The business community provided an upbeat reception, with rave reviews for Finance Minister Bill English and a widespread sense of renewal following the emergence from the struggles of the Global Financial Crisis and the Christchurch earthquakes. Digital technology featured strongly, and one article in the 2013 report even called for the introduction of the government chief technology officer. Divisive issues …

With Tony Abbott lagging as preferred PM against Kevin Rudd, Liberal frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull has cast the election as a contest between a presidential pitch and “a traditional cabinet-based, consultative team approach to government”. In a speech titled “Leadership in times of Uncertainty”, Turnbull said: “We do not see this election as a presidential contrast, a contest between Kevin Rudd …

newzealandinc.com couldn’t resist giving KRudd’s famous video one final airing after the Aussie Prime Minister called on “our friends in Beijing” to get on with the FTA with Australia. (The amusing video was leaked by the Gillard camp when they set out to roll Rudd in 2010). But that was then. Rudd has now called on China – Australia’s largest …

May 19–21 saw several hundred delegates from across the United States and New Zealand gather in Washington for the biannual U.S.-New Zealand Pacific Partnership Forum. The forum, organized by the United States–New Zealand Council, has been instrumental in helping to normalize relations between the two countries, which had cooled significantly following New Zealand’s 1985 ban on nuclear-powered or nuclear weapons-capable …

The real value of the Future Partners delegation was not so much the tokenism of young faces in the room or additional youthful enthusiasm in the Q&A, but in the real crux of knowledge transfer and succession planning. Being chosen as one of eight under 30 year olds by Fulbright New Zealand and the US NZ Council as a ‘future …

By Brierley Penn Understanding the key differences between the various cultural settings in which they operate has been integral to Mainfreight’s success in an increasingly globalized business environment. With a market capitalization of $1 billion, and 75% of their revenues coming from offshore sources, the company no longer considers themselves to be a purely New Zealand business. The company entered …

By Brierley Penn 5 years ago, 1% of Vista Entertainment’s revenues were generated in US markets. Today, that figure sits at 25%, and the growth in this integral market has assisted Vista in becoming the world’s leading company operating in the cinema exhibition business. Derek Forbes delivered his “Three Do’s and One Don’t” at the NZ Doing Business in LA …

By Brierley Penn When a panel of business leaders in the US-NZ trade relationship took the stage during the second day of the Pacific Partnership Forum, the key takeaway from their discussion was unquestionable. The TPP must be completed as soon as possible, lest we witness the painfully slow crawl to progress that marked the Doha Round of WTO discussions. …

BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly has been elected Chair of the Business and Industry Advisory Council (BIAC) to the OECD.  The BIAC is the voice of business at the OECD – the world’s foremost provider of integrated statistics and fact-based policy recommendations.  The BIAC network includes national business, industry and employer associations from OECD members and observer countries, as well …

By Brierley Penn Boarding the bus to Andrew’s Air Base at 7am this morning was a notably jaded delegation. After three days of networking, conferencing, 6am starts and a little bit of sightseeing, the group was understandably looking forward to the relative luxury of a five hour sleep on the plane trip to LA. However, in Washington D.C. a trip …