Award Categories

University of Auckland Business School Young Executive of the Year

This award recognises standout individuals who are prepared to go beyond perceived limitations and strive for personal and organisational excellence. The award provides an opportunity to celebrate young executives’ roles in influencing, growing and providing strategy and direction in their organisation. 

To find out more, please click here.

Reflections from our 2022 winner

Barfoot & Thompson Diversity and Inclusion Leadership

This award recognises an organisation that has successfully developed and implemented a specific strategic programme to achieve a substantial performance improvement in diversity and inclusion metrics. The success of this programme will be demonstrated by material progress achieved to date and its ability to continue to enhance business performance and employee engagement over the longer term.

To find out more, please click here.

Reflections from our 2022 winner

Amazon Web Services Company of the Year

This award recognises the best organisational performance from the previous year. Judging criteria includes the latest financial measures as well as non-financial and other qualitative measures of organisational performance. These may include things like corporate reputation, approach to environmental management, human resource management and others.

ServiceNow Chief Executive of the Year

This award recognises the best executive performance from the previous year. Judging criteria includes the performance of the winner’s organisation and the extent to which he/she has contributed to that performance and the current strategy. Also important is the regard in which the winner is held by peers.

Tax Traders Chief Financial Officer of the Year

This award recognises a CFO whose performance from the previous year has been outstanding. The award aims to highlight and honour a CFO whose influence and stewardship of their organisation’s financials and stakeholders has resulted in value and success for their company’s shareholders. The judging criteria include the financial performance of the organisation under the direction of the CFO, their demonstrated contribution to sustainable value for shareholders, their communication and strategic planning capabilities, as well as their ability to ‘steady the ship’ in good and bad financial times.

Forsyth Barr Chairperson of the Year

This award recognises the top board performer from the previous year. The judging criteria include the performance of the organisation(s) and the extent to which the winner has contributed to the performance of the board(s) he or she chairs. Judges will also take into account the regard in which the winner is held by peers. Also of importance is the understanding of, and commitment to, promoting high standards of corporate governance.

2degrees Best Growth Strategy

This award recognises an outstanding growth performance. Criteria include the past year’s revenue and profit growth. Other factors may include if the growth appears to be sustainable, if it is based on international business expansion and the short and long term advantages of growth for the organisation.

Sustainability Leadership

This award recognises and celebrates businesses that are committed to creating long-term value through sustainable practices, including the explicit integration of ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) considerations and investments, and a resilient business strategy in areas proven to be material to the business.

BusinessNZ Most Improved Performance

This award recognises an outstanding change in business performance. The judges look at the relative improvement in all performance indicators over the previous year, the source of the improvement, and other ways the organisation has changed in the past year and the impact of these changes.

Hobson Leavy Visionary Leader

The recipient of the Hobson Leavy Visionary Leader award will not necessarily be associated with a Top 200 company or, in fact, any company at all. He/she will be someone in the business world or someone who has applied business methods to other fields or whose work is of importance to the business community. Their contribution might have been made in the previous 12 months or the award may be recognition for a lifetime’s achievement. The winner of the award will have taken a visionary position and leads by example.

Entries for the Young Executive of the Year and the Diversity & Inclusion Leadership awards are now open until 5pm on 1 August 2024. The finalists will be announced in late October.