Best Pacific Business Minds Recognised For 2007

Media Release
16 Jun 2007

The country's best Pacific business minds recognised at the 2007 MIT Pacific Business Awards

Some of New Zealand's best and brightest Pacific business minds took top honours in last night's MIT Pacific Business Awards.

More than 700 people gathered at the TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre in Manukau to celebrate this year's awards, which not only recognise Pacific business successes but also the impact that success is having on the country as a whole.

"These awards give us an opportunity to put the spotlight on some of our most inspiring and motivating Pacific success stories. This in turns encourages our young people to strive to reach their full potential, and provide a pathway for other Pacific businesses to follow," Pacific Business Trust chair Pauline Winter told guests.

"So often when a Pacific person becomes successful in their field they become a New Zealand success story, while we should certainly join the country in celebrating that persons success, it is also critical that we make sure the Pacific story remains centre stage in those celebrations, that is what these awards do, and that is why this year the theme of the awards is Pacific Impact – Transforming The World," she said.

Convenor of judges, NBR editor-in-chief Nevil Gibson said: "This year's finalists represented a significant contribution to advancing Pacific business in New Zealand and deciding who should walk away with the overall awards was not an easy decision.

"The quality of some of these enterprises and executives was superb. But we would like to see more examples of enterprise from the private sector like the Laughing Samoans, the winners of the enterprise award, who show how you can have fun and make money at the same time."

The 2007 MIT Pacific Business Awards winners were:

* MIT Pacific Business of the Year Award: Martin Hautus The Pacific Peoples Learning Institute.

* Pacific Blue Business Person of the Year Award: Dahlia Naepi

* imPAC Community Enterprise of the Year Award: West Fono Health Care

* Pacific Media Network Pacific Business Enterprise of the Year Award: The Laughing Samoans – Ete Eteuati and Tofiga Fepulea'I

* ACC Health and Safety Award: South Seas Healthcare of South Auckland.

Pacific Business Trust CEO Paul Muller said the Trust wanted to start recognising the Pacific business people who were succeeding in their fields, which may not sit under the definition of Pacific business.

"Their contribution to this country and Pacific business is as significant and needs to be recognised. So this year we are thrilled to add two new awards, PBT Pacific Exporter Award and the PBT Pacific Business Executive of the Year Award," he said.

* PBT Pacific Exporter Award: Flight Experience Limited owned by Mike Pero.

* PBT Pacific Business Executive of the Year: Viliami Toafa – West Fono Health Trust

Paul Muller, said over the last four years the awards had quickly developed a reputation for representing the very best the Pacific business community has to offer.

"We work hard to ensure that Pacific businesspeople succeed and seeing the finalists and winners in this year's awards only makes me more confident that we are carving out a very bright future for our families and our communities".

ENDS

Background
The Pacific Business Trust established the awards in 1993. The awards recognise business excellence achieved by people of Pacific background and are part of the Pacific Business Trust’s mission to increase business ownership and economic participation among Pacific business people.

The Pacific Business Trust was set up in 1985 to aid New Zealanders of Pacific descent and give them the best support and financial advice available. This support covers a wide range of business services, such as mentoring, loans, financial management and advice.

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