The winners of the 2021 Deloitte Top 200 Awards will be announced on Wednesday March 2. Photo / Dean Purcell
The winners of the 2021 Deloitte Top 200 Awards will be announced on Wednesday March 2. Photo / Dean Purcell
After a second successive year of Covid-19 disruption and uncertainty, the finalists for the 2021 Deloitte Top 200 Awards have truly earned their spot among the best in New Zealand business.
This year's finalists include companies and leaders from the transport, retail, farming and energy sectors, all showcasing their commercial strength and agility during challenging times.
Among the leading awards categories, finalists for company of the year are Freightways, Infratil and Skellerup Holdings.
Express package company Freightways delivered a 27 per cent jump in full-year revenue ($800.5 million) and a 4.8 per cent increase ($49.6m) in net profit as it met Kiwis' changing shopping habits during lockdowns. The Warehouse Group also reaped pandemic benefits as consumers turned to online shopping to splurge. This helped lift the Group to a record full-year profit and increased sales of 7.6 per cent on the previous year. Industrial manufacturer Skellerup Holdings was one of the market's top performers in 2021.
Finalists for chief executive of the year are Naomi James, of Refining New Zealand, Nick Grayston, of The Warehouse Group, and David Mair, of Skellerup Holdings.
"Many of our finalists have seen success through investing in technology, upskilling their people and embedding their organisation's purpose and values into all they do," Deloitte chief executive Mike Horne said.
"They've also continued to balance the need to keep a focus on long-term strategies against the need to remain nimble and adjust to the ever-changing environment and emerging challenges that have been exacerbated by the pandemic," he said.
NZME's Fran O'Sullivan, one of the judging panel, lauded the tenacity shown by this year's finalists during the ongoing pandemic.
"The finalists in the Deloitte Top 200 awards have demonstrated tenacity and true grit, with a compelling drive to succeed in the turbulent environment created by Covid-19.
"The strong business performance from all of the finalists is a result not just of leadership from the top, but also a commitment from the staff of enterprises to succeed," she said.
NZME, publisher of the New Zealand Herald, was named a finalist for most improved performance, along with PGG Wrightson and Fletcher Building.
NZME chair Barbara Chapman is one of the finalists in the 2021 Deloitte Top 200 Awards. Photo / File
NZME chair Barbara Chapman is also a finalist in the chairperson of the year category.
Finalists for young executive of the year are Spark's Renee Mateparae, Ryman Healthcare's David Bennett, Tourism Holdings' Ollie Farnsworth and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare's Jonti Rhodes.
"The judging for the Deloitte awards reflected excellence in business in executing plans in the midst of a second year of Covid-19 with new variants, longer lockdowns and tougher ongoing challenges than ever contemplated a year ago," Top 200 judge Jonathan Mason said.
"While the market as a whole had a difficult year, the most successful NZ businesses added significant value for shareholders in 2021 and positioned themselves to better meet the longer term demands of stakeholders including employees, their communities and, for the country, on issues of environmental and economic sustainability," he said.
Full list of 2021 Deloitte Top 200 Awards finalists:
• Amazon Web Services Company of the Year: Freightways, Infratil and Skellerup Holdings.
• ServiceNow Chief Executive of the Year: Naomi James (Refining New Zealand), Nick Grayston (The Warehouse Group) and David Mair (Skellerup Holdings).
• Tax Traders Chief Financial Officer of the Year: William Meek (Mercury), Bevan McKenzie (Fletcher Building) and Graham Leaming (Skellerup Holdings).
• Forsyth Barr Chairperson of the Year: Mark Tume (Infratil), Patrick Strange (Auckland International Airport and Chorus), Barbara Chapman (New Zealand Media and Entertainment and Genesis Energy).
• The Aotearoa Circle Sustainable Business Leadership: Kathmandu, Synlait Milk and Lion.
• 2degrees Best Growth Strategy: The Warehouse Group, Vulcan Steel and EBOS Group.
• BusinessNZ Most Improved Performance: PGG Wrightson, Fletcher Building and New Zealand Media and Entertainment.
• Young Executive of the Year: Renee Mateparae (Spark), David Bennett (Ryman Healthcare), Ollie Farnsworth (Tourism Holdings Limited) and Jonti Rhodes (Fisher & Paykel Healthcare).
• Barfoot & Thompson Diversity and Inclusion Leadership: SkyCity Entertainment Group, Fonterra and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu.
