Mark Wilson Steps Down as Aviva Chief
New Zealander Mark Wilson, the “straight-talking” chief of the FTSE 100 British insurer Aviva, leaves with immediate effect after six years at the helm. Wilson, 52, will remain at Aviva until…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Rhys Darby – From the Army to Flight of the Conchords
“It was a long march for Rhys Darby to go from the New Zealand army to starring in Flight Of The Conchords, writes Richard Fitzpatrick” in an article in The Irish Examiner. After finishing…
‘Anything You Can Imagine’ Recounts Quest to Film Tolkien
“Reaching the final sentence in film writer Ian Nathan’s 576-page exploration of movie director Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy requires the stoicism of Frodo and the vigor of Gandalf. So much…
How Spark Helped NZ Learn Māori
“Whilst te reo Māori has steadily seen an increase in a number of revitalisation efforts across New Zealand—especially in recent years—actual te reo learning opportunities remain limited and sometimes inaccessible,” writes Faaez Samadi in…
Indian Restaurant Celebrates New Zealand Cuisine
Curated by Chef Roberto Zorzoli, specialty Italian restaurant Romano’s at the JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar is celebrating the cuisine of New Zealand in October. Akhil Gangan reports for Mumbai Live. “The menu titled ‘Nuances…
Dallas Symphony Names Gemma New As First Female Principal Guest Conductor
“Inaugurating a program to appoint a succession of female principal guest conductors, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra has named New Zealander Gemma New the first woman to hold the revived title,” writes Scott Cantrell in…
New Christchurch Library Featured in Designboom
New earthquake-resistant library in Christchurch, named Tūranga, was featured in an article in Designboom. The new building by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects “provides a 9,500 sqm public space that…
GirlBoss Founder Wins Facebook Leadership Award
“GirlBoss New Zealand founder Alexia Hilbertidou is the first and only Kiwi to be selected for the social media network’s Community Leaders Program,” writes Brittany Keogh in an article for
NZ Boasts a Burgeoning Craft Whisky Movement
New Zealand’s whisky scene is on the rise. Not for the first time either, but this time it’s being built to last, with upstart distilleries making quality, distinctively Kiwi spirits, and an infrastructure of…
Allbirds Open First UK Store
“Allbirds, the San Francisco-based shoe brand that makes its trainers out of eucalyptus, wool and sugar cane, is opening its first UK store in London’s Covent Garden on Wednesday and, if the reaction is…
Peter Jackson Brings to Life WWI on The Big Screen
Peter Jackson “is up to his usual ambitious tricks in his latest project, the World War I documentary They Shall Not Grow Old,” writes Zack Sharf in an article for…
Air NZ Partners with Larry Page on Electric Air Taxis
Air New Zealand has announced plans to “partner with Zephyr Airworks, a flying car startup backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, ‘to make autonomous, electric air travel a reality for all New Zealanders,’” writes…
Music’s Most Powerful Tastemaker Zane Lowe
Auckland-born, LA-based radio host Zane Lowe “has been in the thick of the music industry for nearly 20 years — first as a presenter for MTV, than as the 13-year host of BBC Radio…
New Zealand Enters the Craft Beer Game
New Zealand’s “Ministry of Primary Industries wants to develop ‘a super-premium hops’ and craft beer in an attempt to emulate New Zealand’s success with wines such as sauvignon blanc and pinot noir,” writes Eleanor…
Rocket Lab Unveils New Production Facility
“Rocket Lab has expanded its global footprint with the unveiling of a new production facility that ‘rethinks the way orbital rockets are built’”. Space Tech Asia reports. “The new 7,500 sq/m…
New Zealand Bird of the Year
The Kererū – “a native green and bronze wood pigeon with a taste for fermented fruit has been named the 2019 bird of the year in New Zealand” in a poll organised by Forest…
What We Do In the Shadows Premieres at NY Comic Con
The first episode of the upcoming What We Do in the Shadows TV show, featuring co-creators Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, has been screened at New York Comic Con.” Christian Holub reports in an…
Air NZ Debuts Magic Leap Virtual Reality Game
“Air New Zealand has ventured into the world of virtual reality marketing with its Fact or Fantasy concept game that features a world where people witness a giant kauri tree grow, meet a grumpy…
New Zealand Second-Best Place for Expats
New Zealand has been ranked the second-best place for expats in a study by HSBC. Singapore has landed the top spot in the survey. The Singapore Business Review reports. The…
Farmer Doug Avery in Scotland Speaking On Drought
New Zealander Doug Avery, known as ‘The Resilient Farmer’, recently spoke about having endured the worst drought “in living memory” at a tour jointly organised by The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland…
Stewart Island and the Elusive Kiwi
“Tell a New Zealander that you’ve been to Rakiura/Stewart Island and chances are they’ll be envious, telling you they can’t wait to visit their wee third-largest island. After intros – kia ora, how ya…
Peter Macky Renews Historic German Train Station
Aucklander Peter Macky, a former lawyer, has nearly completed a 10-year restoration of the first Kaiserbahnhof train station in Halbe, Germany. Macky, who lives six months of the year in Germany, says he stumbled upon…
Lyndsey Lewis Becomes a New American
Twenty-two foreign-born Maine residents, including New Zealand-born Lyndsey Lewis, completed the long journey of becoming US citizens at a naturalisation ceremony in Acadia National Park. According to Lewis, there were “about 15 or 16 different…
How Magic Leap Is Making the Magic
“When I met Rony Abovitz at Magic Leap’s Developer Conference (aka LEAPCon) in downtown Los Angeles yesterday, I told him it was like meeting all four Beatles at once. He’s defined for me and…
DJ Christoph El Truento Announces New Album
New Zealand-born sound explorer, producer and DJ Christoph El Truento has just announced the release of his new album LWMP18 through Berlin-based record label/artist collective C O S M I C | C O…
Jamie Turner is Training the Best in the World
Elite triathlon coach Jamie Turner is an affable New Zealander known for building mentally unbreakable athletes. The 46-year-old former triathlete, now a bit soft around the edges, loves to speak in metaphors gleaned from…
Temuera Morrison & Sam Neill to Star in “The Brighton Miracle”
Temuera Morrison and Sam Neill are to star in “The Brighton Miracle”, a film that portrays “Japan’s famous win over South Africa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.” The victory is “regarded by many…
NZ Passport #8 on Power Ranking
“Global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners has released its quarterly report on the world’s most desirable passports,” as reported in India’s Economic Times. New Zealand has been…
Dylan McCullough Takes Triathlon Gold at Youth Olympic Games
“Dylan McCullough of New Zealand stormed to victory in the men’s triathlon at the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 on Monday 8 October,” as reported on Olympic.org. “The Kiwi athlete…
Startup Soul Machines Puts Human Face on AI
New Zealand-based startup Soul Machines has so far created 15 humanoids – disembodied screen presences – like Lia, employed mainly as customer service assistants. They work in seven countries for companies including Royal Bank…
Milk from Deer Causing a Stir
Excitement is building among New Zealand’s high-end chefs over a new world-first. Deer milk is now being sourced from 70 hinds in Southland to make cheese, desserts and even yoghurt. The company behind the…
Claudia King’s Automio Shaking Up Tech World
New Plymouth-based legal tech startup Automio, which was founded by Claudia King, has made the Forbes’ list of 60 women-led tech companies, “shaking up” technology across the world. Allyson Kapin, a contributor at Forbes, recommends: researching…
Peter Beck is Changing the Launch Equation
Rocket Lab is aiming high. The California-based company, founded in New Zealand by Peter Beck, plans to make space much more accessible via its 17m Electron rocket, which can loft about 225kg of payload…
Scott Dixon Dazzles in ‘Born Racer’
Set against Scott Dixon’s “2017 IndyCar season with snippets and key moments from nearly every race”, Born Racer “begins with the Indy 500, where Dixon crashed in horrifying style. What follows are the challenges…
Four-Day Work Week Trial Run Finds ‘No Downside’
New Zealand financial services firm Perpetual Guardian “has made a four-day work week permanent protocol after a trial run found “no downside,” company founder Andrew Barnes announced this week,” writes Marisa Dellatto in an…
American Magic Entrust Campaign to Dean Barker
The US syndicate will have renowned New Zealander Dean Barker as helmsman for the America’s Cup in 2021, plus an international crew of sailors for the New York Yacht Club’s first bid for the…
Photographer Robin Hammond Speaks Out at UN
The United Nations has celebrated 70 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, at a high-level event on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary killings of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex (LGBTI) persons around…
NZ and Australia Ground Zero for Chinese Influence
Chen Weijian rests on his balcony, listening to the cicadas in a leafy suburb of Auckland, Rob Schmitz reports in an NPR broadcast. He moved from China in 1991, escaping imprisonment for working on…
Paris Inspires Designer Rebecca Taylor
New Zealand fashion designer Rebecca Taylor recently upped and moved her family to Paris. “It was somewhat spontaneous,” Emily Farra writes for Vogue, “but she’s been dreaming of raising her children in the city…
Mind Altering Moments with Unknown Mortal Orchestra
“An hour-long set of psychedelic sonic explorations breathes fire into songs that can border on boring in their studio iterations,” the Sydney Morning Herald’s Matt Teffer writes in a review of a recent
Melanie Brown Is Champion of Our Wine in London
If you are looking to have your eyes opened to the wonders of New Zealand wine, then Melanie Brown is the one to call. Since joining The Providores and Tapa Room in Marylebone, headed…
Why Countries Are Competing in Happiness Rankings
Move over GDP, happiness is angling to become the metric of the future. Nation states have begun to compete in global happiness rankings and plan policy according to statistics of wellbeing, with New Zealand…
Kester Black’s Anna Ross Designs for Disney
Ethical nail polish company Kester Black has created a one-off custom range in partnership with Disney to celebrate Mickey Mouse’s 90th birthday. Australian city guide Broadsheet talks to founder, New Zealander
Adventures for Absolutely Everyone
“When people ask about my favourite countries to get away from the stresses of today’s contentious world, New Zealand is right up there, offering just about everything a traveller could want: vast stunning landscapes,…
Francis Upritchard Exhibition on at the Barbican
This autumn, to mark the 30th Curve commission at London’s Barbican Centre, New Plymouth-born and London-based artist Francis Upritchard, 42, has created a new, site-specific installation. Drawing from figurative sculpture, craft…
Investigating the Visionary Inventor Richard Pearse
“Richard Pearse, a New Zealander, is remarkable for very nearly being the first to fly under power and control. The more remarkable for also designing and making the engine for the aircraft,” Joseph May…
London’s Oceania Exhibition Gets More Rave Reviews
The new Oceania exhibition has just opened at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. The Guardian’s art reviewer Jonathan Jones was there, deeming the show “dazzling … like having the ocean…
Ocean Rower Kathy Tracey Speaks on Leadership
In 2005, New Zealander Kathy Tracey, along with three women from the UK, pitted themselves against the might of the ocean on a 4700km historic journey. The now 56-year-old founding partner of
Riverdale’s KJ Apa Makes the Cover of GQ
KJ Apa is really going places. Driven, humble, talented, the boy from New Zealand is soon to be everywhere, according to Jake Millar in a cover story written for GQ Australia. Apa, 21,…
WOW is WOW
“The idea, Suzie Moncrieff said, was to ‘take art off the wall and on to the human body’. From Moncrieff’s concept, WOW – World of Wearable…
New Zealand to Get into the Space Junk Business
New Zealand is being drawn into the effort to tackle the space junk problem, Peter Griffin writes for Noted. Menlo Park, California-based space mapping start-up LeoLabs has applied for resource consent to build a…
AI Expert Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh Lectures in US
St. Bonaventure University’s cyber security programme recently hosted artificial intelligence expert and STEM advocate, New Zealander Dr Mahsa Mohaghegh as its Lenna Visiting Professor. Mohaghegh is a professor at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) with a…
Take A Taste Of NZ With You When You Leave From Auckland International Airport
New Zealand chocolate maker, Whittaker’s, has opened their first ever store. Located at Auckland International Airport, just beyond the Customs area, it’s the perfect convenience for any traveler in need of an authentic Kiwi…
Oceans Apart Doco a Tribute to Māori Determination
British art historian James Fox presents Oceans Apart: Art and the Pacific, an “engaging” BBC documentary exploring Māori culture. It is reviewed in The Guardian by Emine Saner. In Oceans Apart, Fox examines artworks that…
Record-Holding Runner Anne Audain Back in Lynchburg
More than 4000 descended on Lynchburg for the annual Genworth Virginia 10 Miler and its sister races to see course record-holder New Zealander Anne Audain return to the Virginia city…
Allbirds Creates Eye Mask for Air New Zealand
Shoes from Allbirds, the Leonardo DiCaprio-backed sustainable brand co-founded by New Zealander Tim Brown, have quickly morphed into a consumer favourite. Now via a partnership with Air New Zealand, the…
