2007

Geoff Ross is the CEO of the Moa Brewing Company and Chair of Trilogy.

He is famous for founding and being the CEO of 42 Below, the world’s most awarded vodka sold in over 5000 bars worldwide. 42 Below was a listed company prior to its sale to global spirits giant Bacardi in 2006.

His awards include Marketer of the Year 2006 and Deloitte Fast 50 Winner 2005.  

Geoff’s background includes being Managing Partner and Board Member of DDB Advertising and Client Service Director and Management Team Member at Saatchi & Saatchi.

He is now a trustee of the Melanoma Foundation and Pure Advantage. 

Kevin Roberts CNZM is the former CEO Worldwide of Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the world’s leading creative organisations.

He started his career in the 1960s with iconic London fashion house Mary Quant. He then worked for Procter & Gamble in Europe and the Middle East and was CEO of Pepsi-Cola Middle East and Canada before coming to New Zealand to be COO of Lion Nathan.  For 16 years, he was also a member of the Management Board of Publicis Groupe, the Paris-based global communications group.Today he is a business ambassador for the New Zealand United States Council and Chair of My Food Bag.

He is a former director of the New Zealand Rugby Union and a former board member of New Zealand Football and Trustee for Team New Zealand America’s Cup challenge.

In 2013, he was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and the community.  A world leader on creative thinking, marketing and leadership, Kevin advises national organizations and global brands across commerce, media and sport.

He has honorary appointments and doctorates at a number of international universities and has published several books. 

Brian Peace is the Founder and CEO of BrashTech as well as the Founder and former CEO of Peace Software, an early provider of IT, billing and CRM software to the deregulated utility sector.

Peace Software became a world leader in its space and in 2006, when it was sold to NASDAQ-listed global entity First Data, it employed more than 400 staff across New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA.  

In addition, Brian worked as a lecturer in Information Systems at Auckland University and as a consultant on system acquisition and implementation.

He was named EY Technology Entrepreneur of the Year in 1999, Distinguished Alumni Award winner at the University of Auckland in 2001 and New Zealand Technology Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002. 

Sir Ralph Norris KNZM is a world-renowned business leader whose lifetime achievements have changed the global banking industry, as well as helped grow New Zealand’s identity as a nation of innovators and high achievers.

Sir Ralph is famously known for his six-year tenure as the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and for being the former CEO of ASB and Air New Zealand. Considered a Chief Executive in Shining Armour, Sir Ralph is the recipient of numerous awards and accolades including Chief Executive of the year 1997 and 2004, New Zealand Executive of the Decade 2010, Māori Business Leader of the Year 2010 and Laureate of the Business Hall of Fame 2014.

In 2006, he was made a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to business and he was redesignated Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009. In Australia, he was named Australian Banking and Finance Banker of the Year in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012 and Banker of the Decade and Customer Service CEO of the Year in 2010.

In 2012, the University of New South Wales conferred on Sir Ralph an Honorary Doctorate of Business in recognition of his contribution to Australian business.

An innovative educator, Sir John Hood served as Vice-Chancellor of both Auckland University and Oxford University and was named a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to tertiary education in 2014.

He was the first person in Oxford’s 900-year history to be elected to the role from outside the University’s academic body.  

Sir John has shown strong commitment to industry, having spent 19 years heading the paper, building and construction divisions of Fletcher Challenge in New Zealand. He has also been a strategic consultant to a number of major corporations and served as director of ASB and Fonterra and is the former Chair of Tonkin & Taylor.In 2010, he was appointed President and CEO of The Robertson Foundation, a private family-led philanthropic foundation in the US.

Finally, Sir John was Chair of the Rhodes Trustees and was a Sir Peter Blake Medalist in 2009. 

Sir Paul Callaghan GNZM FRS FRSNZ (1947–2012) was a world-leading, award-winning Kiwi physicist who specialised in nanotechnology and magnetic resonance.

A highly-respected and inspirational leader and teacher, Sir Paul championed science and business as being crucial to New Zealand’s economic growth.

His vision was for New Zealanders to get more value and return from their ingenuity by combining science, innovation and commercialisation, and creating a hub of smart, export-focused entrepreneurs, where a high quality lifestyle is achieved through excellence in education and R&D.

In 2001, Sir Paul was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and in 2004, he received the Ampère Prize from the French Academy of Sciences. The following year he was awarded the Royal Society of New Zealand’s most prestigious prize – the Rutherford Medal. Sir Paul was appointed Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2006 and redesignated a Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2011. In 2007, he received a Sir Peter Blake Medal. Subsequently, he also received the Gunter Laukien Prize for magnetic resonance as well as the Prime Minister’s Science Prize. The year before he died, Sir Paul was named New Zealander of the Year.