Do you know an outstanding Māori business leader?

Do you know an outstanding Māori business leader?

The call is out for nominations for the University of Auckland Aotearoa Māori Business Leaders Awards.

The call is out for nominations for the University of Auckland Aotearoa Māori Business Leaders Awards.

The awards, hosted by the Business School, recognise and celebrate outstanding Māori excellence and success in business. They are widely regarded as the nation’s premier Māori Business awards.

Past individual winners include Ngarimu Blair, Jamie Tuuta, Miriana Stephens, Chris Mace, Rob McLeod, Mavis Mullins, Jason Witehira, Sir Ralph Norris, Kingi Smiler and Ian Taylor. Previous organisation award winners include Ngāi Tahu Holdings, Tainui Group Holdings, Tuaropaki Trust and Wakatū.

“This is an occasion to recognise the massive contributions made by Māori business leaders – individuals and organisations – to a strong and growing economy that is grounded in Māori worldviews,” says Associate Professor Chellie Spiller, Business School Associate Dean, Māori and Pacific.

“The awards also highlight inspiring role models for rangatahi.”

Karen Vercoe was last year’s recipient of the Dame Mira Szászy Māori Alumni Award. She says the recognition it generated, both personally and for her company, went beyond her expectations.

“I received numerous client calls, I was contacted for commercial and not for profit boards, I have been asked to mentor start-up Māori entrepreneurs; but more importantly the positive role model effect on my whānau has been wonderful.”

Vercoe is founder and principal of KTV Consulting Ltd, which has consulted to government agencies and uses Results-Based Accountability, a data-driven discipline designed to benefit people and communities.

She says: “These awards allow small Māori business owners like myself the opportunity to be recognised for our hard work and our persistence, to pursue our dreams and goals of business ownership and entrepreneurialism.”

Ngāi Tahu Holdings was last year’s winner of the Outstanding Māori Business Leadership award.

“Winning the award was both humbling and rewarding for us,” says Ngāi Tahu Holdings chief executive Mike Sang. “It’s humbling because we feel we have so much more to achieve, and it’s rewarding because the award recognises the efforts of many people within the business and the iwi, and the progress we have made together to be a successful and values-led part of the Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu group.”

The Māori economy is growing faster than the wider New Zealand economy. It ballooned from an estimated asset base of $9.4 billion in 2001 to $40 billion in 2015, with some analysts forecasting it could top $100 billion in the next few years.

Iwi controlled post-settlement assets alone are now worth $6 billion, with that figure predicted to double in a decade or so.

The award categories are: Outstanding Māori Business Leader, Māori Women Business Leader, Young Māori Business Leader (aged under 40), Dame Mira Szászy Māori Alumni, and Māori Entrepreneurial Leader (new this year), and a category for organisations: Outstanding Māori Business Leadership.

Says Dr Spiller, “We warmly encourage nominations, and are excited by the new names that are coming to our attention this year – it’s shaping up to be a phenomenal event.”

Nominations close 17 March, and winners will be announced at a dinner in Auckland on 12 May.

Find out how to nominate someone here.

The awards are supported by:
BNZ (event partner and awards sponsor)
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust (event supporter)
Ngāi Tahu Holdings, He Kai Kei Aku Ringa (The Crown-Māori Economic Growth Partnership), and Chapman Tripp (awards sponsors)
ATEED, Bayleys, EY Tahi, Fonterra, and Vodafone (event sponsors)

ENDS

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