to consider what the customer will be doing in the future and to look at what forces are acting on the customer, rather than focusing on what the customer is doing right now.

"There are some really significant drivers in the world right now", Chapman suggests, "that are going to effect just about everything. These include the cost of energy, peak oil and a growing desire for more sustainable products from consumers". These drivers have prompted Chapman to begin to identify opportunities in developing alternative energy sources.

He also recognises that a growing affluence in society, aging populations and a growing desire for security are hugely influential in shaping the products of the future.

But knowing how successful new products are likely to be is still a guessing game.

"You can figure out the size of the pie, but working out the amount of the pie that a new product could possibly attract is very difficult", he says.

Chapman also notes that analysing all the factors carefully may still not be enough, due to the inherent unpredictability of human beings.

"There are many emotional, non-rational barriers in the market, and these can sink good products and services." Chapman admits that not every idea he has invested in has taken off, and he has had a small number of expensive failures to learn from.

"In the end it all comes down to the right people making good decisions".