From the Top and On Fire
New Zealander Victoria Ransom is chief executive of Wildfire, a provider of social media marketing software, which was acquired by Google last year. In an interview with Adam Bryant of The…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Networked Lab Rats
New Zealanders have become the Internet’s most beloved lab rats, according to Bloomberg Businessweek writer Ashlee Vance. New Zealand has a large enough population to adequately test products, and the population is self-contained. Last…
Dotcom Goes MEGA
From his home north of Auckland, former hacker and internet cult hero Kim Dotcom, tells the Guardian his eyes have been opened to US tactics after his Megaupload site was shut down last year….
Trading Black Gold
New Zealand is famous worldwide for its dairy exports, Sylvia Pfeifer writes for the Financial Times. “Its dairy industry generated $13.9bn in revenues in the year to March 2012. But now the government is…
It’s About Flying People
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe is one of 20 people profiled in this month’s Monocle, in a feature which explores who “would be ideal collaborators.” “Make sure you know who to call…
Film Moving Economy
“For better or worse, Key’s government has taken extreme measures that have linked its fortunes to some of Hollywood’s biggest pictures, making this country of 4.4 million people, slightly more than the city…
Unexpected Tourism Drawcard
The international publicity from recent eruptions at Tongariro’s Te Maari crater may actually be helpful, according to local tourism operators. Te Maari crater erupted for about five minutes last week, emitting a plume of…
Change At the Top
Former AIA head New Zealander Mark Wilson, 46, has been appointed chief executive of Britain’s second-largest insurer, Aviva. Wilson ran AIA – the Asian arm of US insurer AIG – between 2006 and 2010….
Real and Unreal Worlds
“As the Wellington premiere of The Hobbit approaches, New Zealand’s picturesque landscapes are set to take centre stage once again,” Charles Anderson begins in a story for the International Herald Tribune. “Ten years ago,…
Magic Manifested
Hedge fund billionaire Julian Robertson Jr. first visited New Zealand in 1978 on a year-long sabbatical from his asset manager’s job at Kidder, Peabody. The year in New Zealand turned out to be fruitful….
Non-farmers Get Look In
“The only truly global New Zealand company, with annual revenue of almost $20 billion, Fonterra operates in 100 countries and has 10,500 farmer-owners,” The Economist writes. “Rabobank of the Netherlands ranks it the world’s…
Imagine the Growth
Growing ties between New Zealand and China are giving new optimism to everyone from coffee chains and jade producers to organic farmers, universities, tour operators and real estate brokers. The increasing number of Chinese…
Vertigo Top Yacht
New Zealand has won awards at the latest International Superyacht Society (ISS) Design Awards, held in Fort Lauderdale in Florida. The winner in the category ‘Sailing yacht 40m +’ was won by the ketch,…
Belief in Emerging Markets
Taranaki-born businessman Stephen Jennings, Renaissance chief executive, is one of the “world’s smartest money” affirming that the next big emerging market may be Africa. “It is the only region in the world where growth…
Fit for the Job
Former Gatorade president New Zealander Sarah Robb O’Hagan has taken on the same role at Equinox, the New York City-based fitness company. “This is a case of building on the momentum that…
Oily Attractions Off Shore
Three New Zealand exploration blocks, owned by Anadarko Petroleum, could hold up to 150 million barrels of crude oil or trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, according to a company executive. “There’s significant…
Profiting From Here On In
Chief executive of Virgin Media New Zealander Neil Berkett, 56, is at No. 51 in the Guardian’s annual Media 100 list which ranks the industry’s most powerful people. It has been a landmark year for…
Flights Back to the Ice
Antarctica Sightseeing Flights is offering the first commercial flight from New Zealand to Antarctica – 33 years after the Erebus disaster. The tourism operator will take a chartered Boeing 747 from Auckland to the…
Big on Exports
New Zealand is now the world’s 10th largest wine exporter, despite producing only 1 per cent of the world’s wine, according to the latest figures, which saw exports hit a record $1.18bn in the…
Kids Love Monkey Avatars
The children’s social-networking site, London-based MiniMonos, which was invented by Wellington entrepreneur Melissa Clark-Reynolds, has just been selected with five other emerging British digital startups as part of the BBC Worldwide business-mentoring programme dubbed…
Appealing to the Crowds
New Zealand-born screenwriter Mark Staufer has hit his $75k target on crowdfunding site Kickstarter for a project called The Numinous Place, which will be released as an ebook and app for iPhone,…
Small Business Expansion
New Zealand business software company Greentree featured in the Guardian’s ‘Small Business Network’ section. “Greentree is special,” CEO Peter Dickinson says. “What makes it special is the wonderful community of…
Google Buys New Zealander’s Social Media Company
Google has purchased social media marketing company Wildfire Interactive for a reported US$250M. Wildfire Interactive was created by New Zealander Victoria Ransom and Alain Chuard four years ago and has gone on to become…
Fish For a New Middle Class
More New Zealand seafood is headed to Thailand as consumer appetite grows. The South Pacific nation is poised to capitalise on Thai consumers now having more baht in their pockets and their increased appreciation…
More Halal Burgers for UAE
New Zealand fastfood chain BurgerFuel has opened its fifth flagship outlet in the Mall of the Emirates. BurgerFuel Worldwide CEO international markets Chris Mason said: “Mall of the Emirates attracts over 30 million visitors…
Safety First with Al Bundy
New Plymouth-born actress Melanie Lynskey, 35, appears in cartoon alongside Married with Children and Modern Family star Ed O’Neill in the latest Air New Zealand airline safety video. Melanie seems a little … disappointed…
Velocity is Everything
Business leaders have things the wrong way round according to New Zealand-based Kevin Roberts, chief executive worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi. They spend far too much time assessing information and making decisions,…
Strategically Repositioning Business
Investment banking faces a shakeup and only large commercial players and boutiques offering outstanding service will survive and prosper, New Zealander Stephen Jennings, the head of Moscow-based Renaissance Group says. “The industry will end…
Big Plans for the Pacific Rim
Former president and chief executive of Unilever’s Canadian business, New Zealander Christopher Luxon, 41, has been named Rob Fyfe’s successor as CEO of Air New Zealand. Luxon joined Air New Zealand in May 2011…
Servilles Steals the Show
New Zealand-based Servilles came out on top at this year’s Schwarzkopf Professional Hair Expo Awards held in Sydney last week, taking away three of the event’s top prizes. Servilles won in each of…
Breaking More Ice
New Zealand-based clothing company Icebreaker, makers of hand-picked merino wool adventure-wear will open a second Vancouver store in September. “Vancouverites have been such great supporters of Icebreaker, and we think the North…
Sharing in Canadian Energy
The Richard Chandler Corporation has announced acquisition of shares in Canadian energy company InterOil Corporation. The Richard Chandler Corporation is a private investment group based in Singapore and founded by New Zealand-born…
Winning from Within
President of Gatorade New Zealander Sarah Robb O’Hagan is No 23 on Fast Company’s 2012 list of The 100 Most Creative People in Business. No Gatorade shower could extinguish the flaming mess Robb O’Hagan…
Making Small a Virtue
Chief executive officer of Air New Zealand Rob Fyfe, 51, talks to Monocle about the importance of national identity to the airline and staying competitive in the industry. “One of the goals we set…
Sustainable Award for Cement Works
Golden Bay Cement has been recognised for its use of bioenergy to reduce CO2 emissions, winning the Renewable Energy category in the 2012 Energy Efficient and Conservation Authority (EECA) Awards. The company has cut CO2…
All Systems Are Go
New Zealand’s largest solar power plant, a 68-kilowatt farm, has opened in Drury, South Auckland and “if – or perhaps when – the world’s natural resources run out, New Zealand will be laughing all…
Local Wineries Entice Chinese Market
New Zealand winemakers are preparing for a major push in China this month with their biggest-ever road show taking place in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. The New Zealand government and wine industry are…
Banking on Nigeria
Stephen Jennings, the New Zealand-born founder and chief executive of Moscow-based investment bank Renaissance Capital, is setting up a consumer finance business in Nigeria with hopes to tap the fast-growing economy’s rising…
Truly International Ambition
Moa Beer founder Josh Scott’s vision is for Moa “to be New Zealand’s first true international beer”, with Australia and the US as prime export targets. “We recently refreshed the brand, including a redesign…
Quintessential Southern Tipple
Being a university town, there is no shortage of places in Dunedin that make beer, and taking pride of place is the city’s Speight’s Brewery. “Since 1876, the Speight’s Brewery has been supplying the…
Stylish in Wedges on Bikes
Gretchen Bunny, 32, owner of Martinborough company March Hare Cycling, which rents bikes to visitors eager to explore the cluster of wineries in this section of the Wairarapa Wine Trail, has a simple rule…
Innovation Drive
Wellington software developers Resn, a “company celebrated worldwide for its creative excellence”, is included in a Monocle feature about the capital city’s drive “to establish itself as a major…
Not From Concentrate, Folks
When Monteiths cider drinkers found twigs in their six-pack boxes their complaints streamed into radio stations and newspapers and the country buzzed with the “contamination” story. At which point Monteiths launched its Colenso BBDO-developed…
Riding Roughshod
Tanks for Everything in Christchurch is offering frustrated drivers the chance to crush a car with a tank, armoured personnel carrier or Jeep, the largest of which can easily flatten a family sedan….
Attractive Investment
“A little bit of PayPal founder Peter Thiel’s wealth will help New Zealand technology businesses thanks to the launch of a new venture capital project,” Lucy Craymer writes for the Wall Street…
Sharing Aviation Abilities
New Zealand, which claims to have the highest per capita ratio of aircraft, one per thousand people, is to assist India in airport development and pilot training to achieve its growth potential…
Source Of Healing Power
New Zealand manuka honey producer Denis Watson features in the Irish Times’ ‘True Characters’ column this week. “My business, Watson & Son was established in 2003, in response to the growing demand for premium manuka honey,”…
Simplifying Change
The ever practical New Zealanders are always tweaking their system, right down to their pocket change, writes Eric Bergeson for the Morris Sun Tribune. “They got rid of the 1-cent and 2-cent coins during my…
Runway Sales
Owners of Glasgow’s Prestwick Airport, New Zealand-based infrastructure investment company Infratil, are putting the property up for sale. Infratil has said it is also looking for a buyer for its British airport, Manston in…
Icebreaker On-Demand
Pioneering outdoor merino apparel company Icebreaker has relaunched its American ecommerce site using on-demand ecommerce platform Demandware, and has plans to expand beyond North America into Europe and the Southern Hemisphere during 2012 and…
Buying Into The Warriors
New Zealand billionaire Owen Glenn has taken a stake in the New Zealand Warriors. Glenn and major shareholder Eric Watson announced the new ownership structure of the Warriors would give them each…
Succeeding With Smarts
In what airline revenue specialists say is a first for any airline, Air New Zealand has ventured into banking, converting its frequent-flier club members into financial services clients, with the OneSmart card. The card,…
Compelling Business Software
New Zealand-based small business accountancy software developer Xero has recently expanded its footprint to the United States. Business Insider reporter Ramon Ray talks to the president of the company’s American operations Jamie Sutherland. “Xero is first…
Sky is the Limit
Since December, New Zealand-based SkyCity has been in talks with the South Australian government on the redevelopment and expansion of their Adelaide casino. SkyCity, which also has casinos in Auckland, Hamilton, Queenstown and Darwin,…
Sustainability Success Inspires
Along with its other exports, New Zealand has given us a template for sustainability success according to Huffington Post writer Craig Comstock. “New Zealand, apart from supplying the setting for The Lord of the Rings, is a…
Record Exports Into UAE
New Zealand Natural premium ice cream chain is one of a number of local businesses fuelling a record volume of exports from the country into United Arab Emirates (UAE). Last year, the value of…
