KEY POINTS:
For a man who once rated himself as a bit of an underachiever, leading the New Year Honours is a startling experience.
Professor Ngatata Love has been made a Principal Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Maori.
It is the highest honour awarded this year - to the surprise and chagrin of the Te Atiawa leader.
"Christ, is it? That's crazy. There's geniuses who go through without any hiccups in their life. You've got to say those are the people you expect to be there [in the honours list]."
Professor Love's achievements - his expertise is in business development - include setting up Massey University's College of Business, settling the $200 million Port Nicholson Treaty claim, helping to steer the building of Wellington's Westpac Trust Stadium and leading the Maori Development Ministry Te Puni Kokiri.
He also serves on a host of boards including Kiwibank and Te Papa.
The 70-year-old said he was the ultimate late bloomer.
At school, he says, "I was a three special, and it wasn't special because we were good; it was sort of the bottom form of about six."
Professor Love didn't go to university until after he started working in the trade union movement.
With a family to support, he continued working by day and did much of his study at night.
He wanted a clearer understanding of how business worked.
"We didn't know about the economic trends, we couldn't read the balance sheets ... What I've learned is, if you know the facts you can put your case more succinctly."
One of Maoridom's movers, he is usually difficult to contact. He says he doesn't like the limelight.
Professor Love has no thoughts of slowing down. He still works at Victoria University and is intrigued by how the world will respond long term to this year's financial crisis.
The theory of free markets being left to run themselves needs serious work, he says, and Maori financial institutions - which are risk-averse and take a generational approach to returns - give a good starting point for that thinking.
"We've got to get another way of doing things. Short-term financial gain is prone to lead to these huge downcycles. It destroys families and communities."
