As Executive Chairman and CEO of SMARTECH Business Systems, Vincent recently signed on as naming rights partner for the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific Men’s and Women’s competitions. But this move isn’t just about sponsorship—it’s personal. A former elite athlete and lifelong advocate of discipline, teamwork, and resilience, Vincent sees clear parallels between the world of sport and the realities of modern leadership.
In this conversation, he shares how his daily training routine shapes his performance as a CEO, why work-life balance is essential for high-pressure roles, and how the spirit of rugby continues to influence his approach to culture, strategy, and staying match fit in business and in life.
You’ve played professional sport and now lead a global business—what habits or lessons from your athletic career still shape how you perform as a CEO?
For peak performance as CEO, being ‘match fit’ with the energy to take on varying daily demands, having the stamina and being able to work effectively in a team is essential. Team sport echoes valuable traits – you need to listen, execute and participate fully, while building and understanding personal connections.
Back in the office, communication becomes your biggest advantage – listening to your customers and employees and executing game plans together is critical. You have team members and stakeholders you don’t want to let down, and your own career is always on the line.
Rugby, like business, demands discipline, resilience, and teamwork—how do you translate those traits into your company culture at SMARTECH?
In business, you need to be agile and adapt to challenging circumstances beyond your control. This mirrors the resilience that rugby is centred on. Having won Employer of Choice in 2023 and 2024 off the back of very high Employee Satisfaction surveys and with a sticky business strategy, SMARTECH sets benchmarks and creates a platform of confidence and experience for our leadership teams to engage with all employees.
Our discipline in setting and evaluating performance metrics has led us to our path of YOY growth. Once a target is reached, we raise the bar and set new standards. Continuous improvement is key to sustainability. Working together on a common outlook and consistency in living our corporate values ensures we are coordinated and guided in every business decision.
You’re a strong advocate for work-life balance—how do you personally make time for family, sport, and recovery while leading at such a high level?
My performance at work is dependent on my work-life balance ethos. My weekdays start very early in the morning with cardio and two to three days of the week entails strength training. This sets my tone for the day. On weekends I walk six to ten kilometres, which I find gets me out into nature and stepping away from the screen.
Usually on a Sunday, I play golf with my wife Veena and our regular playing partners at Terry Hills Golf and Country Club, where I’m also on the advisory board. Veena is also devoted to health and fitness – so we share that together.
I focus on my mental and physical wellness each day and I’m fortunate that my executive assistant, Monique Williams, is a former personal trainer and physio who gets the best out of me each day. She helps me with a routine that keeps me match fit for my work and the pressures which go with it.
To be a leader in today’s volatile business world, you must have work-life balance which includes physical and mental health improvements, wellbeing, fitness and hard work. I surround myself with good influencers and people who have similar values.
What do you say to leaders who still believe long hours and constant hustle are the only path to success? Has your perspective evolved over time?
Luck is the residue of hard work. The way I see it, there are two types of people – those that sit in the sun and ride on someone’s back and those that want to touch the sun. You must raise the bar each time you celebrate a win or hit a milestone. I do not know of any leader who does not put in the long yards – it comes with the territory. However, you must find the time to do other things which maximises both your endorphins and serotonin.
How has supporting Super Rugby helped you reconnect with your own roots and passions—and how does that energy carry into your leadership?
I was born in the rugby nation of Fiji. My parents immigrated to Canada when I was very young. I have always played sports and played soccer at a very senior level in North America. Whilst growing up, I played and dabbled with rugby and a lot of my childhood friends went on to become some of the great rugby sevens players around the world.
My DNA is inked into either winning or losing or playing in good or bad teams. When a competitor wants to wage a war, you take away their ability to wage one. It is the same in sport. If the other team is going to win the game you are in, change your game strategy and your position structure. You have to be game fit and very focused to know where the game is headed – and shift and change with it.
For younger professionals looking to lead like athletes—what mindset shifts or daily habits do you believe make the biggest difference over time?
24 hours is a lot of time in a day/night to invest in your work, exercise, study role models and execute your plan. You must see your career as a function of your peak health, match fitness and wellbeing. You don’t learn how to dance on the day of your prom night or gala night. You must practice each day.
I have seen good managers destroy their professional careers listening to unqualified and poor influencers. Poor mental health can be avoided if you have proven leaders who can guide you and guide your career through their own successful experiences and personal/professional routines.
