Goulter named executive of the year

Auckland Airport’s Goulter named executive of the year; Fulton Hogan takes top company honours.

Auckland International Airport managing director, John Goulter has been named as the country’s top business leader for 2002 at the annual Deloitte/Management magazine Top 200 Awards.

He takes the title of Executive of the Year ahead of fellow finalists, Carter Holt Harvey chief executive, Chris Liddell, and Fletcher Building chief executive, Ralph Waters.

Judges, Jonathon Cimino, Alison Paterson and Roger Kerr said Goulter had clearly demonstrated over a 15 year tenure at the company that he can manage change, build a high performance team, foster innovation and consistently deliver outstanding financial results. They consider him an accomplished business leader who has delivered to all New Zealanders a business that is internationally acknowledged as one of the best airports in the world.

The unassuming title of roading contractor belies the now international reputation and performance of the 2002 Deloitte/Management magazine Company of the Year, Fulton Hogan.

Since it origins as a family-owned business in the 1930s, the Dunedin-based company has quietly and doggedly built an enterprise of major proportion, with a performance reputation to match. Total budgeted revenue for the company this year is NZ$780 million and the company is confident of eclipsing the NZ$1 billion mark within the next five years. Judges considered this no-frills company as a case study aspiring New Zealand enterprises should look to emulate and one the marketplace should applaud.

Fulton Hogan took the Company of the Year Award ahead of other finalists, Auckland International Airport Limited and Cavalier Corporation.

Bill Falconer has been named as the QBE Insurance Chairperson of the Year. Judges considered it testimony to the high esteem in which Bill Falconer’s peers hold him that he has ranked among New Zealand’s top three chairpersons for three years in a row. They say Falconer is a chairman unafraid to tackle difficult issues, to stand up for the highest standards of corporate governance and a person who comprehends what is needed and who is willing to share his experiences and his wisdom.

Falconer took the Chairperson of the Year Award ahead of fellow finalists, Ian Farrant, and Keith Smith.

Educator and adventurer, Graeme Dingle has been named designworks Visionary Leader in 2002.

He is, in the opinion of judges, a visionary leader in every sense; a person who inspires people, inspires confidence and who acts on his own convictions and understanding of the importance of our nation’s youth.

Judges say Dingle is driven by a single-minded appreciation of the reality that our youth are our future, our leaders of tomorrow. And he has done something about it through his leadership of Project K, which now extends into the corporate world.

The SAP Best Corporate Strategy Award has been won by the Tatua Co-operative Dairy Company.

Judges say this company does it right. The strategy is simple yet hugely effective. Specialise in manufacturing top quality products, invest in new research, development and technology and use capital efficiently. There are no low value lines in Tatua’s award-winning specialty milk products and the company knows the value of its brands. Its strategic commitment to branded products is central to its market success and at the heart of the company’s ability to reward its small but loyal band of supplier shareholders.

Other finalists in this Award category were Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Powerco.

Software Development company, Software of Excellence has been named winner of the 2002 Deloitte Emerging Enterprise Award.

Since listing on the New Zealand Stock exchange a little over 18 months ago, the dental software company has created new markets in Australia, Asia and the United States. Sales of its windows-based product in the United Kingdom dental health sector now account for 75 percent of the company’s business.

Judges considered that the company is tightly focused and committed to ensuring that its products remain at the forefront of industry offerings in terms of reliability, features and performance.

Other finalists in this category were fruit and vegetable marketing company Delica New Zealand, and outdoor clothing and equipment company, Kathmandu.

Norske Skog Tasman has won the Brookfields Business Ethics Award in 2002 for its workplace literacy programme, Te Whare Ako (The House of Learning.) The programme brings educational opportunity and learning to the paper mill workforce at Kawerau and helps equip employees to operate in an increasingly intellectually demanding workplace.

The on-site learning programmes reach into every part of the paper mill and have helped staff to gain nationally recognised qualifications, supported a huge shift in company culture and resulted in efficiency gains for the company.

Other finalists for the Business Ethics Award were Untouched World and Transpower New Zealand.

Andrea McLeod, manager of health promotion for Public Health South, has been named as The New Zealand Institute of Management Young Executive of the Year for 2002.

The 36 year-old mother of six has, over the last 15 years, notched up tertiary qualifications in music, midwifery, woman’s studies and health services management and is about to add a Master’s degree in management to her credentials.

Judges considered Andrea an outstanding executive and a superb time manager – a renaissance person who demonstrates a diverse range of skills exercised to a high level of competence.

The Deloitte/Management magazine Top 200 Awards are presented annually. Judges for this year’s Top 200 and Emerging Enterprise Awards were Jonathon Cimino, a corporate consultant and company director, Alison Patterson, chair of Landcorp, and a director of the Reserve bank, Wrightson, Metrowater and Eldercare, and Roger Kerr, a director and joint shareholder of Asia-Pacific Risk Management.

Judges for the Ethics Award were Roger Spiller, managing director of Money Matters (NZ) and a director of the New Zealand Centre for Business Ethics and Sustainable development, and Dick Hubbard, chief executive of Hubbard Foods and chair of the Sustainable Business Network.

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