Family enterprise: From left, Richard Peterson, Susan Peterson and Mark Peterson - all successful in different fields.
Many Kiwi families would be proud to count one doctor or top executive among their ranks.
But some are punching above their weight with multiple siblings climbing the ranks of the corporate world and medical professions.
The Petersons are one such family. Older brother Mark is chief executive of the New Zealand stock exchange while sister Susan is a professional director at the big end of town sitting on the boards of ASB bank and Xero, and younger brother Richard is an orthopedic surgeon.
The trio say their desire to strive for the top is linked to having parents who greatly valued education.
"They were keen to see us progress at school, were active in their encouragement of tertiary study and keen to see us take advantage of opportunities."
Richard says his passion for medicine came from an early age but was also heavily influenced by an interest in a science book called Human Biology which he received as a birthday present from Susan.
"I was fascinated by how the body worked and trying to understand it. My competitive spirit kicked in when my high school biology teacher suggested that I might not be intelligent enough to get into medical school."
He says he didn't consider the corporate world as an option at that time.
Susan says their mother was keen for her to study physiotherapy - but being a frontline health professional never appealed.
"I had no idea what studying law and commerce might entail - but initially my decision was based simply on the fact that I didn't want to be a physiotherapist and that my tennis coach was studying law!"
She says it was after a few years of working at Bell Gully, she realised she was happiest when working more directly with businesses and helping them to solve problems.
Susan became general counsel at the ANZ helping it get through the GFC before moving into directorship roles.
Mark says he always had interest in the commercial world and the financial services sector in particular.
"I studied economics and finance at Victoria University which led to a range of roles in banking and then broking."
He worked for National Bank under Sir John Anderson.
"I learnt a lot and it influenced my approach to business significantly, both of which kept me interested in the sector. There were plenty of great people to work with, learn from and a wide range of challenging opportunities came my way which I will always be grateful for."
The Petersons say like most siblings they were competitive as children.
"We battled like any siblings when we were growing up. We certainly had some pretty competitive tennis (and table tennis) battles at times - one of us got given the nickname "the golden retriever" and it wasn't a compliment - but underneath it, we were very supportive of each other's interests."
And now when they come across challenges in their working lives they are able to turn to each other for support.
"We operate very independently in our day-to-day roles. But when the tough moments turn up, and there have been a few, then the first call is invariably to one or other of us as siblings."
"We have acted as each other's professional support person in various capacities and Rich is absolutely the first port of call whenever there is a health scare."
The siblings say they have different perspectives at times but believe those views have never and will never supersede the underlying family support they have for each other.
The Petersons are not alone in their sibling success.
Brothers Fraser and Matt Whineray are well known on the corporate stage with Fraser about to head to Fonterra after leading Mercury Energy and Matt heading up the $46 billion New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
But lesser known to the business world are their sisters who are both doctors. Fraser's twin sister Erica Whineray Kelly is a breast cancer surgeon and co-founder and managing director of both the Auckland Breast Centre and Focus Radiotherapy.
Janet Whineray is a gynaecologist operating out of Christchurch. The siblings are also the nephews and nieces of All Black great Sir Wilson Whineray.
Bruce Cotterill, a long-time corporate turnaround expert and former chief executive of Colliers, ACP Magazines, sportswear company Canterbury International and Yellow Pages Group, believes family values and connections are the key to why some siblings seem to all rise so far.
"I think the first thing is values, each of us grow up in slightly different environments which are established by our parents.
"It's how they behave, what they talk about around the dinner table."
He believes it's also about being encouraged to play sport and be part of a team.
"All of those things make up who we become."
The Petersons say sport was very much part of their childhood growing up in Lower Hutt.
"Mum and dad both spent endless hours driving us around and watching us play many games of rugby, tennis and hockey.
"They encouraged training and saw value in both winning and losing. They also encouraged music and along with that came practice for which we all had different levels of enthusiasm."
The siblings say their parents set high standards, yet encouraged them to be respectful to others and promoted the concept that nothing worthy comes without hard work.
"Earning the reward is far more meaningful than having been simply handed the reward."
Cotterill too was encouraged to play a lot of sport growing up and today still takes part in triathlons, competitive ocean swimming and golf.
He says he and brother Glenn Cotterill also grew up watching their father work around the kitchen table.
"I remember helping dad with the stock sheets from Foodstuffs."
That has had an obvious rub-off for brother Glenn, who owns Pak'nSave supermarkets including one of the biggest in the country - West Auckland's Lincoln Rd branch - and is on the NBR Rich List with a net worth of $70 million.
While having parents who own or run a business could be helpful Cotterill said just talking about work at home enabled children to learn about the process.
"What we do inherit is our parents' network - that doesn't necessarily get people a job but exposure to different things."
It's parents bumping into those contacts and the conversations that are had.
"I know of daughters who say to their fathers after graduating who do you know who I can ring in that industry I want to work in.
"The networks or the exposure to those networks all helps."
Without those networks it can be tougher to get that first initial step in the door.
Cotterill has seen that through his own children, who are 21 and 25 and their friends' struggles to get a start in their career.
"It's been five years of my kids' mates saying what do you do? A lot of them have no network, no entree at all and don't even know how to go about it.
"It is sitting down with them and talking to them about how they might get a foot in the door."
He says someone fresh out of university who hasn't had a positive head start can find the professional world pretty intimidating.
The key is to ask for help, he says.
"Don't be afraid to ask for help, find somebody who knows somebody." He says many of his contemporaries are only too willing.
"I would encourage any young person who is at that stage in life to find someone and ask questions."
When it comes to encouraging their own children the Petersons say they focus on the little things.
"Live well, be active, be good to your friends, work hard for what you want, have fun and take the time to find out what areas of interest most inspire you."
They say the pressure eases when you concentrate on the things you can control and try to forget everything else.
"We can all control our attitude, our level of effort, the way we treat other people and our responses to things that have either gone well or been disappointments.
"Disappointments are an important part of development and it is useful to see them as only being a temporary setback that can be overcome. It is never constructive or useful to compare yourself to others."
For those striving to climb the corporate ladder Susan and Mark have some sage advice.
Susan says other people's stories might be interesting - but at the end of the day they are not relevant to your own path.
"I try and ask myself ... am I contributing to a purpose-led organisation, that is operating in a sector that is of increasing global relevance, that is of real personal interest to me and surrounds me with people who I can learn from and who inspire me every day? If yes - then I would consider myself well placed and will focus on doing the best job that I can. If one or more of those attributes is missing ... then I would try and find ways to remedy them."
Mark believes the keys are to work hard, gain a wide range of practical skills early in your career, understand technology, build your personal and professional networks.
"Not everything will go right – that is fine, but take the learnings on board and try not to make the same mistake again. Your reputation and credibility matters – guard it. Be respectful to others, listen to everyone but listen harder to people you trust, work with great people that align to your values, do the right thing for your customers, remain positive, embrace challenges and be brave."
Dunphy family
Pip Dunphy is a professional director who chairs the board of NZX-list healthcare firm Abano, while brother James is a former head of Credit Suisse turned activist investor. Other brother Mark Dunphy chairs and is chief executive of Greymouth Petroleum and is on the NBR Rich list with an estimated worth over $220m.
Edgar family
The three Edgar brothers followed their father Eion's footsteps into sharebroking and investments but each have been successful in their own right. Hamish runs the Sinclair Investment Group. Jonty and Adam were partners in Aviate Global Asia, a boutique broker that was sold to Religare Enterprises in 2010. Jonty is now co-head of markets at Forsyth Barr and Adam works in the Hong Kong office of Forsyth Barr.
Mowbray family
Famous for their multibillion-dollar company Zuru Toys, the Mowbray siblings are now branching out into different fields. Nick is now involved in developing fast moving consumer goods, Mat is developing automated building technology in Vietnam and Anna focuses on the toy business.
Peterson family
Mark Peterson is CEO of the New Zealand Stock Exchange, sister Susan is a professional director sitting on the boards of ASB and Xero, and younger brother Richard is an orthopedic surgeon.
Whineray family
Brothers Fraser and Matt Whineray are well known on the corporate stage with Fraser about to take a new role at Fonterra after leading Mercury Energy and Matt heading up the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. Sisters Erica Whineray Kelly and Janet Whineray are both doctors.
Cotterill family
Bruce Cotterill is a company director and adviser to business leaders, having previously been CEO of Colliers, ACP Magazines, Canterbury International and Yellow Pages Group. He is the author of the book The Best Leaders Don't Shout. Brother Glenn owns Auckland's Lincoln Rd Pak'nSave - one of the largest in the country.
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