Intriguing, influential, not always admirable, and in some cases downright inexplicable – here are 100 New Zealanders who are making a difference or at least getting noticed. For good, and occasionally ill, each has their own vision and mission. Some you’ve never heard of, others you’re sick of hearing about, but all are worth your attention ... (especially No.100).
Books and writing
Pip Adam – novelist
Ground-breaking, genre-bending, fearless and funny, more productive at this level than anyone has a right to expect, and apparently with a lot of fuel left in her creative engine.
Tusiata Avia – poet
Her The Savage Coloniser Book sparked charges of anti-Pākehā sentiment and proved that poetry still has the power to shake things up.
Fergus Barrowman – publisher, Te Herenga Waka Victoria University Press
If not a stranglehold, Barrowman has at least a firm grip on the publishing of literary fiction and verse. Authors include Eleanor Catton, Catherine Chidgey, Vincent O’Sullivan and Tayi Tibble.
Nicola Legat – publisher, Massey University Press and Te Papa Press
Has turned the university publisher into an outfit that produces books that combine exquisite design and production with intellectual rigour and sometimes even popular appeal. Her inky fingers are also all over the annual Ockham Book Awards and the Auckland Writers Festival.
Paula Morris – author and academic
The driving force behind the University of Auckland’s Master of Creative Writing programme, Morris is also an award-winning novelist, short-story writer, essayist and wrangler of collections. She founded the Academy of New Zealand Literature, the new Aotearoa New Zealand Review of Books, and the online Māori literature hub Wharerangi. She sits on the boards of the Coalition for Books, the NZ Book Awards Trust, the Crystal Arts Trust and the Mātātuhi Foundation. We’ll stop now.
Tayi Tibble – poet
Prodigiously talented on the page and occasionally on social media, where her passion and eloquence are no less evident. Yet another Wellington writer with huge international potential.
Built environment
Pip Cheshire – Britomart mastermind
Auckland, they say, will be nice when it’s finished. Cheshire has been playing a long game and doing his best to make sure the result will be worth the wait. The Britomart Precinct for developers Cooper and Company, a massive heritage restoration project done by Cheshire, son Nat and their team is a triumphant example of big-city, human-friendly design.
Nicola and Lance Herbst – architects
After emigrating from South Africa, the husband-and-wife team has reinvented the New Zealand vernacular with deceptively simple but spectacular domestic projects.
Mark Todd – chief executive and co-founder, Ockham Residential
Transforming Auckland one inner-city suburb at a time with sensitively designed and environmentally sound apartment buildings. Changing the way we think about the higher-density living that is the sustainable way of the future.
Campaigners
Tabby Besley – LGBTQIA+ advocate
Mental-health practitioner, and managing director and founder of InsideOUT, which works across a broad range of activities for rainbow communities, notably young people.
Byron Clark – anti-conspiracy theorist
Courageous in the face of both online and physical threats, Clark in his book Fear and on his YouTube posts dissects with logic and lucidity the propaganda and misinformation of the conspiracy theorists who have gained a following post-Covid.
Jackie Clark – Founder, The Aunties
The unstoppable charity dynamo organises all kinds of help for women who have survived or escaped violent abuse and have often been left with no resources. The Aunties have few resources themselves, but Clark – modest, candid and dynamic – is their most precious.
Shaneel Lal – trans activist
The Young New Zealander of the Year for 2023 was the first trans person to win the award. They survived the outpouring of hate and outrage that followed the announcement with grace and dignity intact.
Tim McKinnel – private investigator
Former cop McKinnel has become an inspiringly successful crusader for the wrongly convicted, plugging away at old injustices with fierce determination. He helped free wrongly convicted Teina Pora from prison and (with a lot of team support) has evolved that success into the foundation of the Te Kāhui Tātari Ture Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Expatriates
Chris Liddell – executive extraordinaire
The Matamata-born, US-based business high flyer who went to work for Donald Trump as White House Deputy Chief of Staff and earned, first considerable criticism, then high praise for his damage-control efforts during the transfer of power to President Joe Biden.
Melanie Lynskey – actor
From Heavenly Creatures to Yellowjackets and numerous awards, via (truly awful) sitcom Two and a Half Men. The versatile and mould-breaking performer refuses to play the celebrity game by the old rules, but has become a star anyway.
Anthony McCarten – writer
His male-stripper comedy Ladies Night launched a thousand imitations (Full Monty, anyone?) and an international career for the novelist, dramatist and screenwriter whose reputation is founded on such audacious projects as a play (soon-to-be film) about artists Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, a movie about two real-life popes and the Neil Diamond musical A Beautiful Noise.
Hamish McKenzie – co-founder, Substack
Former, ahem, Listener freelancer, Elon Musk employee and one of the troika behind the disruptive blogging website that is putting money directly into writers’ pockets and being taken seriously by the print establishment.
Hannah O’Neill – dancer
The Paris Opera Ballet is one of the world’s most prestigious and demanding and has been home to O’Neill since 2011. She was promoted to the rank of étoile (star) in March.
Fashion
Liam Bowden – designer
With husband Steven Boyd, Bowden’s beautifully crafted and eye -wateringly expensive Deadly Ponies creations showed that home-grown high-fashion accessories are possible. Has recently turned to producing footwear in the always popular “to die for” category.
Greta Villiger – style dictator
Head of Design Pre-collection at venerable Spanish luxury label LOEWE, which means she has an immense influence on European styles.
Gosia Piatek – founder, Kowtow
Daughter of a Polish refugee family and founder of the “ethical fashion label committed to sustainable, slow fashion and environmental protection”. Fine words, borne out by the success of the label, which has seen Piatek relocate to London.
Lawrence Railton – managing director/founder AS Colour
Back-to-basics wardrobe staples and bundled deals have been a winning formula for the low-profile founder and managing director of the label. Its own-brand stores are seemingly sprouting up on every corner in some towns. The company has planned its growth meticulously, keeping in step with customers’ needs, but never getting ahead of itself.
Food and Drink
Angus Brown and Zac Robinson – beverage purveyors
It takes courage and a lot of money poured into research to launch a product that makes brains work better. Brown and Robinson’s Ārepa – now in supermarkets – promises to do just that. It’s tasty, too.
Monique Fiso – chef
Many have tried and failed to bring Māori food to the local restaurant scene. Fiso has done it with her more-than-just-a-cookbook Hiakai and Wellington eatery of the same name.
Peter Gordon – chef
Restaurateur, writer, cooking-school innovator and good guy. The gourmet godwit who flew home from a successful London-based restaurant career and has developed a culinary ethos that emphasises not just feeding the affluent gastro thrill-seeker but giving back to community groups in diverse ways.
Dave Letele – charity mastermind
Putting his money-raising abilities where hungry mouths are, the former boxer heads BBM (Buttabean Motivation), which “provides free exercise classes, specialist obesity courses, diabetes courses, food, nutrition advice, training and job support, education, emergency support services with FoodShare, and furniture and bedding supply”. Last year, he made the ultimate sacrifice – appearing on Dancing with the Stars to get publicity for his cause.
Sam Low – coffee evangelist
Champion barista, MasterChef winner, “coffee consultant and content creator”, brand ambassador, and Chinese gastronomy enthusiast.
Mayors
Ben Bell – Gore
The mini-series-worthy machinations at Gore District Council focus on the professional relationship – or lack of it – between the 24-year-old mayor and the gimlet-eyed council chief executive Stephen Parry. So far, the young achiever has seen off all challenges by the old fox, but we recommend watching this space.
Wayne Brown – Auckland
Comms test case.
Moko Tepania – the Far North
Ebullient and boyish – he makes Jack Tame look like Harvey Keitel – “Moko the Mayor” represents one of New Zealand’s most diverse areas, straddling the divide between its affluent east coast and its struggling west.
Tory Whanau – Wellington
The unlikely candidate has had a dream run with Wellingtonians since her election last year. It remains to be seen whether this can be maintained as economic realities hit the capital.
Media
Duncan Greive – The Spinoff founder
Freelance writer turned internet publisher whose spinoff.co.nz paved the way for online journalism and gave a home and shelter to a slew of talented young writers.
Nicky Hager – investigative journalist
Yes, yes, yes – he’s famously fearless, dogged, determined and all that. But he has another quality that is as important as any of these: he’s always right.
Kim Hill – broadcaster
What will Wellington do on a Saturday morning if Hill ever retires from that show? Here’s hoping that, if she does, she will continue to fill in when required as co-host on RNZ’s Morning Report, where her brains, tenacity, quick wit and passion can be heard at their best – as good as radio gets.
Mike Hosking – broadcaster (from NZME)
Newstalk ZB breakfast host.
Missing in action
Willie Apiata – soldier
A VC, a documentary and a best-selling book in quick succession were a lot for a modest young man to handle. Apiata is still engaged in a low-profile way in various good causes.
(Professor Sir) Ashley Bloomfield – former director-general of health
The country’s most visible doctor, now ensconced at the University of Auckland where he has been named inaugural chair of the Public Policy Impact Institute, and is almost certainly the happier for it.
Don Brash – former National Party leader
He’s still here somewhere.
Kim Dotcom – online entrepreneur
He’s still here somewhere.
Money
Alison Gerry and the Sharesies team
Most of us are middling at best at saving. The demystifying Sharesies approach showed you and me how we could all become players on the sharemarket and “start investing in minutes”.
Simran Kaur and Sonya Gupthan – educators
“Millennial investors” and founders of Girls that Invest, dedicated to improving financial literacy, particularly for women, via a book, their own example and a podcast that’s top or near the top of podcast charts around the world.
Caralee McLiesh – chief executive and secretary to the Treasury
The Californian-born, Australian-educated, New Zealand-resident’s PhD thesis was on takeover activity and, according to Stuff, she believes that “wellbeing [is] so much more than material wealth”. You have been warned.
Adrian Orr – Governor of the Reserve Bank
A dogged and determined, low-key old-school bureaucrat who – regardless of what economists think of his individual decisions – is clearly someone who puts the job before any personal beliefs.
Sam Stubbs – fund manager
The enthusiastically extroverted ethical investor has made his Simplicity fund a leading player dedicated to the principle that you can make money and still be a decent human.
Music
Eve de Castro-Robinson – composer
Energetic classical exponent and teacher whose achievements include an opera (LEN LYE the opera, 2012) that wasn’t just full length but was also good. An enthusiastic supporter of other musicians and artists across the board.
Aldous Harding – musician
When an artist’s unique vision connects with an audience’s open mind, this is the result. Now four albums down and recently endorsed by talent-spotter extraordinaire (she discovered the Violent Femmes busking) Chrissie Hynde.
Ashley Page – manager
Music royalty – his dad Larry was the Kinks’ first manager – the UK transplant has built an international management organisation from his Auckland base, with offices in London, Nashville, New York, Sydney and Los Angeles and a roster of internationally successful acts to show for it.
Six60 – musicians
Pioneered the concept of a local band filling a stadium with Rolling Stones-sized crowds. It’s an example that has yet to be taken up on a large scale by other locals.
Marlon Williams – musician
Proving that a great voice, great songs and great looks and style can still succeed in the music business.
Politics and Government
Andrew Campbell – chief press secretary, Office of the Prime Minister
Absurdly powerful, but little known outside media and government circles, Campbell is proof that you don’t have to be a Machiavellian mastermind to do this sort of work, but it certainly helps.
Karen Chhour – Act MP
Spokesperson for Social Development, Children and Child Poverty Reduction, Chhour is Māori and spent time in foster care as a child, meaning she is an Act unicorn who can claim to know what she is talking about when it comes to making the world better for children.
Chris Hipkins – politician
Prime Minister of New Zealand, Minister Responsible for Ministerial Services, Minister for National Security and Intelligence.
Peter Hughes – Public Service Commissioner
Arguably more powerful than any elected politician in his role, which is officially described in bureaucratese as to “lead the Public Service and wider public sector agencies to work as one system to deliver better services and better outcomes”. Which seems to allow plenty of room to move.
Lan Pham – Green Party candidate
Canterbury environmentalist of Vietnamese-Pākehā descent in a winnable list position for her party. One to watch.
Nicola Willis – deputy leader of the National Party
As Wellington as it gets, a long-time employee of the National Party preceded by time at Fonterra, Willis is bound for glory: she knows, he knows, we know it.
Popular culture
Lucy Blakiston, Olivia Mercer and Ruby Edwards – Shit You Should Care About
The SYSCA team have 3.5 million followers on Instagram for their accessible takes on news, issues of the day, deep-dive podcasts and Harry Styles adoration.
Chris Parker – writer and performer
His breakthrough stage show Hudson & Halls Live! was a cunningly contrived entertainment. Then there was his Male Gayz podcast. With his new sitcom Double Parked, he shows signs of becoming a formidable comedy force.
Teresa Patterson – head of music, NZ on Air
In an industry still picking itself up after Covid, Patterson has the vital task of making sure New Zealanders continue to hear themselves in the music that is made around them.
Phil Smith – TV producer
Smith’s Great Southern TV has its finger on the pulse of middle New Zealand, turning out such crowd-pleasers as The Casketeers, Agent Anna, The Apprentice Aotearoa, Hongi to Hāngī, The Cult, The Hui and New Zealand Wars.
Science and academia
James Belich – historian
The avuncular academic breathed new life into the story of Aotearoa New Zealand with his ground-breaking general histories Making Peoples and Paradise Reforged. He now glories in the title of Beit Professor of Global and Imperial History, and Professorial Fellow, at Oxford University.
(Professor Dame) Juliet Gerrard – The Prime Minister’s Chief Science Adviser
The public-facing, approachable biochemist and academic’s official duties include running a scientific check on policy as required. Currently treading the fine line between traditional European science and mātauranga Māori.
Rangi Mātāmua – astronomer
The driving force behind the recognition of Matariki. Sure, we have lots of scientists doing amazing work with embarrassingly scanty resources, but how many of them are responsible for you getting a day off work every year?
Samuel Mehr – psychologist
Specialising in music research at the University of Auckland and credited with confirming that playing your kid Mozart while it is in the womb won’t make it smarter.
Mako Yass – philosopher-designer
The Auckland-based thinker recently won the Massachusetts-based Future of Life Institute’s worldbuilding contest, which asked people to build “plausible [and positive] visions of a future with AI”.
Siblings
Valerie, Steven and Lisa Adams
Successful sporting siblings are no rarity, but to achieve at the level the Adamses have across more than one sport is something else. Valerie (shotput) and Steven (NBA) need no introduction, and Paralympian Lisa (shotput and discus) shouldn’t.
Warren and Vaughan Couillault
Warren is head of his own plutey investment fund, Hobson Wealth; Vaughan heads big public secondary schools and is president of the Secondary Principals’ Association of NZ.
Thomasin, Pete and Davida McKenzie
Respectively actor, journalist and actor, all three have international careers on the go in their respective fields.
Anna, Mat and Nick Mowbray
The brains behind Zuru toys, which are sold in 120 countries.
Sport
Israel Adesanya – martial arts
The Nigerian-born fighter has a unique set of skills. Which he would probably prefer people talk about rather than the fact he was paid $3.18 million to fight Alex Pereira in April. Still … $3.18 million …
Murray Chandler – chess player
New Zealand’s only grandmaster and a major Act donor.
Scott Dixon – racing driver
One of the most successful motorsports people New Zealand has produced, with multiple wins in 24 hours of Daytona events and the Indy Car series. There’s plenty of fuel left in the tank, with Dixon saying he will race until 2027 “at least”.
Kai Kara-France – mixed martial artist
Flyweight whose career has taken him from bullied schoolkid to world-ranked superstar.
Sir John Kirwan – mental-health advocate
A national figure since he was selected for the All Blacks at the age of 19, Kirwan was more than handy on the field and in recent years has used his mana to buck the macho model as an advocate for men and their mental-health issues. Our most useful All Black ever?
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott – snowboarder
One of the few people on this list born in the 21st century, and our first Winter Olympics gold medallist – in slopestyle at Beijing in 2022, when she was also named NZ Olympic Athlete of the Year.
Ruby Tui – rugby player
Currently our best-loved sportsperson, the charismatic, eloquent, principled and ferociously talented Black Ferns captain ticks every popularity box and gives the impression that she is only just getting started.
Te Ao Māori
Tracey McIntosh – academic
A polymath with the sort of workload that would have daunted Hercules: chief science adviser at the Ministry of Social Development, University of Auckland Professor of Indigenous Studies, co-head of Te Wānanga o Waipapa, commissioner at Te Kāhui Tātari Ture: Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Moana Maniapoto – current affairs host
Legally trained musician and hit-maker turned media all-rounder, as presenter of Te Ao with Moana, she is a polite provocateur who puts the Māori perspective clearly and goes deep on issues that others skate over.
John Tamihere – president, Te Pāti Māori
Still scheming, behind the scenes, after all these years. Who knows what his end game is. Or whether he actually has one. Maybe puppet-string pulling is simply an addictive power play.
Francis and Kaiora Tipene – funeral directors
The husband-and-wife team are more radical and influential than much of their mainstream audience probably realises. Their warm and fuzzy fly-on-the-wall-at-funerals docuseries showcasing tikanga around death has introduced mainstream Aotearoa – and Netflix viewers around the world – to biculturalism at work.
Visual arts
Sarah Hopkinson – art dealer
Someone has to persuade people to buy this stuff and the energetic dealer has always been crucial to a successful art scene. Hopkinson’s Coastal Signs gallery is a co-op and home to the likes of Milli Jannides and éminence grise Peter Robinson.
Zac Langdon-Pole – artist
Auckland-raised, Langdon-Pole creates challenging work that combines sculpture, photography and other media. Being widely seen internationally at the prestigious likes of Art Basel Miami Beach and Art Basel Hong Kong.
Reuben Paterson – artist
“The one that does the things with glitter” recently moved to New York where no one will be surprised if his star lights up the Manhattan art scene as brightly as it has the local version.
Sefton Rani – artist
Rapidly rising star, with his aggressively expressionist almost sculptural paintings. Recently received a social-media blessing from leading UK art writer Charles Darwent for his “complex, subtle work”.
Lisa Reihana – artist
![Lisa Reihana sits before her work 'In pursuit of Venus [infected]' during a press view for Oceania at the Royal Academy, London. Photo / Getty Images](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/4RPWJYZ45ZFEHC7U3PSAK65AIQ.jpg?auth=50af8aa7df8aefea0b382f6b44322584c200fe2532e75448566f29a889c29e53&width=16&height=11&quality=70&smart=true)
Producer of monumental multimedia works that confront historical commonplaces and get right up racist noses. In Pursuit of Venus [infected] is an evolving blockbuster that has been widely seen internationally, including at the 2017 Venice Biennale, and drew nearly 50,000 viewers when shown at the Auckland Art Gallery in 2015.
No. 100
Our list has been subjective and somewhat random. And what do we know, anyway? Everyone’s an expert, of course, and that includes you. We’d love to know who you think should be the 100th person on this list.
This list was compiled by Paul Little with contributions from Listener writers.
