2010 World Class New Zealand Awards

Presented by Kea and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, these Awards recognise and celebrate successful New Zealanders and 'Friends of New Zealand' who help enhance the reputation of our country on the world stage.

Kea Chair Sir Stephen Tindall says the World Class New Zealand Awards hold a special place on the country’s awards calendar in that they look beyond our shores to showcase New Zealand's best talent.

"The exciting thing is, every year the Awards seem to grow and we've only just touched on the number of talented New Zealanders out there.

"There are large numbers of Kiwis living and working overseas. The challenge is keeping them connected to New Zealand and helping them contribute to our success around the world, something Kea seeks to promote through its global network of Kiwi expats and other friends of New Zealand."

Sir Stephen says the new 'Friend of New Zealand' category has been introduced this year to acknowledge a wider community of people working to build global connections with New Zealand and helping to support Kiwi businesses internationally.

"These are people who talk publicly about New Zealand, invest in New Zealand and actively support New Zealand organisations and causes. Often they reflect values that define New Zealanders that we hold dear - qualities such as integrity, ingenuity and generosity."

Judges for this year's Awards were:

	Sir Stephen Tindall, Chair, Kea New Zealand
	Jon Mayson, Chair, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
	Professor Peter Gluckman, Chief Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister
	Rod Drury, Chief Executive Officer, Xero
	Jane Hunter, Hunter's Wines and the 2009 WCNZ Manufacturing Award winner
	John Stace, Professional Director and Kea New Zealand Board member

Nominees were evaluated against five main criteria in relation to how they:

	Facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge or skills from and about New Zealand
	Foster New Zealand innovation and entrepreneurship
	Act as a role model on the world stage
	Promote New Zealand Internationally, and
	Build global connections with New Zealand.

Winners have been chosen in each of eight categories, along with a Supreme Award winner [sponsored by Industrial Research Ltd]:

	New Thinking [sponsored by Gen-i]
	Friend of New Zealand [sponsorship under contract]
	Biotechnology [sponsored by Ernst & Young]
	Creative Industries [sponsored by Wellington City Council]
	Finance, Investment & Business Services [sponsored by BDO]
	Information & Communications Technology [sponsored by MetService]
	Manufacturing
	Research, Science, Technology & Academia [sponsored by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology]

And the 2010 Award winners are ...

Book now for the 2010 Awards dinner or read about about last year's event.