Kiri tops Maori business awards

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Photo / Glenn Taylor

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has become the first woman to receive the Aotearoa New Zealand Maori Business Leader of the Year award.

The opera singer - of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Porou affiliation - is the recipient of this year's award and follows in the footsteps of the likes of the late Sir Howard Morrison, Deutsche Bank CEO Brett Shepherd and last year's recipient, property investor Peter Cooper.

Up to 200 Maori business leaders are expected to attend the awards ceremony tomorrow at the University of Auckland Business School, where Dame Kiri will receive her award in absentia.

The diva has been involved in opera and classical music for more than 40 years, and the award recognises her close association and promotion of New Zealand at an international level, says the associate dean of Maori and Pacific development, Dr Manuka Henare.

"New Zealanders - and Maori society especially - view her achievements on the international stage with great pride and delight. And of course, her success is our success," Dr Henare said.

Dame Kiri is one of the world's most famous sopranos and a familiar figure in the leading opera houses of the world, including Covent Garden, Paris Opera and the Metropolitan New York.

Her establishment of the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation - to help talented young New Zealanders chasing a career in music - and her continued mentoring of aspiring opera singers around the world were other factors in her being named as Maori Business Leader of the Year.

The business school's dean, Professor Greg Whittred, says Dame Kiri's dominance within the international opera world over a long period of time was testament to her talent and business acumen.

"In order to be considered for this rangatira award, three sets of criteria of outstanding success have to be considered: attributes, achievements, and sustainability - and Dame Kiri has met and exceeded all three," Professor Whittred said.

Dame Kiri holds two of Australasia's highest royal honours. She is a member of the Order of NZ and an honorary companion of the Order of Australia. She is also an honorary member of the British Royal Academy of Music.