Young Executive of the Year Award
Recognising the leaders of tomorrow
The Young Executive of the Year Award honours a standout individual who is prepared to go beyond perceived limitations to strive for personal and organisational excellence.
The award provides an opportunity to recognise young executives from within New Zealand’s largest companies and identify the leaders of tomorrow who will continue to drive our business community forward.
Award finalists will be announced in late October 2025, with the winner announced at the Deloitte Top 200 awards show and gala dinner on Thursday 4 December 2025 at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland.
Eligibility criteria
Only one application per organisation will be accepted for the Young Executive of the Year Award. Applications must be supported by the Human Resources Leader (or another senior leader) within the candidate’s organisation and contact details for this leader must be supplied to verify details of the submission if required.
Candidates for the Young Executive of the Year Award should meet the following requirements:
Be in a role where they actively influence strategy and business growth
Candidates need to be in a role where they can actively influence their company or business unit strategy and provide direction on business growth and opportunities.
Employed by a company placed on the Deloitte Top 200 indices and based in New Zealand
Candidates must be employed by a company placed on one of the Deloitte Top 200 indices. The Top 200 indices can be found here if you’d like to confirm company eligibility.
Employed at their organisation for 18 months or more
Candidates should have been employed at their current company for at least 18 months.
Be aged 40 years or less as at 1 January 2025
Candidates need to be aged 40 years or younger as at 1 January 2025.
Judging process and shortlisting criteria
The Young Executive of the Year Award judging panel undertake a comprehensive review process to select three award finalists and a winner. The shortlisting criteria followed by the judging panel can be found here.
1
Review of written applications
The judging panel undertake a comprehensive review of all applications to identify a shortlist of organisations to take through to a panel interview. The shortlisting criteria used by the judging panel can be found here.
2
Panel interviews
Shortlisted candidates will be asked to participate in a panel interview with the judging panel. Panel interviews will be held at the Deloitte Auckland office on Tuesday 26 August.
3
Award finalists selected
Award finalists will be announced in late October 2025 with the winner announced at the Top 200 awards show to be held on Thursday 4 December 2025 at the Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland.
