The 2005 Power List
Power List People 11-50
by Tim Watkin, Alistair Bone, Joanne Black & Nick Smith
Continued from page 4...
The closest thing to the poster boy of New Zealand science, Callaghan heads one of the country’s seven Centres of Research Excellence. Callaghan’s centre, which has an annual budget of around $10m, is focused on nanotechnology and advanced materials and has as its goal extending human longevity.
40 – Frances Stead {Managing Director, L’oreal New Zealand} new
British-born Stead holds the record for the most Blues ever won by a woman at Oxford University, but her place on the list is earned for her role at the helm of L’Oreal and its influence on female consumers. The company is one of the biggest ad spenders in the country (the biggest in cosmetics and fashion) and a powerful trendsetter. Wynyard (who has L’Oreal as one of her clients) says, “L’Oreal is the most powerful essentially female-driven brand in New Zealand.” Insiders say that the company is crucial to the success of New Zealand Fashion Week and under Stead’s leadership the company has grown seven-fold in the past decade.
41 – Allan Hubbard {Chair, South Canterbury Finance & Investor} new
Regarded as the most powerful man in South Island business, the 70-something-year-old has, staggeringly, more than 200 directorships and a finger in many, many pies. Estimates of his wealth hover around the $400m mark, but are thought to be on the low side. A Depression-era child and an accountant by profession, he’s a thrifty Presbyterian, yet is incredibly generous to charity. His investments, while not regarded as economy-changing, extend into helicopters, water and rental-car companies. His financial backing of and advice to young farmers and entrepreneurs made him a one-man incubator long before the term was coined. Last month, SCF posted a record $30m profit and it has reported assets of over $1b. It’s rumoured that Hubbard is planning to cap off his year by listing SCF, selling half the company in the float.
42 – Dr Keith Turner {Meridian Energy Chief Executive} new
The Rotorua-born, state-house-bred executive is rebuilding New Zealand’s energy sector just as he has been rebuilding vehicles since his teenage years – he’s a compulsive fixer. With energy looming as one of the country’s most pressing concerns, Turner, 55, is shaping and leading the debate. “He’s the most thoughtful of the power company execs and has the biggest view,” says Oram. Meridian is the largest and most profitable of the state-owned power firms, last month announcing a record $218m profit and plans to invest $3b in wind and hydro power in the next 15 years. Committed to renewable energy and New Zealand generating its own power, Turner is seeking consents for wind farms from south to north, has grown Manapouri’s capacity and has bounced back from his Project Aqua disaster to offer an innovative “underground power station” compromise. A survivor from pre-privatisation Electricity Corporation days, Turner is also a director of Auckland International Airport.
43 – Ralph Hotere {Artist} last year: 34
Still reclusive, still exhibiting, still New Zealand’s greatest and – most expensive – living artist at the age of 74. In a country where the arts struggle for significant cultural sway, Doig says, “I don’t know of any other artist who is quite as compelling and beloved.”
44 – Sir Hugh Kawharu {Paramount Chief, Ngati Whatua} new
Chosen at a young age to lead, Kawharu is a dominant figure behind the scenes in Auckland, Wellington and pan-Maori circles, and the iwi leader senior ministers most look to. It has been a big year for the 78-year-old kaumatua, with Ngati Whatua performing extremely well commercially and at last on the brink of its Treaty of Waitangi settlement. Kingi: “They’re well positioned to develop an exciting economic pathway for their membership.”
45 – Dr Andrew West {AgResearch CEO} new
West only just missed making the list last year when he moved from chairing the Tertiary Education Committee to AgResearch, the country’s biggest Crown Research Institute. It was too soon to gauge his power in the new position. His reforms since leave no doubt. Strong-willed, he describes AgResearch’s new business strategy as “audacious”. Oram and Rowarth argue that he has refocused and re-energised the organisation, moving scientists back to their pastoral roots. Fervent about science’s potential to add value and efficiencies to the primary sector, he’s a leader who takes others with him.
46 – Mark Solomon {Chair, Te Runanga O Ngai Tahu} new
In September, Ngai Tahu Holdings Corporation announced that its assets had cracked the half-billion-dollar mark, with a value at $515.9m. The corporation is just one of the iwi’s many successful limbs, and at its head sits Solomon, 51, as Kaiwhakahaere, or chair. Big man around Christchurch, he is respected on the marae, in the community and in the boardroom. He has been a member of the board of Te Papa since 2001.
47 – Eion Edgar {Stockbroker, Trustee} last year: 47
