Microsoft's gatekeeper
Christopher Liddell, Chief Financial Officer at Microsoft since 2005, and the former senior New Zealand business leader is the architect of Microsoft's recent $44.6 billion takeover offer for Yahoo. Liddell is now dealing with the rejection of that offer and Microsoft's imminent acquisition fight. "You have to be disciplined and ruthless," Liddell told The New York Times before Yahoo's board turned down the offer. "We should see acquisitions as a way of growth. We should not be embarrassed at all." Liddell, who since joining Microsoft has made 50 acquisitions, was previously CFO at forest product company International Paper and CEO at Carter Holt Harvey. 
(11 February 2008)

Some pig 
A miniature variant of the NZ kune kune pig has become the must-have pet in Britain. Chris Murray, co-owner of Pennywell Farm in Devon, began breeding the pigs nine years ago. He crossed kune kune with local miniature breeds, resulting in a pig that grows no bigger than a cocker spaniel. "They are easy to house train and have a good temperament," he says. "A sow would normally snap at you if you picked up one of her litter, but these are amazingly content." British TV personality Jonathan Ross has bought two of the pigs as pets for £150 each, and Murray has had requests from as far away as Australia. 
(15 October 2007)

Technology high-fliers
Marketing entrepreneur Andy Lark is the latest New Zealander to land a top job at a leading US technology firm. Lark has been appointed global vice-president of marketing and communications at Dell, one of the world's largest computer makers. He joins former Carter Holt Harvey boss Chris Liddell, now chief financial officer at Microsoft, and ex-EDS sales head Michael Boustridge, who now leads British Telecom's business in the Americas. As the chairman of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise's Beachhead programme in the US, Lark has a strong involvement with NZ businesses and industry programs. "Fortunately, Dell is supportive of my efforts to help New Zealand companies thrive in the US and other markets," he said in the NZ Herald. "I wouldn't have taken the role if it had meant giving that up." 
(17 September 2007)

Burger boom 
A restaurant chain founded by three New Zealanders has become one of the most successful businesses in the booming UK "posh burger" market. Gourmet Burger Kitchen was established six years ago by school friends Greg Driscoll, Brandon Allen and Adam Wills. The trio sold the business to restaurant investment company Clapham House Group for NZ $25.7 million in 2004, staying on for 18 months as directors before cashing out. Since the start of the 2006 financial year, Clapham House has added 13 GBK outlets to the chain, and is currently looking for a further 100 sites across the UK. 
(10 June 2007)

 

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Cinema success story

First in flight 
Nelson's Ngati Koata has become the first Maori tribe to venture into the airline industry. The iwi aims to launch a Nelson-based passenger charter service in the next three to four months, and has further plans for an airline freight operation. "We are starting off small and getting into the aviation industry in a conservative manner," said Ngati Koata Trust CEO Caron Paul, who will also be acting CEO of the yet-to-be-named airline. The Trust has leased two 18-seat aircraft that were previously owned by Origin Pacific Airways, a NZ regional carrier that closed in September last year. Ngati Koata Trust is the legal entity representing more than 5000 iwi members. Its business interests include a ship repair yard, a furniture manufacturing company and a health and social services arm. The Trust recently announced plans for another new and potentially lucrative business - making and selling biodiesel to the local fishing industry, motorists and manufacturers. 
(22 May 2007)

New voice in US media marketplace 
NZ-born advertising executive Antony Young, US CEO of Optimedia, is about to publish his first book in America. In Profitable Marketing Communication he offers US marketers a fresh perspective on the media marketplace, based largely around successful European campaigns and organisational models. One of his key points is the need, particularly in the US, to move from analogue to digital: "I'm a fan of digital, and while many talk about bringing digital into the mainstream, we [at Optimedia] wanted to turn the organization on its head and do it." Young began his advertising career at Saatchi & Saatchi and Colenso/BBDO in Auckland, before spearheading Zenith Media's launch in Asia. He replaced industry veteran Mike Drexler as CEO of Optimedia US in June last year. 
(8 May 2007)

Healthy competition 
A NZ healthy fast food chain has opened its first European outlet in Glasgow, Scotland. Owner Conrad van der Klundert believes that Reload, a South Island-based juice, salad and sandwich bar, can take on established chains such as Subway as well as existing juice bars in the UK and Ireland. He eventually hopes to employ between 200 and 300 staff in more than 100 stores, with each making £350,000 annually. "We are trying to change the eating style in as many places as possible, from fast food to healthy food," says van der Klundert, who already operates Reload stores in Australia, Singapore and China, as well as across NZ. The UK and Ireland franchise has been bought by Scottish businessman Keith Stark. 
(22 April 2007)

Auckland pioneers landing technique 
Auckland International Airport is leading the world in trialling a landing method designed to reduce fuel use and emissions. Beginning April 18, the test landings will see selected Air NZ and Qantas jets glide into the airport with engines set on idle. "We've chosen only a very small group of aircraft to participate. [These planes] typically arrive at times of the day other traffic is light," said airport spokesman Lew Jenkins. If successful, the program may be tested by airports such as LAX in future. 
(13 April 2007)

Two Paddocks enters 
Asian market Actor Sam Neill has been busy promoting his Two Paddocks vineyard in Hong Kong, but has dismissed any suggestion of a major expansion into China. "We're a boutique winery. I think if we started expanding into China we'd be swallowed up in a minute," he said in the Washington Post. Instead Neill's range of premium wines will be sold exclusively through an organic food store in central Hong Kong. Two Paddocks is located in Central Otago and produces just 3000 cases of wine a year. 
(31 January 2007)

Future vision 
Needing to know the life cycle of your business in 2030? Wondering about the strengths and weaknesses about merging two global IT systems? Interested in the long-term climate for pensions? Former Auckland systems manager and management trainer Faye Cossar runs her business astrology practice Juxtaposition in the Netherlands consulting for conglomerates such as KLM-Air France, supermarket chain Ahold and worldwide insurer Generali on company life cycles, and organisational development and culture which makes an ideal topic for a lecture. The Ahold study showed that their Albert Heijn supermarkets in the Netherlands are now in the 8th phase of a 72-year, 12-phase cycle. According to this model there would also be a parallel with the previous phase 8, from 1935-1941. Understanding the systems archtypes presented lessons from the past. Advice for phase 9 starting in May 2007 could be given based on the last phase 9, 1941- 1947 and the positive themes of this phase - Involvement in Politics, Expansion, Overseas issues. 'Big is best'. Faye Cossar was one of the first MA graduates in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology in 2004, from Bath Spa University College, the first university in the world to offer such a programme.
(December 2006)

Agencies with edge 
The Kiwi ad industry once again proved its strength on the global stage, picking up a slew of awards at this year's Cannes Lions Advertising Awards. Saatchi & Saatchi won a Gold Lion in the media category for its Rubbish Film Festival for Telecom, Aim Proximity won Gold in direct marketing for its Body Parts campaign for BNZ, and Colenso BBDO's Scott Maddox and Fraser Grant won Silver Lions in the Print Young Creative category. TBWA/Whybin won two Promo Lions for its Stand in Black and Be the Ball campaigns for Adidas, as well as a Gold Lion in direct marketing for its Bootscraper campaign for ASB. Stand in Black also earned TBWA/Whybin a Gold Award and Grande Clio (Best in Show: Innovative Media) at the Clios in Miami, Silver at ADFEST (Thailand), Bronze at the Media Spikes (Asian Advertising Awards), and a New York One Show Bronze Pencil. Saatchi & Saatchi New York also poured gold at Cannes for NZ client 42 Below. 
(28 June 2006)

Best foot forward 
NZ footwear company, Kumfs, has reached a significant milestone in its nearly 70-year history with the opening of its first branded store in the US - in Fresno, California. The US and Canada account for 10.5% of Kumfs' wholesale business, which now generates a $54.6 million annual turnover. Kumfs started as a podiatrist clinic producing its own shoes in Auckland in the 1940s. By 1961, the company was commercially manufacturing its own orthopaedic shoes. With factories in Auckland and China, Kumfs now produces 9,000 pairs of shoes per week and leads the Australasian market for fashion footwear recommended by podiatrists and physiotherapists. 
(29 May 2006)

Sudoku mania
Retired Kiwi judge, Phil Gould, continues his path to world domination as the man behind current puzzle-page phenomenon, Sudoku. Gould now provides puzzles for 120 newspapers in 36 different countries. “It will fade but I don't expect it to disappear for good,” says Gould. “I think the crossword and the sudoku will sit side by side for years to come. The crossword is there for the wordsmith and the sudoku is there for the rest of us.”
(3 October 2005)
   

International man of mystery
Wayne Gould – retired NZ judge turned “international puzzle star” – is responsible for the latest craze in newspaper teasers, Su Doku. Gould discovered the number-based logic test in a Japanese bookstore in 1997. After six years of labour, Gould created a computer program to produce the puzzles, and sold the result to Rupert Murdoch’s Times. The game has been a hit in the UK, spawning a best-selling book (and two more in the pipeline), and has now been purchased across the Atlantic by the New York Post.
(27 May 2005)
   

Ben Ohau doing just fine 
The South Island's MacKenzie Basin is internationally famous for two things; providing the stunning backdrop to the final battle in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and producing the most consistently high quality merino wool in NZ. The Cameron family of Ben Ohau Station have been exporting their premium merino wool to Europe since 1897. One of its more recent customers, Italy's Loro Piana fashion house, has twice awarded Ben Ohau its World Wool Record Challenge Cup for the finest bale of wool produced in a solar year. The station has also won the Loro Piana Trophy for the NZ Record Bale for four years running. Ben Ohau currently holds the NZ record for the finest fleece ever produced - at 12.3 microns it is finer than cashmere. Read about the history of Ben Ohau Station in NZ Life and Leisure here. 
(3 September 2005)

The new wave
Two NZ companies made international business magazine Red Herring’s vaunted “Top 100 Private Companies in Asia” list for 2005. Esphion and Argent Networks, both based in Auckland, are rated as companies which could significantly affect the way we live. Esphion is a network appliance company which specialises in securing large IP networks by detecting faults in the network itself before they reach computers. Argent Networks provides billing and customer service solutions for telecommunications companies, netting much of its business from the rapidly expanding mobile phone markets of Africa and the Middle East. Both companies are financed by Wellington-based venture capital firm No.8 Ventures.
(2 September 2005)
    

Sam’s back
Called by Kerry Packer “the world’s best television executive,” NZ-born Sam Chisholm is back helming Packer’s Channel Nine. In the 90s he turned UK’s BSkyB into a cash cow for Rupert Murdoch. The Auckland born King’s College old boy moved to Australia in his early 20s. The gruff Chisholm is equally known for his medical fortitude, having had a double-lung transplant as a result of a rare respiratory condition. Chisholm and Nine have been Australia’s top media story this year. "Television is the most perishable commodity - we have no stock, we have no plant, we have no factory - this is a creative business...You're always trying to anticipate what your constituency wants and try to provide them with that. It's the ultimate service industry. If viewers don't like it - zap! They vote every day on what we do and if they don't like it they're quick to tell us." 
(14 July 2005)

Less is more 
In a study released by the World Bank, New Zealand has been named the most business-friendly nation in the world. The study ranked 155 countries and was based on classic American assumptions of economic success, like the idea that the less red tape - the easier it is to do business. Singapore joined New Zealand in the top spots while America came in at third place, followed by Canada. The World Bank examined factors such as the ease or difficulty of hiring and firing, the abilities of creditors to recoup money in the case of bankruptcy and the ability to enforce contracts in court. 
(14 September 2005)

Liddell to work on margins
TBR believes the addition of New Zealander Chris Liddell as Microsoft’s CFO should help usher in an era of growing operating margins and a tightening of the fiscal belt. In TBR’s opinion, the hiring of Liddell, direct from the forest industry, will bring a relatively-low margin operation mindset to Microsoft. Specifically, TBR believes Liddell will reduce expenses brought on board during Microsoft’s growth stage. During a difficult operating environment and faced with unfavorable currency headwinds, Liddell was still able to increase International Paper Co.’s operating margin 18% from 2003 to 2004, even when revenue grew only 6.5. TBR predicts Microsoft’s operating margins could expand significantly during the next one to three years as Liddell brings a more mature and responsible fiscal management culture to the company. Chris Liddell holds an engineering degree from the University of Auckland and a master of philosophy degree from Oxford University in England. Chris was a prime mover in The Knowledge Wave and an instigator of the progressive think tank The New Zealand Institute. 
(13 May 2005)

Battle of the titans
Fonterra has made a formal takeover bid for Australian conglomerate, National Foods, earning it the title “NZ moo-nopolist” in the Sydney Morning Herald. The super-company already owns Australian brands Bega, Western Star, Bodalla, Perfect Italiano and Peters & Brownes. In an ironic twist, Fonterra’s chief competition in the takeover bid looks likely to be Graeme Hart, NZ’s most successful entrepreneur and owner of the Burns Philip food group.
(3 November 2004)
 

Whinge benefits
Research undertaken at Victoria University suggests a positive side to gossiping and whining at work. According to the report, “whingeing to a sympathetic co-worker both reflects and constructs the close relationship between team members, thus consolidating the team's solidarity.”
(25 October 2004)

Suntan Man
Al Baldwin, 74, has sprayed his last beachgoer. Over the past 30 years, New Zealand-born Baldwin had become a fixture in Surfers’ Paradise beach, spraying an estimated three million beachgoers with suntan lotion. His business was a patch of sand where he sprayed suntan lotion on up to 600 beachgoers a day, and hired out chairs, umbrellas and boogie boards. He grew up in a New Zealand orphanage, moved to Sydney in the early 1950s and to the Gold Coast in 1968.
(2 September 2004)

Chisholm to Packer
New Zealand-born media supremo Sam Chisholm has resigned as a Director of Telstra to joint Kerry Packer’s media group PBL. Chisholm, 64, retains his chairmanship of Foxtel. He was head of Nine in Australia for 15 years before becoming Chief Executive of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) for several years. He was Executive Director of News Corp until 1999. Chisholm is the consummate worker of phones and backrooms in some of the biggest Australian-led media initiatives.
(4 September 2004)

I see red
A New Zealand company, Knights of NZ, wins the contract to make the Australian Olympic team's opening ceremony coats for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Worth more than $3000 each, the coats are made from 100 per cent Kiwi baby virgin wool. Aussie World Champion aerial skier Kirstie Marshall believes they will threaten the sporting tradition of uniform swapping between competitors: "I don't know that any Australians will want to swap. These look fantastic,"
(23 January 2002)
        

V. Good
New Zealand energy drink V rates well for taste and kick.
(13 June 2001)

Insurance chart for safe passage
Former New Zealand Shipping Company employee John Richardson's 1979 The Merchant's Guide to Documentary Problems has guided thousands of marine insurance under-writers through the shoals of incoterms, bills of lading, letters of credit and other tricky areas of the trade.
Pdf Copy
(12 May 2001)
 

Castaway
A New Zealand consortium plans two lodges on Pitcairn Island, home to the descendants of the Bounty mutineers.
(31 March 2001)
 

First time
Christchurch Casino has placed a clock in its gaming room - a first for the industry, which usually likes punters to forget the outside world exists.
(17 December 2000)

Guru Gilson 
Clive Gilson, University of Waikato Professor, co-author of Peak Performance: Business Lessons From the World's Top Sports Organisations, and motivational coach, to "is to turn the [English] Football Association from its traditional home for semi-retired blazers into a Peak Performing Organisation". 
(5 November 2000)

High stakes
Christchurch Casinos Limited and international affiliate CryptoLogic have debuted Kiwi Casino on the net. Punters drop their dollars surrounded by "the exotic sub-tropical rainforests of New Zealand". 
(5 October 2000)

Sir Ron Brierley: 61 not out
Sir Ron described by the Financial Times as the "cricket mad corporate raider" and "one of the most controversial corporate figures of the past twenty years" knocked the London Stock Exchange for six when his Guiness Peat Group opposed the merger between the LSE and Deutsche Borse. The swashbuckling former stamp-collector is known for batting off the front foot.
(11 August 2000) 
 

"Brain drain clouds NZ's future" - refuse the hype and get to the edge
More centric thinking, this time from London's Observer, "New Zealander's are leaving their country in droves, placing a strain on the economy and painting a grim picture for the future." Our opinion: New Zealand Edgers of the world network and take over.
(13 June 2000)  
    

Kiwi revolutionises advertising through seamless internet surfing
Financial Times special report "Japanese Internet Tsumani", looks at how the internet is making reaching customers easy: "you can be sitting in the back of a taxi in a traffic jam checking your stocks, paying bills.  It is seamless", says New Zealander Jonathan Hendricksen, president of ValueClick Japan.
(May 2000)

           

Kiwi ex-bellboy now Japan dotcom millionaire
Young entrepreneur Jonathan Hendricksen this week became the first foreigner to list a company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange - and overnight made himself a $150 million fortune.  The former hotel doorman has a 15% stake in billion dollar on-line advertising company ValueClick. 
(May 2000)

0800 GAZZA - personalised phone numbers up for sale in Britain
Henry Newrick, a New Zealand entrepreneur, who brought the idea to Britain, says, "They will change the way people think about phone numbers and make them more memorable and certainly valuable".
(6 April 2000)
               

dot.com dream
Kiwi Victoria Davies is among the silicon dolls  burnt by the dot.com crash. She's now on a $100,000+ salary, but has less confidence in stock options, "I don't look at it as my ticket to being a millionaire because I really don't think it's that easy".
(11 December 2000)
   

Kosher washer
Dishdrawers by Fisher & Paykel are taking the American Jewish market by storm. The separate compartments make them the kosher washer of choice according to New Zealand sources close to the Paykel family.
(19 November 2000)

  


Kevin Roberts punts Saatchi & Saatchi into the Premier League
The ideas shop meets 'La Difference' when it was announced that Saatchis was to merge, for £1.24 billion, with French giant Publicis. Celebrating the merger, as well as scooping creative awards at Cannes and the company's booming fortunes, Kevin raised a Kiwi toast to jubilant staff, "Go buy your people and your colleagues across the way at Publicis a cold beer [or French champagne]."
(22 June 2000)
  

Feasts in factories 
New Zealander Margot Henderson, sought-after London gourmand and the other half of Arnold & Henderson catering, does not like to use the word 'simple' when describing their menus. "It's more like it has a sense of place," she says. At a recent Parisian soirée in a metal factory, 240 guests, including the French prime minister, sat down at long banquet tables while the cooks worked out of a makeshift kitchen. Dishes were served family-style from large bowls and platters; the entrée, veal shin on the bone, arrived with a knife sticking out of it. Arnold & Henderson has an impressive client list including Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs and Mulberry. Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson began the catering business in 1995 when they worked together at London's The French House Dining Room in Soho. They now run restaurant, Rochelle Canteen in Shoreditch.
(23 March 2008)

New exec at Opera House
Sydney's most famous landmark is now presided over by New Zealander Richard Evans, who last month became chief executive at the Opera House. Among the challenges Evans will face, is raising some NZ$790 million for the ongoing renovation of the Sydney Opera House complex. Evans told The Dominion Post: "There is no question that it must be one of the more difficult jobs there is, but unless it was, I wouldn't want to do it." Chairman of the Sydney Opera House Trust Kim Williams said Evans has the right attributes for the role. "Richard has a strong entrepreneurial outlook with a good sense of humour ... qualities which are essential to managing an enterprise like the Sydney Opera House," Williams said. Evans was previously chief executive of the Australian Ballet.
(16 February 2008)

NZ director airs at Super Bowl
In just 30 seconds, Wellington ad director Paul Middleditch made his mark at this year's Super Bowl. Sydney-based Middleditch created the NZ$3.4 million one-off slot for Diet Pepsi Max, at his sixth Super Bowl. When Middleditch - whose work includes the New Zealand ASB Goldstein ads - began directing spots and music videos in 1990, he was one of the only young directors working in New Zealand advertising. Now very much sought-after, Middleditch told The Dominion Post he does a lot of comedy work in the United States. "In America when you do comedy it becomes more high-profile and people ask you to do more work like that. So I've been lucky like that."
(20 February 2008)

Chairman of the Internet

Game on 
Wellington-based Sidhe Interactive is the creative brains behind Jackass: The Game, released in the US by Red Mile Entertainment and MTV Games on September 26. The company hopes it will sell over a million copies, which is the benchmark for success in the highly competitive gaming industry. NZ's largest games developer, Sidhe Interactive recently won a multimillion-dollar deal to create a game based on the upcoming US film Speed Racer for Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2. "It is a perfect combination to be coming off Jackass and rolling on to that," says Sidhe spokesman Jos Ruffell. "We have gone from playing in the Australasian market to competing at the absolute top level in the US market." 
(1 October 2007)

Power producers 
Queenstown-born film producer Tim Bevan (right) features in Vanity Fair's annual 'New Establishment' power rankings, along with business partner Eric Fellner. Bevan and Fellner founded British film powerhouse Working Title in 1984. Their company has produced nearly every hit British film since the late 1980s, from Four Weddings and a Funeral and Elizabeth, to Love Actually and Shaun of the Dead. Bevan and Fellner are ranked 75th on the 100-strong list, which is topped this year by Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), Steve Jobs (Apple, Disney, Pixar), and Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google). 
(October 2007)

Designing women 
New Zealand Herald writer Fiona Hawtin reports on the unique nature of the NZ fashion scene for the International Herald Tribune. "Of the 45 labels showing at the seventh New Zealand Fashion Week ... 39 of them are designed by women and almost all are owner/operator businesses," she writes, noting the stark contrast with the traditionally male-dominated fashion industries in Europe and the US. High-profile examples of this trend include Karen Walker, Kate Sylvester, Elisabeth Findlay (Zambesi), Helen Cherry and Trelise Cooper. "Boundaries don't exist so much for women [in NZ]. We can excel in the arts as much in business sectors," said Wellington designer Alexandra Owen who, together with Chelsea Thorpe and Kirsha Whitcher, is part of a new generation of NZ women running their own fashion labels. 
(12 September 2007)

Tributes flow for industry titans 
NZ has lost two of its leading business figures with the deaths of Sir James Fletcher and Nick Nobilo (pictured) on August 29. Fletcher, 92, became Managing Director of construction dynasty Fletcher Holdings in 1942. He was knighted for services to industry and the community in 1980. "We don't have enough industrialists or business people that we can look up to. He is one we can revere," said Fletcher family friend John Hart. Nikola 'Nick' Nobilo, 94, founded the Nobilo Wines empire in 1943 after emigrating to NZ from Croatia six years earlier. Nobilo helped steer the NZ wine industry away from hybrid grape varieties and fortified wines to a higher level of quality wines made from classic grape varietals. "You can't talk about where New Zealand wine has got to in the world today - and it is absolutely impressive - without taking into account the contribution of the Nobilo family," said Terry Dunleavy, editor of NZ Winegrower.
(30 August 2007)

Something to Crowe about
Russell Crowe is gradually proving the naysayers wrong as co-owner of the South Sydney 'Rabbitohs' rugby league club. Crowe and businessman Peter Holmes a Court took over and privatised the beleaguered club in 2006, sparking numerous protests from fans and league officials. "What we're doing has never been done before," said Holmes a Court in the Sydney Morning Herald. "I still don't know if we're going to be successful. I know this is a crazy thing to do. It doesn't stack up on any of the numbers my accountant will agree to as a business deal. But I know this club would not have survived." The SMH is impressed with the pair's efforts so far: "As anyone at the club who was there for a nanosecond of the dark days will attest, their influence has been remarkable." 
(30 July 2007)

Health, wealth and honey 
A NZ health company has teamed up with a German university to promote the use of manuka honey products to heal wounds, treat stomach and skin problems and, potentially, to help in the fight against cancer. Researchers at the Technical University of Dresden have discovered the compound responsible for manuka honey's anti-bacterial properties (methylglyoxal) and have enlisted the help of Te Awamutu-based Manuka Health New Zealand Ltd to measure and certify the levels of the compound in its own products and those of rival companies. "We have known for some time that manuka honey has this property," said Manuka Health chief executive Kerry Paul. "The term Unique Manuka Factor is used to describe this honey's consistently reliable anti-bacterial effect and UMF has been trademarked by the Active Manuka Honey Association. But we haven't known until the German discovery what the compound is that is responsible." Manuka Health expects to dramatically increase its current annual turnover of NZ$5 million as a result of its new partnership. 
(6 July 2007)

Lions share 
NZ agencies won 18 awards at this year's Cannes Lions, the world's most prestigious advertising awards. Auckland agency TBWA\Whybin won the Grand Prix award in both the Media and Promo categories for its ASB "Pago" and NZ Rugby Union "Bonded by Blood" (pictured) campaigns, respectively. Other winners included Clemenger BBDO for a campaign for the World Press Photo Exhibition, Ogilvy for an email invitation campaign for Soul Bar and DraftFCB for an illustrated print campaign for Little Boys sausages. DraftFCB also won three Silver Lions in the Radio category, which is not traditionally a strong area for NZ advertising. The 2007 Cannes Lions were attended by more than 11,000 people. Over 25,000 entries were received from 80 countries. 
(20 June 2007)

Brand passion paramount 
Sean Fitzpatrick and the All Blacks are held up as inspiring examples for business leaders by American finance blogger, Jim Citrin: "No other sports franchise in the world has achieved a 72 percent winning percentage over as long a period. It's amazing that a nation of just 4 million ... can produce the greatest team in the history of any sport." In high demand as a motivational speaker in the US and Europe, Fitzpatrick is an eloquent promoter of team-play and emotional connection in business. "With the All Blacks, a passion for the brand is paramount," he says. "When a team member puts on the All Blacks jersey, he knows that he can win, that he must win. Winning as an All Black is not about the individual, or even about today's team. Each player feels part of an unbroken tradition going back over a century." 
(6 June 2007)

Fletcher nets Formica 
NZ manufacturing company Fletcher Building has bought the iconic Formica Corporation for US $700 million. Fletcher Building already owned the rights to Formica products in Australia and NZ - chief executive Jonathan Ling said the latest acquisition would help create "a truly global laminates platform." Formica Corporation, maker of the famous eponymous laminate as well as other surfacing products, was rescued from bankruptcy by two private equity firms in 2004. The company was founded in the United States by engineers Daniel O'Conor and Herbert Faber in 1913. 
(24 May 2007)

NZ a modern treasure hunter's dream 
NZ features in a "21st century treasure map" for entrepreneurial Americans, published by Inc. magazine. The interactive online map is a guide for American business owners looking for international opportunities. The NZ economy is described as one of the world's least regulated and most entrepreneurial, with one of the highest rates of business ownership per capita. Inc. ranks it alongside Hong Kong, Sweden and Irealand as one of the best places in the world to set up shop. 
(April 2007)

A wallflower no longer 
Auckland digital signage company Wallflower Global has been purchased by Thailand's Global Satellite Broadcasting Corporation (GSBC) for US $20 million. Since its inception four years ago, Wallflower has become the preferred digital signage specialist for international companies including Vodafone, Telstra, Sky City and Mazda. "We are thrilled to acquire the business not just because of its dynamic user friendly technology but also Wallflower has a huge footprint in Australia and NZ," said GSBC founder Ronald Flynn. "The people at Wallflower are terrific and [Wallflower Global CEO] Tony Scott will be staying on board as the CTO and President for the newly named GSBC Wallflower." 
(2 February 2007)

Icebreakers Canadian connection
Nova Scotias Chronicle Herald reveals a NZ business success storys Canadian connection. Jeremy Moons outdoor clothing company Icebreaker enjoys CA$100 million in annual retail sales, largely thanks to its revolutionary merino wool thermal underwear. Icebreaker and a group of NZ farmers recently signed the largest merino wool contract in the world: $30 million for the period 2006-8. Moon reportedly found the inspiration for his business in 1993, at the remote Pohuenui Station in Pelorus Sound. Owned by Brian Brakenridge and his Canadian sheep shearing champion wife Fiona Nettleton, Pohenui Station ran a flock of 3000 merino sheep. Chronicle Herald: In a moment of visionary pride, Brakenridge showed entrepreneur Jeremy Moon his merino wool underwear ... Moon was so impressed that he mortgaged his house, bought half of Brakenridges business, began manufacturing merino wool long johns and persuaded a NZ explorer to wear the same pair for the entire 43-day Jules Verne Challenge. 
(10 January 2007)

Boiling Point 
US BusinessWeek profiles “white-hot” New York-based company Fahrenheit 212’s fresh take on innovation for global consumer product companies. Named after the point at which water boils (“when one degree of difference can make all the difference”), Fahrenheit 212 was spawned by global ideas company Saatchi & Saatchi, with F212 CEO Geoff Vuleta and President Mark Payne leading a recent management buyout. Vuleta, former MD of SaatchiNZ, created F212 in Auckland before establishing the company in New York. Fahrenheit’s goal is to create new products from existing assets that will earn sizeable revenue from untapped markets. The hybrid management consultancy, agency and design house dives head-first into its clients’ product opportunities and gaps to research, prototype and bring to ready-to-go solutions to market. Fahrenheit 212’s clients include spirits giant Diageo (for whom it developed the Smirnoff Raw Tea range), Samsung, P&G, Hershey, UBS and NBC Universal. Says NBC’s Beth Comstock, “We need people who can take us to where we can’t see yet.” 
(15 January 2007)

Silver lining for OpenCloud
Wellington telecommunications support firm OpenCloud has raised US$10.25 million in funding from Advent Venture Partners (London), No 8 Ventures (NZ) and Motorola Ventures (US). The funding will be used to expand the company's international interests, which include a new headquarters in Cambridge, Scotland, and increased sales, marketing, delivery and product development in Europe, America and the Asia Pacific. "We are building up the [Cambridge] infrastructure," says company director and chief executive Stephen Newton. "By the end of the next two to three months we will be 10 to 12 people at the Cambridge site." OpenCloud, which specialises in the supply of next generation application servers to the telecoms industry, played a pioneering role in the development of the cutting-edge JAIN SLEE platform. 
(10 January 2007)

Top shelf 
NZ's 42 Below vodka has been named Cocktail Spirit of the Year for the second time in a row at the 2006 Australian Liquor Industry Awards (ALIA) in Sydney. "42 Below has made a large impact in the Australian market in a short time," says the brand's Australian Country Manager Craig Schweighoffer. "Over the last two years we have seen the brand establish itself as one of the most recognised spirits in the country, its reputation securing a solid appreciation among Australian bartenders and consumers alike." Known as the Oscars of the liquor industry, the ALIAs took place at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre on 2 November. 
(3 November 2006)

Wairewa Station on the ball 
South Canterbury sheep farmers Philip and Anne Munro won a lucrative US contract to supply wool for the tennis balls used at the US Open. The couple hosted American tennis ball producers Tex Tech and Wilson's at Wairewa Station last year, impressing them enough to secure a year-long order of 280 bales per month. The Munro's wool was set aside for the sole purpose of producing US Open tennis balls, which will be branded with Wairewa Station's logo. "It's quite a buzz for us that this has happened, said Philip Munro in the NZ Herald. "The whole situation is quite surreal, it has to be taken as quite significant, not only for ourselves, but also for the NZ wool industry." Held in New York, the US Open is the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world. 
(9 August 2006)

Global roaming 
Auckland-based company RoamAD has secured another major international contract, providing a high-speed wireless network to the Italian university city of Bologna. The free wi-fi network is the first to be deployed in the historic centre of a major Italian city. RoamAD has already established metro-wide wi-fi networks in Auckland and Perth, and plans to connect Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide in the near future. 
(8 June 2006)

Buy-now price $700 million 
John Fairfax Holdings has bought New Zealand internet auction site Trade Me for $700 million. What started as one young Wellingtonian looking to buy a second-hand heater to warm his drafty Mount Victoria flat in 1999, has expanded exponentially to become the most visited website in New Zealand with 1.2 million registered users and one of the most successful edge enterprises in years. Trade Me will continue to operate as a stand alone business, with founder and Chief Executive Sam Morgan continuing to run the company with a board of Trade Me and Fairfax executives.

Dubai calling 
Two New Zealanders are at the forefront of a massive property boom currently happening in Dubai. The United Arab Emirates is spending £140 billion to transform the city into an ultra-modern capitalist powerhouse, the business and leisure hub of the Middle East. Bruce Munro's BRM Construction Dubai has produced high rise lift shafts for 65 Dubai projects to date, and now wins 95% of its tenders. Civil engineer Greg Sang is overseeing the $2 billion construction of what will be the world's tallest building for Emaar Properties. "I think my last job was with the Takapuna City Council," he remarked to TVNZ. "I was doing water mains." 
(21 May 2006)

Mongolian musings 
Auckland born investment banker, John O'Loghlen, muses on Mongolia in the nicely titled Feeding a Dragon: Mongolia's Position within a Rising Asia. Observations on the Land of Eternal Blue Sky for the Land of the Long White Cloud. In 2004 O'Loghlen spent ten days in Mongolia participating in the annual Sunrise to Sunset marathon, an event which sparked his ongoing interest with the country's history and future. Feeding the Dragon notes similarities between Aotearoa and Mongolia - "the world's two most beautiful patches of grass" - and ponders Mongolia's ability to ride the Asian financial wave currently headed by neighbouring China. Read the full article here. 
(August 2005)

Bullionaire business opportunity 
A Massey University graduate may soon be striking agricultural pay-dirt after founding the world's first gold-farming company, Tiaki International. Chris Anderson spent 8 years at Massey developing a chemical process which causes plants to "hyperaccumulate" gold particles from the soil. When crops such as canola, corn or mustard are planted on former gold-mining land they soak up the precious substance and store it in their roots and leaves. Tiaki is now promoting its services in China and Brazil as a means of simultaneously re-greening former mine sites and creating a lucrative offshoot to sell on the open market. 
(1 October 2005)

Phoenix rising
NY Times feature on the burgeoning international alternatives to Coca Cola mentions NZ-brewed delight, Phoenix Cola. “This organic, caffeine-free drink from New Zealand is actually made from the cola nut. Refined-sugar shunners can opt for the honey-sweetened version.”
(25 September 2005)