London Investment Bank Chief has Never Lost Ties to NZ
Investment bank chief executive New Zealander Kent Gardner, who runs London-based Evans Randall, has been living in the United Kingdom for more than a decade and says he never lost ties to…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Make Your Customers a Promise Says Entrepreneur
New Zealand-born business speaker and global entrepreneur Carl Bates was recently in Cape Town addressing business owners at a Business Partners seminar on the difference between product and promise in business. “My favourite example…
Royal Bank of Scotland Head Gets Back to Basics
Asked about possible job cuts for the 125,000 staff of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), New Zealander Ross McEwan turns the question to what jobs are needed for the bank to better serve…
New Zealand’s Ongoing Brain Drain
New Zealand is no stranger to the ‘brain drain’ phenomenon, having experienced substantial losses of highly skilled talent for decades. The country is now at the point where the Organization for Economic Cooperation and…
Local Video Game Makers among Best in the World
New Zealand video game makers have been lauded in major international “Best of 2013” lists, with West Auckland-based Grinding Gear Games’ Path of Exile winning GameSpot’s PC Game of the Year Award and…
New Zealand’s cows come home in its own commodities boom
The Chinese consumer market’s demand for quality milk products is fuelling New Zealand’s economic growth. Senior Australian economics correspondent Michael Pascoe outlines 2014 economic prospects for New Zealand, based significantly around a “one commodity…
Fonterra takes Anchor brand to China
Four months on from August’s botulism scare, New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has launched their Anchor brand into the Chinese market. The brand, which is endorsed by Chinese actress Hu Ke, is being touted a…
Strong Brand and the Product’s the Real Deal
Lewis Road Creamery, located at Green Valley Dairy, Mangatawhiri in the Waikato, is included in the “The Monocle 100” list as one of the “innovative minds behind global food production.” “Until last year, the…
State of the Art Voyage to the Deep
New Zealand and Japanese scientists joined forces on a recent expedition to explore underwater mountains and volcanoes 1000km northeast of the country around the Louisville Seamount Chain and the Kermadec Arc. From the research…
Ammann named GM President
New Zealander Dan Ammann, 41, General Motors’ Chief Financial Officer, has been promoted to President of GM. He will manage the company’s regional operations around the world, as well as the Chevrolet…
Global Recognition for Biofuels Pioneer
Loss-making biofuels innovator LanzaTech’s quest to raise more capital next year has been given a boost after it was named second “hottest” biotech company in the world. Industry bible Biofuels Digest also named the…
For a Vessel You Can Trust
Three “nautical pros” of New Zealand’s multi-million dollar boat building industry feature in “The Monocle 100” special supplement of “things to sample experience and discuss.” “While Emirates Team New Zealand lost the America’s Cup in…
NZ Innovation Shines on World Stage
New Zealand’s reputation for world-leading innovation has been significantly burnished in the latest Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Asia Pacific Index, which ranks the top 500 tech companies across the region based on triennial revenue…
One of the World’s Top 99 Greatest Investors
Sir Ron Brierley has been included in Swedish hedge fund manager Magnus Angenfelt’s book, The World’s 99 Greatest Investors, which will be released in Australia later this year. The New Zealander is named alongside many…
Ice Telescope to Reveal Secrets of the Universe
27 November 2013 – University of Canterbury scientists are using a telescope pointed at the earth’s interior over 2000m below the surface of ice in Antarctica to study tiny particles in the hope of…
By the Pricking of my Bubbles …
The Reserve Bank’s new loan value ratios restricting bank mortgage lending has, it’s fair to say, got a mixed press back home. But internationally, the policy initiative is generating excited commentary about the correct…
Driving the Kiwi Economy
Many strange things are used to measure economic growth and decline: the lipstick economy, the horse-trading economy, the Playboy economy (curves in recession, skinny in boom times) and even underwear, as Fed chairman Alan Greenspan…
Don’t Beat the Currency War Drums Yet
The drums of war have been beating for two years now. With America, Britain and Japan printing money and the Euro zone considering unprecedented zero interest rates, the other tradable currencies – especially New…
Sweet News for NZ Winemakers
Global demand for wine is outstripping supply, meaning prices for New Zealand wine in export markets are likely to increase, according to a new report by US financial services firm, Morgan Stanley. Production of…
Aussies Envious at NZ’s Hot IPO Market
There are not many things in which New Zealand enjoys a marked superiority to Australia. Rugby and … It’s a short list. But for the last year, the trans-Tasman economic powerhouse has been casting…
Cambridge Cycle Path Has a Mind of Its Own
Hamish Scott’s “glowing, seemingly self-aware bike path” is being tested in Christ’s Pieces park in Cambridge. The New Zealander’s “Starpath” is a type of solar-enhanced liquid and aggregate made by UK-based Pro-Teq Surfacing, which…
Grand Theft Auto Five Developer Requests NZ Audio Input
New Zealand-based technology company Arvus Digital has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto Five (GTA5) developer RockStarNorth used its unique audio technology High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) to AES/EBU digital audio converter the HDMI-2A. Arvus…
World-First Footpath Lights up the Way
New Zealander Hamish Scott has had offers from all over the world for what could be the future in street lighting – glow-in-the-dark footpaths, which light up when the sun goes down. London-based Scott approached…
Kiwi Drought Hits Choc-lovers
The price of Christmas chocolates look set to surge as the cost of key ingredients – including New Zealand milk – squeezes manufacturing margins. Milk powder prices have risen 50% in the year to…
Kiwis Make Accounting Sexy
The accounting software industry is not known as the sexiest business sector. But New Zealand cloud accounting software provider Xero is, Reuters reports, bringing spice and drama to the world’s greyest profession. “Oh, yeah, we’re…
Xero Further Expands into US
New Zealand-based online accounting software company, Xero has opened a Denver-area office as part of its US expansion. The local office, in the Denver Tech Center, will be Xero’s fourth in the US. The Wellington…
Revolutionary Commercial Fishing Technology Out of the Net
New Zealand says it has developed a technology that will revolutionize commercial fishing with “Precision Seafood Harvesting”, which brings targeted species undamaged to the surface and keeps unwanted catch alive. The technology replaces trawling nets…
Milking Sheep for All They’re Worth
New Zealand’s sheep-milking is predicted to be big industry for New Zealanders in the future with Southland sheep-milking business Blue River Dairy planning to invest millions of dollars in new equipment. Blue River manufactures and…
Thanks to This Smart Guy NYC Tech Blossoming
Google’s chief engineer Blenheim-born Craig Nevill-Manning may be responsible for igniting New York City tech and not Mayor Michael Bloomberg, according to The Huffington Post. “It’s kind of funny that one of the key reasons…
Measure Your World with a Smartphone Laser
New Zealand-developed Spike, created by ikeGPS, “the world’s first laser accurate smartphone accessory,” is crowd-funding on Kickstarter and offering those who pledge more than $10,000 a trip to New Zealand to visit the development…
Hops Industry Gaining Strong International Reputation
New Zealand-produced hops is gaining a strong international reputation with 90 per cent grown here exported overseas. The United States craft beer scene is particularly fond of New Zealand flavours. A recent report estimated…
Kuala Lumpur’s Coffee Hero
New Zealander Michael Wilson used to be in the British Army and even started a construction company in Scotland before finding his true calling: coffee, with the Artisan Roast brand. Wilson also co-owns two cafés…
Kiwi Equities a Good Bet for Global Investors
The New Zealand growth story is attracting strong international interest in Kiwi equities as investors seek to escape volatile markets in Asia and low global interest rates. The Wall Street Journal reports that the…
Kiwi Jetpack to Hit US Market
It can travel at speeds of up to 80km/h, ascend to heights of more than 2km in the air and has enough juice to fly for 30 minutes – the much promised science fiction…
Moa Bones Kill Dino DNA Dream
The dream of resuscitating dinosaur species – a la Jurassic Park – has been dealt a death blow in a new study examining the decay rate of DNA in the bones of the extinct…
First the Cup, Now the Flat-Bed
Kiwis aren’t just beating the Americans on the water; they’re whipping them in the air too. Forbes’ travel correspondent Katie Kelly Bell put the new flat-bed business class to the test, comparing the Delta…
Double-Edged NZ World First
Kiwi homeowners won’t like it but the Wall St Journal is predicting New Zealand will be the first developed nation in the world to raise interest rates since the Global Financial Crisis hit in…
Good Management? Set Staff Free
You could fill the American Library of Congress with books about good management and still have enough left over to stack a few aisles in Boston’s Public Library. Despite the plethora of advice, the…
Winning Off the Water
There’s only one thing Americans love more than the underdog – and that’s winners. So says Leon Grice, New Zealand’s consular general in Los Angeles, who believes imminent victory on San Franciscan waters will…
Experts Behind the Global Yachting Scene
“As the America’s Cup finals begin on 7 September on San Francisco Bay, the people of New Zealand will be watching most intently,” New Zealand Trade and Enterprise chair Andrew Ferrier writes for Forbes….
Deciphering Tokyo Voxels over Coffee
New Zealander James White, 30, owns Pico Pico Café in Tokyo and he is also an independent game designer, musician and futurist; the café doubles as the home of Lexaloffle Games, White’s one-man game…
NZ is Beating Australia to the next Wool Bonanza
“As to why the New Zealanders beat Australia to a market that could – arguably should – have been ours, the story is complex, ranging from chutzpah to lost opportunities and marketing failures…
Kiwi’s 3D-Printed Cast Could Revolutionalize Recovery
A new prototype cast, researched and designed by Victoria University of Wellington graduate, has been making its way onto international design blogs, and has recently just won the New Zealand leg of the James…
Icebreaker President Reflects on Path to Portland
President and co-founder of Icebreaker, the Wellington-based merino wool clothing brand, Jeremy Moon recently spoke at the inaugural meeting of Athletic and Outdoor Young Professionals about the company’s roundabout route to their US home…
Local Test Flight Gets the Go-Ahead
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has granted a permit to the Martin Aircraft company, allowing it to test jetpacks with a pilot at the helm in two uninhabited areas of New Zealand. The company…
Smarter Together with Hill Holliday
New Zealander Graham Ritchie, 48, has been named new strategy chief for American advertising agency Hill Holliday, overseeing a department of 38 strategic planners who work on brands such as Dunkin’ Donuts, Bank of…
Evidence of Genetic Basis to Sense of Smell
After testing some 200 volunteers in Auckland, Richard Newcomb of the New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research (PFR) and his colleagues have found the most convincing evidence yet of a…
How Wilson Plans to Revive Aviva
Although the Aviva name will remain, New Zealand-born Mark Wilson is turning the British multinational insurer into is a very different company from that which his predecessor envisaged, The Telegraph’s James Quinn writes. This…
On a Mission to Advantage the Disadvantaged
New Zealand-born Audette Exel, 50, lives a double life, Bloomberg Market Magazine reports. In New York, London, Bermuda and Sydney, she’s a company director and the owner and head of Isis (Asia Pacific) Pty,…
James Bond Would Be Impressed
Ivan Sentch, an Auckland programmer and Aston Martin devotee, has decided to build a full-scale 3D printed replica of a 1961 Aston Martin DB4. “He’s already made considerable progress, with much of…
Fonterra “Imbroglio” Gets High Level Chinese Censure
China Daily, the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China, says New Zealand needs to start building trust in the long-term that “comes from regulatory systems that work.” This follows the identification…
McEwan Takes on Politically Charged RBS Leadership
New Zealander Ross McEwan, 56, has been named the new chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), “one of the highest-profile and politically charged roles in the banking world.” The Guardian’s city…
Looking at the Top Figures
New Zealand’s rich are getting richer, with the total worth of those who made it onto National Business Review’s 2013 rich list up $3.5 billion on last year, reports The Australian. Graeme Hart once…
Thinking Even Bigger from Google in Silicon Valley
Scotts Ferry, Harvard University, Wall Street, the White House – Victoria Ransom’s journey from rural Rangitikei to an executive’s chair at the Googleplex is one of New Zealand’s most stunning success stories, The New…
Ammann Testament to General Motor’s New Culture
General Motors chief financial officer, New Zealander Daniel Ammann, talks with The Detroit News editorial board about how the automaker’s goal is consistent profitability in a cyclical industry. After a historic bailout and Washington-managed…
Gibbs Amphibians Expands Across US
New Zealand-founded Gibbs Amphibians is on track to build 1000 Quadski amphibious all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) in 2013 and expects to have more than 100 major powersports dealers authorised to sell and service…
