Former Radio New Zealand chairman Richard Griffin has been made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting and the media industry. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Former Radio New Zealand chairman Richard Griffin has been made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting and the media industry.
Griffin was appointed to the board of the government-funded media company in 2010, and held the post as chair from 2011 to 2018.
When he took on the role, Griffin said RNZ audience numbers were falling and the company was lacking a clear direction. During his tenure, he oversaw a transformation of the broadcaster into an efficient and effective multimedia company, and one described as much more forward looking.
As a result, RNZ's web traffic has grown significantly and has greater reach and relevance to its New Zealand audience. Griffin was instrumental in the development of RNZ's online service for youth The Wireless, and in increasing baseline funding for the company in the 2017 budget after hitting company targets.
In the political arena, Griffin spent time as Prime Minister Jim Bolger's head of communications and media advisor from 1993 to 1998. The pair remain good friends. A former RNZ political editor, Griffin is a Life Member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery.
He was a manager of policy development, government relations and communications for Television New Zealand (TVNZ) from 2000 to 2007 and represented TVNZ on the New Zealand Television Broadcasters Council from 2003 to 2007.
From 2007 to 2013 he was a director of public relations consultancy Fraser Griffin Wood.
His earlier life involved working in the book industry, first in Wellington where he grew up and then in London. His job in the UK was focused on reviewing manuscripts and liaising with authors, including well-known names such as Thor Heyerdahl, Bertrand Russell, Roald Dahl and J.R.R. Tolkien.
Griffin remains an avid reader and has retired to Ruby Bay near Nelson.
Technology entrepreneur Leanne Graham has been made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the software industry.
Her career in technology began when she was 17 working at a computer company in a software support role.
Years later Graham bought the division of tech company Exonet 6 that she had managed from 1999 to 2001.
She became a co-founder of ERP software service provider, Enprise Solutions.
After eight years as general manager of global, sales and marketing director, she was appointed sales general manager and New Zealand country manager of accounting software firm Xero, where she worked for three years.
Over this time she introduced the, 'recruit, educate, grow' market strategy at the tech company.
Within a year of implementing the strategy, almost all accounting firms across the country had engaged with Xero's software.
She also oversaw the rollout for Australia, the UK and the US. Following this, she founded strategic investment company Cloud Rainmakers.
Through this, and her advisory service iExecute SaaS, she has helped a wide range of software companies develop and grow to export success. Graham became chief executive of fledgling software provider GeoOp in 2013.
She led the company through several rounds of capital raising until its listing on the NZAX.
At the time, the company was relatively young, and the decision to list had not been taken lightly. The initial interest in the company meant the hoped-for $8 million of private capital was oversubscribed by three times, reaching the limit of $10m.
Graham is chair of Australian ASX business Velpic and sits on advisory boards of multiple cloud accounting software companies in non-English speaking countries.
Fonterra director Nicola Shadbolt has been made an officer of the New Zealand Order of merit, for services to agribusiness.
Shadbolt has been a professor of farm and agribusiness management at Massey University since 1996.
She has more than 35 years' experience as a farmer and she and her husband founded and developed a significant farming enterprise, which now operates as four equity partnerships trading in dairy, beef, sheep, deer and forestry.
Shadbolt has worked within the advisory sector as manager of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries' National Info-Systems Centre in the mid-1980s.
She has written more than 100 research articles on a variety of subjects, is editor of two international academic journals, and was co-editor of the textbook Farm Management in New Zealand.
She co-directed the Centre of Excellence in Farm Business Management and is a director of the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association.
Shadbolt was co-facilitator of the Icehouse Agribusiness courses and developer and facilitator of four Food and Agribusiness Market Experience Courses and has served as a New Zealand representative on a number of OECD workshops relating to risk management and environmental indicators in agribusiness.
From 2001 she has represented New Zealand on the International Farm Comparison network in dairying, a research partnership of 46 countries. Shadbolt was the first elected woman director of the Fonterra Cooperative in 2009. She is also a recipient of the Westpac Women of Influence Award, Rural category, 2017, and the Balance Supreme Farm Environment Award, 2006.
Richard Jeffery, founding chief executive of Second Nature Charitable Trust, was responsible for overseeing the raising of $100m to establish two community facilities in South Auckland, namely the Vodafone Events Centre, and has today been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to governance and the community.
Jeffery, has overseen the delivery of initiatives including school and community programmes and the Vector Wero Whitewater Park, opened in 2016.
In his role as CEO, Jeffery established the largest free schools programme in New Zealand for the performing arts, which now attracts 36,000 students a year.
In 2010, he established his own private fund called the Rangahua Fund, which provides scholarships to young people to undertake social worker diplomas and is trustee of The Rising Foundation, which mentors more than 300 South Auckland children annually.
Jeffery was the founder and chairman of the Manukau Arts Festival until 2010.
Maori entrepreneur Rhonda Kite has been made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to media technology, television and film.
Kite, an award-winning television and film producer, founded the Kiwa Media Group in 2001 and pioneered the re-voicing of cartoons into te reo Māori, through the creation of the post-production dialogue recording software VoiceQ.
VoiceQ won a Hollywood Post Alliance commendation and is sold globally.
In 2009, Kite expanded the company, evolving Kiwa Digital to be a producer of digital books that can instantly translate into several languages.
The technology she has implemented incorporates interactive and visual enhancement features, servicing most international publishers.
Kite produced her first television documentary in 1998, Otara - Defying The Odds, to critical acclaim. Since then she has produced successful TV documentaries, dramatic series and long-running Māori arts programme Kete Aronui.
In 2006, Kite produced acclaimed feature length documentary Squeegee Bandit.
Her company's storytelling literacy workshop Kiwa SLAM, known internationally as Voices of Children, was first rolled out in the United States in Alaska and later in New Zealand.
Kite became chief executive of start up Kiwa Middle East FZ-LLC, an expansion of Kiwa New Zealand in 2015.
Gabrielle Huria, chair of Maori and Pacific mental health provider Emerge Aotearoa, has been made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to Māori and governance.
Huria has been heading Emerge Aotearoa since 2014, leading the organisation to become a NGO leader in mental illness, addiction and social housing.
Following the Christchurch earthquakes, Huria established the Mana Waitaha Charitable Trust, which developed the infrastructure and land zone reform at Tuahiwi to enable tribal members to live on their land.
She raised more than $90,000 to fund the infrastructure development, helped the marae purchase the property, has secured funding to build six homes, developed and led a three-year programme to ensure homes in Tuahiwi were insulated and resolved earthquake issues.
Huria has held director positions with several organisations since the 1990s. She was chair of Tahu Communications and the head of the Whanau Ora Te Waipounamu regional leadership team.
Huria is acting chair at her local marae, Tuahiwi, where she has led the development of a strategic plan and fundraised to build the whare extension.
She formerly managed the communications strategy for Ngai Tahu during negotiation and post-settlement periods, ensuring iwi members were kept informed about the status of negotiations.
She set up and was initial editor of tribal magazine Te Karaka and volunteers her time to run film and communications courses for young Māori.
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