Francie Piacun - Superwoman in her 70s

Few people are representing their country in their chosen sport, let alone medalling multiple times, and still working fulltime at almost 80, but Queenstown’s Queen of Waka Ama Francie Piacun is definitely the exception.

Francie, 76, has had a decorated corporate career during her heyday, designing and producing top lines internationally for US company Levi Strauss, at one time even launching and designing her own jeans label. Her unique skill in bringing the best out of people was recognised early on by Levi’s American bosses who catapulted the young Kiwi to the top overseas and in Auckland by her mid-20s giving her massive responsibilities. She got the results, also headhunted later by Wrangler and other big players overseas.

By her late 40s in Australia, Francie caught the eye of Bonnie Rodwell who placed her in charge of her three Gold Coast stores.

It was back here in NZ in 2006 and quite by chance while managing the Te Houtaewa Challenge ultra marathon, that Francie, then in her 50s, was introduced to Waka Ama and was immediately hooked. “I’d never done it before and I had to organise the Waka Ama Sports Challenge at the end of the race,” Francie says. “I got a group of ladies to take me out and soon somebody said, ‘Let’s compete! Shall we go to the nationals?’.”

Since 2008 she’s paddled for NZ teams and trained them in World Championships in Calgary, Australia, Tahiti, London, Hilo, Hawaii, Rio, and Singapore this year, medalling numerous times from the Golden Masters (60-plus) through to this year’s 75-Plus category winning bronze.

Moving to Queenstown in 2014, she introduced Waka Ama to the Wakatipu, at first unable to compete internationally with no waka to train on. 

“I started the club here but had to fly to Auckland to train until the Christchurch club gifted me a waka.”

Born to a Croatian father, who sadly passed away when Francie was just 8, and her Māori English mother, Francie’s mum took the family to live with ‘Nana’ in the Far North. “We went to Ahipara Native School. The NZ of today is very different to what I grew up in,” she says.

There was a very strong Māori population there and Francie’s nana was known as “The English Rose”. “She married my grandfather who was a Māori chief fighting in WWI in the Māori Battalion, and she was the first white woman in Ahipara.

“It was pretty tough coming from London and her husband was away a lot representing his iwi at hui at Waitangi and around Aotearoa, so Nana enjoyed the Croatian gum diggers who’d come down from the gum fields and sit on the verandah and chat.”

The family moved to Auckland where her mum remarried, and Francie left school at 17 to work in a bank before moving to Australia. “I really wanted to be a hairdresser, but Mum said, ‘No’, so I’d race down to the salon where my friend worked in my lunchtime and after work and wash and set clients hair for fun.”

Francie was soon working in clothing retail and shop window design – a natural eye for art, working for a fabric manufacturer, then EL Riley casualwear as a production manager, quickly promoted to marketing and research.

“Levis were coming to NZ, and asked our general manager to set up Levis NZ.” The boss then invited Francie to do the merchandise and marketing, so she switched jobs. It was 1971 and she was 22. “A lot of the young surfers went to Norfolk Island to buy Levis then, and we made history,” Francie says. “We had five accounts and did over $1m on our first day’s sales, breaking the company record! It was huge.”

Francie was sent to Adelaide to learn how the factory was run then back to Dean’s Apparel in Christchurch to teach that factory how to “make jeans the Levis way”, also choosing the designs to market to NZ companies.

The boss then trumped a job offer sending her to Japan to troubleshoot after initially working in Hong Kong. “I had to negotiate buying thousands of metres of denim in Japan, working with Levis’ American quality control. Levis then gave us a large Investment campaign budget, to market the label in Japan.” It was the time of the US Bicentenary. “It was good timing as we could ride the wave and we completely turned the company around in Japan,” she says.

Francie was based in Japan for five years then in San Francisco head office.

Unfortunately she was in Hong Kong budget meetings when her mother tried to phone her in Japan to say her grandmother was dying. “Nobody spoke English and I didn’t get the message until my secretary passed it on on Monday.” Her Nana had passed the previous day and they were very close. “But Levis flew me straight home that day.”

Returning to NZ to live soon after, Francie, 31, was told at job interviews that she was “boardroom material and we have no women in boardrooms here”.

She scored a marketing job before being headhunted to set up Sasson Jeans in NZ. “Stirrup jeans were huge. We couldn’t make enough, then we launched the ‘baggy’.”

In Australia selling the label to Sportsgirl, Francie was offered three jobs, one with Wrangler, which she took, before setting up as a consultant, travelling the world for big clients, like Trent Nathan, Myer, Simona and Just Jeans. “I designed and manufactured my own range – Scarpa - for Just Jeans, travelling to Germany, New York, Paris and LA fashion fairs to work with their buyers on styling direction.”

From there Francie managed three stores and a departure level café at Brisbane International Airport also joining local Bonnie Rodwell’s BONZ Clothing store on the Gold Coast where her passion for art developed.

Her old Levis boss then invited her to develop and run a youth programme – ‘I Am Special’, mentoring students who’d fallen through the gaps and help guide them to a more positive mindset. They’d take 150 kids from three different decile schools for a one-day workshop.

Now living back in the Far North, also commuting from Kaitaia to work in China and Japan, Francie – so impressed by the amazing local Māori art – opened her own gallery there and in Kerikeri. It was a busy commute, while also working for an Auckland clothing label setting up and designing their Sylvia Park and Glenfield Mall stores.

Moving to Queenstown in 2014, Francie managed Art Bay Gallery for 10 years, then worked at BONZ, now the full-time manager of Romer Gallery.

A former Far North Women’s Sportsperson of the Year, Francie has also coached the Wakatipu U19s and U16s to NZ Nationals victories, training on the lake from 7am, working eight hours then coaching most evenings, arriving home about 8.30pm.

As if that’s not busy enough, Francie has just curated a wonderful new exhibition of emerging and established Māori artists – Tātai Manawa in the relocated old school hall at Country Lane. “It’s fantastic. The opening was packed. We’re featuring top NZ artists like Jimmy James Koratoras and Lissy and Rudi’s fabulous ‘Neon’ crochet work and local Kai Tahu artist Liz Morrison.” Emerging artists are also invited to exhibit alongside established artists.

“For me it’s about working with young people.”