News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Hot Pick for Virgin Media

Hot Pick for Virgin Media

Wellington-born Neil Berkett is widely expected to be made chief executive of Virgin Media. Berkett joined Virgin Media as chief operating officer in 2005 and has been acting chief executive of the company since the abrupt departure…

Some Pig

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…

Game On

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,…

Power Producers

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….

Edge Dynamics in Action

Edge Dynamics in Action

NZ social researcher Brent D Taylor has applied Edge theory to economics in his new book Outsider’s Edge: The Making of Self-Made Billionaires. Taylor has spent the past four years studying the backgrounds of some of…

Air NZ in Pioneering Partnership

Air NZ in Pioneering Partnership

Air New Zealand has signed an agreement with airplane maker Boeing and engine maker Rolls-Royce to collaborate on projects to make commercial aviation more environmentally sustainable. Stage one of the plan will see the first trial flight…

Best Foot Forward

Best Foot Forward

Karen Walker has joined forces with Brazilian flip-flop giant Havaiana to produce a line of limited edition jandals for Spring/Summer 2008. The two designs feature Walker’s classic Runaway girl and her new season Fruit…

Influential Exports

Influential Exports

Two New Zealanders made The Bulletin‘s annual list of the 50 most influential businesspeople in Australia. Fairfax Media Chief Executive David Kirk is ranked fifteenth on the list. The former All Black Captain has headed the publishing…

Halo Helmed by NZ Boy Genius

Halo Helmed by NZ Boy Genius

This year’s most hyped video game, Halo 3, was engineered by a former child prodigy from Kakanui. Chris Butcher, 29, works for Seattle-based gaming company Bungie, which produces the Halo series for Microsoft Xbox. In…

Technology High-fliers

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…

Designing Women

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 ……

Hong Kong Follows NZ’s Lead

Hong Kong Follows NZ’s Lead

Hong Kong sees NZ as a role model for renewable energy and environmental technology, according to its government’s website. “New Zealand is renowned for its high environmental standards and its use of new technologies to protect the…

Benchmark Branding

Benchmark Branding

A leading Korean trade group is using NZ as a benchmark for competitive national branding. Research by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) has shown the long-term effectiveness of NZ’s “100% Pure New Zealand” and “New Thinking…

Milking It

Milking It

NZ is reaping the benefits of a global milk boom, according to the New York Times. Milk is in high demand and short supply due to a combination of global factors, including climate change, trade policies…

Tributes Flow for Industry Titans

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…

A NZ Space Odyssey

A NZ Space Odyssey

A NZ company has plans to launch rockets into space, carrying scientific packages, DNA and human ashes. Auckland-based Rocket Lab, co-directed by Peter Beck and Mark Rocket, will start sending its 17-foot carbon-fiber “Atea” rockets…

Design Mobel Goes Global

Design Mobel Goes Global

Tauranga bed and furniture maker Design Mobel has launched the first of its Okooko global concept stores in Wellington and Hong Kong, with more to follow in the US later this year. Okooko stores integrate award…

Green Choice for NZ Motorists

Green Choice for NZ Motorists

NZ has launched its first commercial biofuel – Gull Force 10. Available through Gull Petroleum stations, the “green” fuel blends 90 per cent premium gasoline with 10 per cent bioethanol made from cows’ milk. “We are serious…

Something to Crowe About

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 à Court took over and privatised the beleaguered club in 2006, sparking numerous protests from…

Barclay Founder Rates

Barclay Founder Rates

NZ Barclay founder and president William J. Buechler gives NZ investments the thumbs up in a column for Forbes. Buechler predicts that NZ’s rising short-term interest rates, combined with Fonterra’s 27% share increase, the discovery of new…

Tech Blogger’s Global Reach

Tech Blogger’s Global Reach

Lower Hutt is home to the world’s 28th most popular blog. Richard MacManus’s Read/Write Web, a social networking site devoted to Web 2.0 issues, receives around 25,000 page views a day. “It takes a lot…

Tee King

Tee King

New Zealander Glenn Jones has won the US-based Threadless t-shirt design competition a record 17 times. Jones, the creative director at Auckland’s Dashwood Design studio, gets regular fan e-mail and has been featured on…

Health, Wealth and Honey

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….

Lions Share

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…

Jeweller Finds Wonderland in NZ

Jeweller Finds Wonderland in NZ

British jeweller Alice Hughes has created a range of bespoke pieces inspired by NZ plants and sea life. She established Alice in Wonderland Jewellery in 2004 after undertaking an apprenticeship in NZ, where she…

Eslinger in All Things Interactive

Eslinger in All Things Interactive

Tom Eslinger, worldwide interactive creative director for Saatchi & Saatchi, was president of the Cyber jury at this year’s Cannes International Advertising Festival. He spoke about the importance of ideas and the growing respect for media as…

Burger Boom

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…

Sellaband Springboard for NZ Rapper

Sellaband Springboard for NZ Rapper

Christchurch rapper Maitreya has found international fame through sellaband.com, a new social networking site for entrepreneurial music lovers. Sellaband allows users to buy “shares” in acts they think have the potential for major chart…

Brand Passion Paramount

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…

Cinema Success Story

Cinema Success Story

Auckland-based Vista Entertainment Solutionshas become one of the world’s leading cinema software providers since its launch in 1995. Vista’s systems, which run entire movie theatres from selling tickets to calculating studio royalties, are used in nearly 600…

Top of His Game

Top of His Game

New Zealander Bob Hayward has found success in the highly competitive US film industry. Based in Los Angeles, Hayward is the Chief Operating Officer and founding partner of Summit Entertainment, an independent distribution company…

Xero on the Money

Xero on the Money

A NZ online accounting software company has won the inaugural International Technium Challenge, a business planning competition sponsored by International Business Wales. Wellington-based Xero beat 19 entries from five other countries, winning the opportunity to open…

Fletcher Nets Formica

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…

First in Flight

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…

Lord of the Rigs Honoured in NZ

Lord of the Rigs Honoured in NZ

Wade Thompson, US-based chairman, president and CEO of the world’s largest recreation vehicle company, is to receive an honorary Doctor of Commerce degree from Victoria University. Thompson, 66, completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at Victoria in…

Clean, Pure, Natural Cosmetics to France

Clean, Pure, Natural Cosmetics to France

NZ cosmetics companies Trilogy, Skinfood, Art a Face, Living Nature and Antipodes have presented their ranges to 50 French retailers and beauty journalists at the NZ ambassador’s residence in Paris. The May 14 breakfast event received a…

New Voice in US Media Marketplace

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…

NZ Ranks Swell at Creative Hotspot

NZ Ranks Swell at Creative Hotspot

Geoff Coyle is the latest New Zealander to join advertising powerhouse 180 in Amsterdam, bringing the combined total to eight. “Of the 23 nationalities employed here, NZ is by far the most over-represented group,” said Coyle’s…

Winning Streak for 42 Below Ads

Winning Streak for 42 Below Ads

42 Below Vodka’s US advertising campaign won Saatchi & Saatchi New York seven statues at this year’s Clio Awards, including the Grand Clio in the print section. The slew of awards saw Saatchi & Saatchi New…

Healthy Competition

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…

Matterhorn Among World’s Best

Matterhorn Among World’s Best

Wellington institution the Matterhorn has been named one of the world’s top five bars by respected US trade magazine, Bartender. The Cuba St local was ranked fifth behind Milk & Honey (London), Salvatore…

Auckland Pioneers Landing Technique

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…

NZ a Modern Treasure Hunter’s Dream

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…

Stamps Commemorate Centenaries

Stamps Commemorate Centenaries

NZ Post has issued a series of stamps celebrating the centenaries of four organisations that have played a major role in the country’s history. Released April 24, the stamps pay tribute to Suzanne Aubert’s House of…

New Era in Online Advertising

New Era in Online Advertising

NZ internet entrepreneurs Firstlight are emerging as world leaders in online advertising with their Editorial Related Advertising (E|R|A) programme. With offices in Bangalore (content support), New York (sales) and Wellington (research and development), Firstlight have developed what…

Text Polling a Hit in US

Text Polling a Hit in US

Auckland mobile marketing company Txstation has established a strong presence in the US, providing real-time audience polling for the National Basketball Association, Fox News and the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Txtstation’s technology allows broadcasters and event organisers to ask…

A Wallflower No Longer

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…

Morgan Trades Up

Morgan Trades Up

TradeMe founder Sam Morgan was profiled in the February issue of Australian Financial Review Boss magazine. In 1999, the then 23-year-old Wellingtonian launched NZ’s e-commerce success story, which was recently purchased by Fairfax for $AU 625 million….

Two Paddocks Enters Asian Market

Two Paddocks Enters Asian Market

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…

Final Tourist Frontier

Final Tourist Frontier

Christchurch internet entrepreneur Mark Rocket was the first New Zealander to sign up for one of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space flights. The self-described space nut (he changed his surname from Stevens by deed poll)…

Boiling Point

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…

Australian Foothold for TrustPower

Australian Foothold for TrustPower

NZ company TrustPower has won a NZ$200 million contract to build a wind farm in Snowtown, South Australia. Construction of the 42-turbine plant begins on the Hummocks and Barunga ranges in April. “Over time, for TrustPower generally,…

Icebreakers Canadian Connection

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…

Silver Lining for OpenCloud

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…

Future Vision

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…

Top Shelf

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…