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The Icehouse
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The Aotearoa New Zealand Māori Business Leaders Awards™ acknowledge the academic success of Māori. The Awards also honour and celebrate the success and achievement of Māori business leaders.
The Awards have enabled the Business School to develop a network of Māori business alumni who support each other professionally and gather each year to reaffirm their commitment to support the academic and business successes of our Māori students.
The University of Auckland hosted these awards on Friday 3 May and it was attended by a group of Maori Business Leaders hosted by Shay Wright (Head of Māori Development at The Icehouse) and Travis O'Keefe
The group attended an afternoon at The Icehouse before the Awards where they networked with the contributors and strategic partners of The Icehouse Māori Unit.
They heard from Shay and Travis about the challenges Māori Trusts face, their plans to change the status quo and what they're doing in relation to whānāu and iwi goals.
Murray Thom was a guest speaker and shared his energising and intriguing story of becoming an entrepreneur.
See below for the official release from the Awards.
Top Māori business leader announced
Award-winning special effects pioneer and former television personality Ian Taylor has been named Māori business leader of the year.
The Kaeo-born and Raupunga-raised businessman, who revolutionised special effects particularly within coverage of sporting events, claimed the top honour at this year’s Aotearoa NZ Māori Business Leaders Awards at The University of Auckland Business School on Friday, attended by prominent Māori businesspeople and dignitaries.
Sponsored by the BNZ, the awards are presented retrospectively to honour and celebrate the academic success of Māori and to mark the achievements of Māori business leaders. Next year will be the 10th time the awards have been held.
Taylor, appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit last year, has had a meteoric career internationally since establishing Animation Research, now considered to be one of the top computer animation companies in the world.
“Ian is a very modest person, but his achievements both here and internationally are breathtaking, given that he still regards himself as a Dunedin-based businessman who ‘got lucky’,” Business School Dean Professor Greg Whittred says.
“His work, particularly in television advertising and sports graphics, is high profile, but lesser known is the work he completes within social enterprise, such as providing graphic animation techniques for pilot training.
“We are thrilled to add Ian to the other esteemed winners of this award, including singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, entertainer Sir Howard Morrison, banker Sir Ralph Norris, developer Peter Cooper, philanthropist Chris Mace and capitalist Brett Hiirini Shepherd.”
Taylor, a former Spot On presenter who obtained a law degree, founded Taylormade Media in 1989 as a television production company before establishing his computer animation company. Virtual Eye is now used in various sports such as cricket and yachting.
Award organiser Associate Professor Manuka Henare says Taylor’s achievement at being inducted into the New Zealand Technology Hall of Fame and awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the New Zealand Computer Society three years ago makes him an ideal candidate for the top honour.
BNZ Director of Partners Anthony Healy says the bank is delighted to stand behind emerging Māori business leaders.
“They bring an important long-term perspective to New Zealand’s business environment,” Healy says.
“Many businesspeople supported by Māori culture bring a different perspective to the business landscape; that of the longterm, sustainability, kaitiakitanga and a culture of adding value in order to leave something better for those who follow.
“Of the challenges facing New Zealand’s economic growth, some stem back to a short-term view of business outcomes. I think that long-term thinking has found its time, and I hope that the business leaders recognised tonight keep that perspective with them as their success grows.”
About the awards
The Aotearoa New Zealand Māori Business Leaders Awards were launched in 2003 by The University of Auckland Business School to celebrate and acknowledge the academic success of Māori and to mark the achievements of Māori business leaders.
The Business School now boasts a wide network of Māori business graduates who support each other professionally and gather each year to reaffirm their commitment to supporting the academic and business accomplishments of Māori.
