Massey celebrates former students' successes with Distinguished Alumni Awards

Massey University alumni and chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland Ross McEwan. Photo/supplied

Former Massey University students have been celebrated at the annual Defining Excellence Awards.

The black tie event at the Grand Millennium Hotel saw alumni including Ross McEwan who is now chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, agri-business leader Mavis Mullins and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise chief executive Peter Chrisp, recognised with Distinguished Alumni Awards.

McEwan was also awarded the University's most prestigious alumni award, the Sir Geoffrey Peren Medal.

He said it was "an absolute honour" and his time at Massey University had been some of the best years of his life.

"You've come out of school, you're away from home, you're actually meeting lots of really exciting people and getting a bit of an education on the way through there," McEwan said.

Massey Vice-Chancellor Professor Jan Thomas said the university was extremely proud of its more than 140,000 alumni around the world.

Professor Thomas says Massey's vision of shaping the nation and taking the best of New Zealand to the rest of the world is no more appropriately reflected than in the achievements of these alumni.

"It is not just the high-fliers on the international stage - and we have many of those - but also the people who make a difference to other people's lives and in their own communities, often without recognition," Thomas said.

"We know from their stories that many of them trace the formation of their values and attitudes back to their time studying with us. It makes us enormously proud to have contributed to their personal development and success."

The Warehouse Group and Weta Workshop were also winners on the night, securing the Domestic, and International Partnership Excellence Awards respectively.

Massey said The Warehouse Group had been a major supporter of the Business School, endorsing research conducted at the Centre for Advanced Retail Studies and contributing to its success.

Massey's relationship with Weta had been equally strong, with several joint initiatives including hosting the first Art and Industry of Imagination conference last year.