NZEDGE Business — New Zealand through the eyes of the world's media

John Lord a Pioneer of US Commercial Pot Industry

Former Waikato dairy farmer John Lord never really wanted to sell pot. It just sort of worked out that way. Now, one of Denver’s early pioneers of commercial marijuana growing and sales is among…

Rory Fallon’s Ice Cream Business Hits Plymouth

Bristol Rovers football player Rory Fallon’s award-winning ice cream business The Cowlick Creamery is setting up its trike on the Plymouth waterfront just in time for the arrival of the first boats sailing into…

NZ Adopts Jet And Battery Power For Buses

“When it comes to reducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, we’re increasingly hitting the law of diminishing returns when it comes to cars and other light duty vehicles,” according to Sam Abuelsamid writing…

GoPro Poaches Apple’s Design Man Danny Coster

California-based action camera manufacturing company GoPro has poached a member of Sir Jonathan Ive’s design team at Apple, New Zealander Danny Coster, who will become vice-president of design, reporting to Nick Woodman, chief executive. Coster…

Yashili Unveils New Zealand-Made Infant Formula

New Zealand based dairy giant Yashili has launched its premium New Zealand-made infant formula on the local market on Thursday. The product is available in selected New World and Pak’n’Save North Island stores. Yashili said…

Bank of China New Zealand Signs Agreement with Immigration NZ

Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited has signed a partnership arrangement with Immigration New Zealand, which will simplify visa application processes for their high net worth customers wishing to study or visit. “In addition to…

Bank of China (NZ) to Hold Agribusiness Investment and Trade Conference

Bank of China (NZ) Limited will hold an inaugural China-New Zealand Agribusiness Investment and Trade Conference on 25 May at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland. The conference, supported by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise…

Kourtney Kardashian Ambassador for Manuka Doctor

Kourtney Kardashian has been selected as the new celeb ambassador for New Zealand brand Manuka Doctor. “Sooooo excited to announce that I’m the NEW ambassador for Manuka Doctor skincare!” she shared via Instagram. “I have…

Rocket Lab’s Rutherford Engine Lifts Off

A video has been posted of New Zealand-founded company Rocket Lab launching their new Rutherford engine. The burn lasts for a full two minutes and 40 seconds, completing an important flight qualification test. The company…

New Zealand & Domino’s Working on Driverless Pizza Delivery Trial

The New Zealand government is working with Domino’s to explore the possibility of testing a driverless pizza delivery service, as reported in an article on Enterprise Innovation. New Zealand is one of the…

Kiwi Founded a2 Milk Outperforms Major Global Producers

A2 Milk – an organisation based in Sydney but founded in New Zealand, have not only challenged conventional wisdoms in regards to milk consumption, but also outperformed many major global dairy producers with their…

First Look: Air New Zealand Brisbane Lounge

The Australian Business Traveller stopped by for a sneak peek of what’s in store at the new Air New Zealand Brisbane Lounge, which is to open on March 16. In the article the new lounge is…

Sarah Robb O’Hagan Leaves Equinox to Go Extreme

New Zealander Sarah Robb O’Hagan has left her “dream job” as president of luxury American fitness company Equinox Holdings to devote herself to pursue a new passion. Robb O’Hagan describes the project in a blog…

Aviva Boss Mark Wilson Preys for Growth

“Kiwis are meek creatures, prodding in the leaf litter for worms. But Mark Wilson, the New Zealander who runs Aviva, is a bird of more raptorial kind. Seizing the chief executive’s job three years…

Joseph Lawrence’s Business Looks Beyondhealth

Joseph Lawrence, a 35-year-old New Zealander and trained musculo-skeletal physiotherapist, thinks he has the answer changing the underlying health issues that could give us a better life, London’s Evening Standard reports. Arriving in the UK…

Kiwi Entrepreneur Makes Forbes Under 30 List

Law and commerce graduate Shay Wright has been listed on Forbes Under 30 Asia list in the magazine’s social entrepreneur category as co-founder of Te Wharre Hukahuka, an organization that aims to rebuild the…

New Zealand, Chinese Telecom Firms Sign Pacific-Wide Internet Agreement

Spark and China Telecom Global have signed a deal to boost Internet traffic between the two countries and across the Pacific region, as reported on Xinhua News. “China Telecom Global has the technology,…

Timelio’s Charlotte Petris Helping Small Grow

Large superannuation funds are preparing to enter the invoice financing market via the award-winning fintech start-up Timelio, which has created a peer-to-peer platform to provide capital to small companies seeking to expand. Timelio was…

Richard Hall is Singapore’s new Iceman

A four-generation family-owned ice business in Singapore has partnered with new local company Plink, founded by New Zealander Richard Hall, to launch what they call “the future of ice” – one filled many colours…

Banking Boss Ross McEwan Still up for the Fight

The Royal Bank of Scotland boss, New Zealander Ross McEwan tells the Telegraph about how the bank is helping UK’s small businesses and why trust is important. Opening a new business start-up “hub” on the…

New Zealanders Take over Australian Banks

“Congratulations to ANZ Banking Group’s tough new CEO, for both (partially) pulling the plug on the bank’s misguided Asian expansion strategy, which I have criticised since 2009, and for…

Record New Zealand Wine Exports

New Zealand wine exports have hit a record high as the USA becomes New Zealand’s largest export market for wine. “Underlying the growth is the very positive reputation of New Zealand wine amongst consumers and…

Snowboarder Nev Lapwood Wins Big Dragon’s Den Deal

New Zealand-born Nev Lapwood’s Snowboard Addiction training website has inked a US$100,000 investment deal with Canadian e-commerce maven Michele Romanow after wowing the panel on reality television show Dragon’s Den. Snowboard Addiction was…

Here Comes My Jetpack

“Until now, the idea of flying your own jetpack has been largely fantasy. But 2016 could be the year when it takes off commercially”, writes Stuart Clark for The Guardian. According to the…

Lord of the Leaf

New Zealand native John Lord has built a wholly legal cannabis empire in Colorado over the past five years with annual sales that exceed $80 million. “We’re more than a dispensary, we’re leading a movement,”…

Maggie & Rose Kids’ Club Opens in Hong Kong

Exclusive private children’s club Maggie & Rose, founded in Kensington, London by New Zealander Maggie Bolger (pictured left) and Briton Rose Astor in 2007, has opened its doors in Hong Kong. The aim of the…

Air New Zealand Introduces World First Biometric Bag Drop

“Air New Zealand is speeding up the check-in process for customers departing from Auckland International Airport with new self-service bag drops featuring world-first biometric technology,” as reported in The Financial. “We can now…

Air New Zealand Named World’s Best Airline

Air New Zealand has been named the best airline in the world in a ranking by AirlineRatings.com for the third consecutive year, as reported in an article on The Daily Mail. “Air New…

Nadia Lim Cooks Up a Culinary Empire

New Zealand chef Nadia Lim has turned her passion for cooking into the profitable business My Food Bag, which she co-founded with her husband Carlos Bagrie and business powerhouses Theresa Gattung and…

Martin Aircraft to Make Jetpacks for Dubai Firefighters

“Martin Aircraft has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Dubai to supply jetpacks and training to its civil defence and fire services”, writes Chris Pash in an article in The Business…

Hotel Maven Sean Macpherson Always Ready to Expand

“There’s nowhere in Manhattan I wouldn’t open a hotel,” New Zealand-born California-raised hotelier Sean MacPherson tells the New York Post. In the past two years, MacPherson has seen two consecutive hotel openings: the 2014…

Dubai-Based Entrepreneur Rick McIntyre Looks Ahead

Founder of Dubai’s Mac Pack Removals Rick McIntyre, believes hard work, great service and a hands-on approach gives a customer service that people are happy to recommend. With no advertising and plenty of 80-hour…

New Zealand’s Fine Dark Ales

In many countries dark beers are for the cold months, but not in New Zealand. “Lots of breweries in New Zealand have got stouts and porters among their best sellers,” said Stu McKinlay, one half…

Air New Zealand Named Australasia’s Top Airline

Air New Zealand has been named Australasia’s Leading Airline for the seventh consecutive year at the 2015 World Travel Awards, according to an article in The Financial. “To win Australasia’s Leading Airline for…

New Zealanders Are the Best Forecasters of Australia’s Economy

New Zealanders are the ones to ask when it comes to predicting the fortunes of the Australian economy, according to an article in The Australian Financial Review. “New Zealanders looking for opportunity have…

The Top 10 Countries – Average Wealth Per Person

New Zealand has been ranked the country with the second highest average wealth per adult in mid-2015 according to the Credit Suisse Research Institute’s (CSRI) sixth annual Global Wealth Report. The…

Virtual Reality Start-up Attracts NZ$20 Million in Funding

8i, a Wellington-founded virtual reality start-up has raised NZ$20 million (US$13.65 million) from technology investors including Samsung Ventures, Dolby Family Ventures and Sound Ventures, a fund owned by actor Ashton Kutcher. The virtual reality venture wants…

Adrian Orr on New Zealand’s Super Fund

“The sovereign wealth funds of Australia and New Zealand have much in common but the underlying holdings reveal a chasm greater than the Tasman Sea”, writes James Frost for the Australian Financial Review…

Martin Jetpacks Cleared for Takeoff

The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand has approved Martin Aircraft’s latest model jetpack, the Prototype 12, for manned flight, Business Insider reports. Martin Jetpacks, the world’s first commercial jetpacks with their distinctive mid-mounted fan…

New Zealand Sets 99% Connectivity Goal

By 2025 the New Zealand government is planning to connect 99% of its population to 50 Mbps broadband or better. The remaining 1% will be equipped with 10 Mbps broadband. “Our use of, and reliance…

New Role for ANZ CFO Shayne Elliot

New Zealander Shayne Elliot, 51, has been appointed CEO of ANZ Bank, the first internal appointment within the bank in 30 years. Shortly after the announcement of his appointment, Elliott said: “Obviously I know ANZ…

Fiona Mackenzie Ranked Seventh Most Impactful Public Investor Executive

Fiona Mackenzie, Head of Investments New Zealand Superannuation Fund has been ranked seventh in The Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute’s ‘Public Investor 100’ that lists the most significant and impactful public investor executives…

Air New Zealand Unveils New Auckland International Lounge

Air New Zealand has unveiled a new international lounge in Auckland, which can seat more than 375 customers comfortably and is significantly larger than the old lounge. The new modern Auckland lounge was designed by…

Air New Zealand’s ‘Sustainability Framework’

Air New Zealand has launched a new ‘sustainability framework’ in Auckland on Wednesday September 16. “You find the best companies in the world doing well commercially are also doing well in a sustainability sense, they…

Strengthening Trade Ties With India

“Amy Adams, New Zealand Minister of Justice, Courts, Broadcasting and Communications is leading a trade mission to India to strengthen trade ties between both the nations”, as reported in Businessworld. “India is our…

Richard Branson’s Right-Hand Man Is Josh Bayliss

Auckland-educated lawyer Josh Bayliss, 42, is the global chief executive of Virgin Group, spearheading a web of transport, telecommunications, lifestyle, healthcare and financial services businesses across 34 countries. He runs Virgin for Richard Branson…