The public relations industry power list. Image / NZ Herald
The best public relations people are often invisible. They’re the corporate ghostwriters, operating behind the scenes, advising executives on what to say, when to say it — and whether to say anything at all.
Look closely at a press standup featuring a famous executive or politician, and you’ll likely see their handler lingering in the background watching everything unfold, taking mental notes.
Over the past 15 years, the number of journalists covering news in this country has more than halved as tech companies gobbled up advertising revenue.
At the same time, we’ve seen an explosion in the PR industry, with 2018 Census data suggesting that public relations professionals now outnumber journalists four to one, according to some estimates.
And that ratio is likely to blow out even further with the updated data from the 2023 Census.
That huge increase in the PR ranks does not always equate to quality — something even the industry’s most ardent disciples would happily admit.
As the anthropologist and author of Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, David Graeber, previously told the Herald, many PR people criticised him for including their craft in his encyclopedia of jobs that offer little value to society. Those critics were at pains to point out the difference between “real” PR and “phoney” PR that achieves nothing.
Graeber laughed, noting that this defence effectively admits that a fair amount of PR work gets absolutely no cut-through.
This might reflect the fact that with more PR people and fewer journalists, there’s been a corresponding increase in the difficulty of getting a certain narrative across the line.
It has never been easier for a stressed journalist to plead pressure of work, and ignore requests from PR people desperate to get favourable stories into the media. Those who excel in this cut-throat environment need a unique combination of influence, perseverance and competence.
In compiling this power list, we aimed to draw attention to those who lurk behind the scenes, helping to tell the stories of some of New Zealand’s biggest companies. This was no easy task, given that PR today means so many things to so many people. The old stereotype of the spin doctor or Svengali, pulling the strings and shaping the message certainly still exists, but there’s much more to PR these days.
One PR executive consulted for this story suggested that creating a power list was akin to trying to compare different bird breeds, noting that there’s a big difference between a vulture, a pūkeko and an emu.
In acknowledgement of this, this list excludes lobbyists (a different breed of animal altogether) but includes communications professionals working at independent agencies, multi-nationals and in-house at some of New Zealand’s biggest companies and public sector departments.
So without further ado, here’s a rundown of the brains behind some of New Zealand’s biggest business stories.
The head of communications at the NZ Super Fund is responsible for telling Kiwis how their retirement funds are tracking. This is no small task. The fund holds $59.64 billion, and there’s always pressure to ensure we have enough money in the kitty to pay for retirement. With growing calls for the superannuation age to be lifted and our main political parties divided on this issue, Etheredge also needs to ensure her communications are always nonpartisan, focusing on the numbers above all else. When we’re talking about influence in a sector, there are few things that have a greater influence on the public than the question of when they’ll be able to retire and how much they’ll receive.
Name a famous recent New Zealand film and you’re likely to find Henry’s name associated with its promotion. Savage, The Breaker Upperers, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Jojo Rabbit and What We Do in the Shadows are just some of the projects that Henry has helped take to the masses as the managing director of 818 Entertainment. By coupling a natural charm and friendliness with enormous competence, Henry has become the go-to guy in the entertainment sector. But this also extends beyond mainstream film, with Henry carving a fresh niche by launching People of Influence, a sub-brand that specialises in connecting businesses with influential Kiwis. He’s also adept at promoting theatre shows and other major arts events.
The founder and managing director of NSPR has a storied reputation as one of the best connectors in Auckland. Working behind the scenes with high-profile executives and celebrities, Schuck has played a significant role in bringing together people in media, business and political circles. Over the years, she’s worked with the likes of rich-lister Owen Glenn and Ecostore founder Malcolm Rands. In 2016, she also became only the second woman ever to feature on the board of the Warriors rugby league franchise. Her connections also extend deep into the media, having previously served as the communications lead for NZME under the tenure of former chief executive Jane Hastings.
Spain has been a well-known name in the ad agency PR sector for the better part of the past 15 years. In 2010, she founded the PR arm of the agency FCB and built it into an organisation that worked with some of the biggest brands and most important public-sector organisations in the country. She has a massive contact book and often uses it to help connect people in the industry. In 2020, on the eve of the pandemic, she left her role at FCB to start her own agency, Archer Comms. And while it might have seemed like horrible timing, her reputation as a solid operator, particularly under pressure, ensured that she quickly picked up clients and had to hire more staff. She now also enjoys the freedom of working across a number of ad agencies, rather than having her skills confined to one. Spain has a reputation for working with the media in a productive way rather than trying to force through terrible stories that have no news value. This has led to her earning the respect of journalists and editors around the country.
One of Auckland’s best-known PR directors, Gemma Ross co-founded Hustle & Bustle, a boutique firm with around half a dozen staff. The firm specialises in purpose-led brands like the female empowerment app Bumble, and luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Moet Hennessy’s stable, including Dom Perignon, Moet & Chandon, Veuve Clicquot and Cloudy Bay. Ross is also active behind the scenes in advisory roles to sportspeople Blair Tuke, Peter Burling and Dan Carter. She can get political too, evidenced by her work as a strategist behind the MIQ plight of journalist Charlotte Bellis, during Covid border closures. Her mix of premium clients, sports stars and political influence undoubtedly makes her one of the most influential PR professionals in the country.
The current managing director of Mango Communications and successor to Claudia Macdonald also happens to be the son of the current mayor of Auckland, Wayne Brown. But in their personal styles, father and son could not be more different. While Brown senior enjoys a good battle, son Sean is regarded as a collaborator and a consummate nice guy. He has been at Mango Communications for more than a decade, consistently moving up the ranks to the role of managing director. This is no small feat given he has the responsibility of filling the very large shoes of Macdonald (also on this list) – someone who has been a PR staple on the Auckland scene for decades.
If you’re the lead comms person for a business unicorn that sends rockets into space, you can be guaranteed two things: people are going to pay attention to what you’re doing, and things could get complicated. As the communications manager for Rocket Lab for the past five years, Bailey has undoubtedly worked at one of New Zealand’s most interesting companies. But this hasn’t come without its challenges, with the public keeping a close eye on each of the company’s launches (and infrequent failures). There have also been tough stories in the media covering the company’s work culture, and questions about whether the New Zealand-founded company should be taking contracts from the United States military. Despite this, Bailey has played an integral role in helping communicate the story that Bloomberg Businessweek magazine recently summarised on its cover as: “How a dishwasher engineer from New Zealand built SpaceX’s most unlikely rival”. It’s certainly not bad going if you’re making attention-magnet Elon Musk sweat.
Kelly Bennett has a long and storied history in PR. In 2006, while working for the advertising agency group Whybin/TBWA, he launched Eleven PR in the local market. The brand’s early success resulted in it expanding into Australia, where the concept really took off. On the base of the work he did there, Eleven PR continues to be a solid force in the PR scene, working with major clients on both sides of the Tasman. After years of toiling away inside one of the major holding companies, in 2013 Bennett started his own agency, One Plus One Communications. Ten years on, this company is still going and is currently enjoying a rich vein of form, having won some large competitive pitches over the past year. Bennett also has a good eye for talent, recently consolidating his leadership team with the appointment of former Mango account director Max Burt as the agency’s general manager.
When compiling this list, one of the people consulted described Sue Foley as someone who is a good example of influence. Herald readers might recognise her from the op-eds she sometimes writes for the paper, but her real work happens behind closed doors around the board table. After a long career as the director of public and corporate affairs at Westpac (2010-22) and before that as the general manager of corporate affairs at Toll NZ (2003-08), Foley now works as a C-suite consultant, advising CEOs on strategy and how best to protect their reputation (the C-suite refers to the top management positions at a company). She’s also not afraid to assert her influence, writing an excellent analysis in the aftermath of the Auckland Anniversary Day floods, criticising the deficiencies in the Auckland Council’s communication strategy as chaos reigned across the city. If you’re a business leader in trouble, it pays to have someone like Foley in your corner.
Few New Zealand business stories have gone as far and as wide as the four-day week scheme championed by Perpetual Guardian founder Andrew Barnes. Pulling the strings behind that campaign were Alexander PR duo Dwayne and Kate Alexander, who ensured the story went well beyond New Zealand to reach an audience around the world. The campaign’s success is built on the boldness Barnes showed in challenging the nature of work, but credit also needs to be given to the timing and distribution of the message. Good PR, in this sense, is a bit like journalism, in that it pays to have a unique story that resonates with the mood of the audience. The real clincher here is that the audience was global and continues to spread around the world today. In addition to this success, businesswoman Naomi Ballantyne also trusted Alexander PR when it came to telling the story of the $1 billion sale of her company, Partners Life. And it’s also worth noting that they’ve been known to rub shoulders with Sir John Key through a long-running relationship with Jamie Beaton’s Crimson Education, where the ex-Prime Minister is an adviser to the board.
In an excellent article written for the Harvard Business Review in 2018, US business executive Whitney Johnson uses the example of basketball superstar Stephen Curry to make a point about business. During his career, Curry religiously practised taking three-pointers from outrageous distances. Rather than going head-to-head with other players in the crowded area under the basket, Curry backed himself to take three-point shots from distance. This is a long-winded nod to what Shanahan has done in his career. In 2020, he started his own PR shop, specialising in capital markets. As one senior Herald business editor said in the lead-up to this list, he’s probably the most tuned-in to capital markets at the moment – which sees him looking after many of the big mergers and acquisitions, IPOs, crisis management and investor relations. His firm’s reputation has grown quickly, allowing him to recruit heavy-hitting PR talent like Kirsty Way (formerly head of comms at Sky TV) and Richard Llewellyn (ex-Vodafone external affairs director).
For the past eight and a half years, Sara Tucker has been the external relations director for Lion, New Zealand’s largest alcohol manufacturer and distributor. While journalists sometimes think PR people spend most of their days trying desperately to get stories into mainstream publications, communications specialists like Tucker often have a far wider remit, covering regulatory affairs, government relations and corporate reputation management. Much like McDonald’s and the fast-food industry, the alcohol sector has also been in the firing line in recent years, with many people calling for changes to the way its products are sold and marketed. Nowhere is this more evident than in Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick’s bill, which called for an end to alcohol advertising at major sporting events. This was taking direct aim at brands like Steinlager, with its long affiliation with the All Blacks. Whether it’s a journalist or a politician asking tough questions of Lion, for more than eight years Tucker has been the first line of defence in protecting the company’s reputation.
One senior media source who spoke to the Herald in the lead-up to this story described Gourdie as the champion of the “moral hazard” brands. Having worked with the New Zealand Racing Board, SkyCity, Leo Molloy and now Wayne Brown, Gourdie isn’t afraid to take on a tough job and has an impressive knack for making sure her client’s side of the story is heard. While she has been firmly entrenched in the world of communications in recent years, she also spent a decade working as a TV journalist – which is to say she has a strong nose for a story. If you’re likely to attract some negative media with your business, it pays to have someone like Gourdie on your side.
Chris Wikaira (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngā Puhi) is one of the top communications professionals when it comes to Māori communication and strategy guidance. As a director of BRG in Wellington, he has carved a reputation as the person you go to when you want to get this stuff right. He was formerly the Māori issues correspondent for Radio New Zealand and he now uses that understanding of the media to make sure his clients get their messaging right. He is particularly adept at bridging the knowledge gap on complex kaupapa Māori issues. To understand Wikaira’s gravitas, it’s important to remember that he was the person who gave Willie Apiata his media training before the SAS soldier received his Victoria Cross.
Christian May has carved a reputation that has earned him the trust of some of New Zealand’s biggest companies. He is currently the general manager of group corporate affairs at Fletcher Building, a role that makes him responsible for all the tough questions relating to the building industry. That complexity has grown in the aftermath of Covid, amid increased criticism of Fletcher’s business practices in the Gib board market. May has a reputation as someone cool under pressure – which no doubt comes from almost a decade as the general manager of corporate affairs at ASB Bank. And if there’s one thing Kiwis dislike more than an expensive Gib, it’s a giant foreign-owned bank. Despite the obvious challenges that come with the industries he has chosen, May has a reputation as someone who always runs a steady ship, managing risk as it arises while not skirting away from more difficult inquiries as they arise.
Clausen is a former police reporter who is now the director of media relations at NZ Police. To give some context on the degree of difficulty involved in this role, the police receive as many as 200 media requests a day. This is a relentless gig that more often than not involves bad news. More than just responding to the constant stream of requests, Clausen has also played an important role in showing the more human side of the police force, helping tell stories of the officers working behind the scenes. This has played an important role in showing that the police are actually also part of the communities they monitor. As an interesting aside, Clausen has also gone down in PR folklore for playing a role in what would become the first blog post by a politician. In 2009, while working as press secretary for Prime Minister Helen Clark, Clausen aided in publishing a scathing response to the shortcomings of some political journalism at the time. This marked the start of the interesting period that would see worlds of digital media and politics intertwine in ways that we’re still trying to make sense of today.
In April 2021, Kelly Grindle stepped into advertising agency Special Group with the task of building a PR company from the ground up. Within two years, the agency had grown so fast that it found itself having to enter the “Large PR Agency” category at this year’s Prinz Awards – a category the agency duly won. Special PR has also enjoyed success at The Pressies, The One Show and Cannes Lions, cementing its place as a creative PR force to be reckoned with. Not quite satisfied with how well things are going in New Zealand, Grindle recently announced the agency had opened an arm in Australia to offer transtasman PR services for clients. This move follows the approach of Special Group executives Tony Bradbourne and Michael Redwood, who have taken their company into international markets including Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom. If Grindle is to replicate that expansion, he could be racking up the most air miles he’s seen since his days as the PR lead for Virgin Holidays.
The head of co-operative public relations at supermarket operator Foodstuffs would have to be one of the toughest corporate comms roles in the country right now. Across 550+ stores, add in the fact that you also have 3.5 million customer visits in-store and online weekly, and you have a lot of variables that could go awry at any moment. On top of all this, you also have growing calls for the supermarket duopoly to be broken up and the emergence of a new supermarket watchdog that will only increase the spotlight on the company. Given the myriad aspects of her role and the sheer number of people influenced by her communications, Wooster can take credit for the fact that brands like New World, Pak’nSave and Four Square continue to have solid reputations – so much so that Pak’nSave recently won the supermarket category in the Reader’s Digest Annual Trusted Brands survey, while New World received a highly commended nod.
How do you rebuild a story after complete annihilation? That’s the challenge Air New Zealand has faced since Covid obliterated its business. Step in Mat Bolland, who joined the company as chief corporate affairs officer in 2021. With the airline finally gaining traction again as travel picks up, he has been able to start telling the story of the country’s national carrier again. But the real challenge here is that the bar was set so high by what came before. The degree of difficulty is exacerbated by the fact many customers are starting to ask serious questions about the airline’s pricing. The combined effect of this means Bolland will be facing a tough balancing act as he looks to build back Air New Zealand’s reputation. Fortunately, he has experience in building a brand from nothing, having done exactly that when he joined 2degrees in 2010. The fact this challenger brand is today going toe to toe with One NZ and Spark is a reminder of how good Bolland is at his job.
Tod’s career is evidence of how far a background in PR can take an ambitious worker. He started his career in journalism, working in print and television news for about a decade before making the switch “to the dark side” as Fonterra’s shareholder communications manager. He would soon be promoted to the role of assistant to the CEO, a position that would give him an early insight into the C-suite. From there, he joined Air New Zealand, spending nine years in the communications team and being promoted throughout his tenure. By 2013, Tod was promoted to the role of chief marketing and customer officer, and by 2020, he would again find himself working in the C-suite as an adviser to the board and CEO. The thing with public relations is that if you spend long enough telling executives how to manage risk and teaching them what to say and when to say it, you’re essentially strengthening mental muscles that allow for good decision-making at leadership level. It’s only a matter of time before you wonder whether you have what it takes to make those decisions yourself. Since leaving Air New Zealand, Tod has grabbed the opportunity to test his ability as a chief executive, taking over at TAB. Less than a year and a half into his tenure, he’s just got a massive deal across the line which will see international betting agency Entain take over the running of New Zealand TAB. While the deal has its critics, early reports suggest it will inject hundreds of millions of dollars into horse racing and other sports.
If you’re looking for longevity in the fickle PR industry, then Claudia Macdonald is one name you can’t look past. In a show of loyalty not seen since Richie McCaw hung up his boots for the All Blacks, Macdonald has worked at Mango Communications for more than 28 years. She led the agency for more than 20 years until 2022, at which point she handed the reins to Sean Brown. She continues to be involved with the agency, serving as an executive director and working more broadly across the DDB Group. Over the course of her career, she has worked for many of the biggest brands in the country. From Lion to McDonald’s to Samsung to Fonterra, the biggest names in business have put their trust in Macdonald’s safe pair of hands. But don’t let her longevity in the industry deceive you into believing that she’s out of touch. During her tenure, she has also played an integral role in ensuring that Mango moves into the social and influencer spaces in line with changing consumption habits.
Around 2015, the media were flooded with predictions that the end of the fast-food era was nigh. Health-conscious consumers were becoming more rational by opting for the healthier options that were emerging all over the market. The future was all about Chipotle, Subway and the other fast-casual options increasingly available. McDonald’s found itself combating a host of myths about what actually went into its meals. Fast-forward to the present day and all the predictions about the imminent demise of McDonald’s look grossly inaccurate. The company has 30,000 restaurants worldwide, 170 of which are located in Aotearoa. Over the past decade, McDonald’s has been attacked on almost every front. And the person at the forefront of that battle has been Simon Kenny, who has been the company’s head of communications over the past 12 years. In that time, he’s run many successful marketing campaigns, responded to criticism from lobbies and journalists and, in the process, made sure the brand remains ingrained in New Zealand culture. Whether you hate McDonald’s, or view it as part of the Kiwi psyche, there’s little debate about Kenny being one of the most effective communications professionals in this country.
Trish Sherson has done a bit of everything over a career that dates back to 1995. She started out as a reporter at Radio New Zealand, but by 1997 she was a senior caucus press secretary for the Act Party. She would later return to the media, most notably working a three-year stint as the producer for Holmes at TVNZ. But she really cemented her place in PR folklore when she co-founded Sherson Willis with Rewa Willis in 2006. More than 17 years later, the company continues to win significant accounts and has over the past year expanded its presence in Wellington. Foodstuffs North Island, Fisher Funds, Salesforce and Rua Bioscience are just some of the companies that benefit from Sherson’s expertise. One experienced media staffer told the Herald that Sherson has a reputation as a straight shooter with no BS. She has a huge book of contacts and her background as a journalist has given her a genuine instinct for what a good story looks like. To put it simply, she’s a champion networker.
If anyone on this list offers evidence of how far a PR career can take you, it’s Strahan Wallis. His early career was somewhat nomadic, with short roles in communications at the likes of Credit Suisse, KPMG and BNZ. This varied experience eventually landed him at the major PR firm Porter Novelli, where his potential was fully realised. He quickly worked his way up the ranks, becoming managing director in 2013. His leadership of the New Zealand arm would see him pulled into Porter Novelli’s Los Angeles team, where again he would rise through the ranks to become the managing director of Porter Novelli North America. He garnered a reputation for being particularly cool under pressure and dealing with complex crisis management issues. Wallis has since returned to New Zealand, where he now leads the Clemenger Group, one of the most powerful advertising groups in the country. PR may no longer be his day-to-day remit, but he remains well-known as one of the best-connected people around town – and, as this journalist can confirm, he definitely doesn’t shy away from the opportunity to defend any of the agencies that fall under the Clemenger banner. One source described Wallis as being in a league of his own when it comes to his career trajectory.
Deborah Pead needs no introduction. She once graced the cover of Canvas magazine as the most influential person in Auckland and continues to be one of the most connected operators in the country. Several years ago she pulled back from the industry, handing the reins to her senior team after a hugely successful career. But Covid pulled Pead back into the mix and she’s relished the opportunity of getting stuck back into the work that gave her a name recognised by everyone in the media. There is perhaps no better example of Pead’s influence than her work on the New Zealand Music Awards. The event was on its deathbed when Pead got involved, eventually turning it into an essential part of the entertainment calendar. This stands as a testament to her connections across both business and showbusiness. And her influence is really evidenced in the ways she manages to connect the dots between those two worlds.
Communications professionals love to claim they have influence over the Government, media and business, but rarely do they have the credentials to back such claims. Parussini is the exception to this rule. Not only is he the public, consumer and government affairs lead for New Zealand’s biggest bank (ANZ), but he also sits on the board of RNZ and was part of the establishment board for Stronger Public Media when the TVNZ-RNZ merger was still on the cards. Existing in this space between these three sectors is in many ways an evolution of Parussini’s earlier career when he was head of corporate affairs at TVNZ and the head of internal communications and comms at Telecom (2004-06). Oh, and if that’s not enough, he’s also served as an adjunct professor at George Washington University and has written a book. Parussini has also faced a number of challenges including a period of intense pressure in 2019 when former ANZ NZ CEO David Hisco left the bank amid an expenses scandal. But given the sheer number of pies in which he has fingers, the fact he’s with the largest bank in the country and that he has lasted for so long in an industry notorious for thin margins of error, Parussini is our number one pick for PR professionals.
No power list is ever perfect or complete. Influence, after all, is subjective and depends on the people you deem worth influencing. In developing this list, we consulted a range of PR experts and veteran journalists for their views. What we’ve included here is a decent rundown of some of the top PR talent in New Zealand business circles. If you believe we’ve missed someone highly influential in this sector, drop a line in the comments section below. There’s always time for a follow-up in the future.
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