Latest news with #PartnersLife
Scoop
3 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
The 2025 NBR Rich List: Listers Crack $100 Billion, NBR Launches First Women's List
09 June New Zealand's leading wealth creators are now collectively worth more than $100 billion, the 2025 NBR Rich List reveals. The latest NBR Rich List, published today, profiles 119 Kiwi individuals and families who are building enterprises, growing the country's fortunes, creating jobs, and giving back. That includes a dozen Newcomers to the 2025 Rich List, collectively worth $4.3b. The addition of those Newcomers, as well as growth among some of the country's wealthiest, has pushed the total valuation of this year's Rich List to $102.1b, up from $95.55b last year. The Newcomers include names like Jamie Beaton – who becomes a Rich Lister after the company he co-founded, Crimson Education, was valued at more than $1b in a capital raise last November – alongside several families who have been operating and building enormously successful businesses for decades. Two women also feature in our Newcomers this year, becoming the only two women to feature on the Rich List in their own right since 2019. They are Anna Mowbray, who has moved on from Zuru to build a wide-ranging portfolio of investments, and Lucy Liu, a New Zealand citizen whose company was valued at more than $10b in a capital raise just last month. Their success has been the catalyst for a new feature we've introduced as part of this year's coverage: the Women's List. Zuru founders Nick and Mat Mowbray, meanwhile, retain the top spot with a $20b valuation. Overall, New Zealand now also has 18 billionaires, up from 16 last year. 'The country's Rich Listers together employ thousands of people and generate billions of dollars of economic activity,' NBR Rich List editor Hamish McNicol says. 'The Rich List celebrates those individuals and families, telling in-depth stories of how they have built their enterprises, how they are tackling global economic volatility, and what they are investing back into their communities.' The Women's List The 2025 Rich List also sees the launch of the inaugural Women's List, which is a series of interviews and profiles with 14 of the country's leading, and most successful, businesswomen. We are not publishing assessments of their net worth, although generally estimate them to each be worth between at least $20m and $100m (Mowbray and Liu excluding). Each have built businesses which collectively have employed thousands and contributed greatly to the domestic economy: they are true wealth creators worthy of recognition and celebration alongside the Rich List. They also have different perspectives and each tell a story we believe invaluable to those looking for the keys to business success. That list includes the likes of Naomi Ballantyne, who built life insurer Partners Life into what she says is the country's first female-business to sell for $1b. There's also Carmen Vicelich, the founder of Valocity, a fintech that streamlines property valuation and real estate processes and is now used in more than 3500 cities around the world. 'We've got lots of families and couples on the Rich List but this year we have two female Newcomers in Anna Mowbray and Lucy Liu,' McNicol says. 'They, along with some encouragement from local women in business, prompted us to consider what we could do as part of our coverage to highlight the success of our leading businesswomen.' 'They've each built large and impressive businesses and share fascinating insights into the unique challenges they have faced in doing so.' Elevating NZ Inc The overall theme of the 2025 NBR Rich List, meanwhile, is Elevating NZ Inc. We asked each of the Rich Listers what one thing we could do to make New Zealand a better place for doing business. Several key themes emerged from the many responses we got. Overall, there is optimism about New Zealand's place in the world, particularly in the context of an increasingly volatile global environment. 'Opening the country up to more foreign investment and drastically improving the education system were the most common areas cited for change,' McNicol says. 'But there were some other really interesting ideas in there as well, particularly around things like tax and regulation.' 'They have no shortage of ideas.'
Scoop
5 days ago
- Business
- Scoop
Avanti Finance Welcomes New Group CFO, Brad Lang
Avanti Finance is pleased to announce the appointment of Brad Lang as our new Group Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Brad brings over two decades of strategic and financial leadership experience to Avanti. He joins the company following 12 years at Partners Life, where he held senior leadership roles across finance and strategy. Most recently he served as Chief Strategy Officer, playing a key role in the company's growth and strategic transformation. Brad's career began at BDO New Zealand, and he later moved to the UK, where he spent nearly a decade in the UK financial services sector building and leading high-performing finance teams. Throughout his career, Brad has successfully led capital raising initiatives and managed complex corporate acquisitions, demonstrating a strong track record in driving financial transformation and strategic growth. 'We're thrilled to welcome Brad to the Avanti team,' said Fred Ohlsson, Group CEO of Avanti Finance. 'His broad experience and strategic thinking will be invaluable as we continue to drive innovation and growth within our company'. Brad is passionate about leading high-performing teams and thrives in fast-paced, dynamic environments – making him a perfect fit for Avanti Finance. Proudly locally founded and owned, Avanti Finance is an award-winning specialist lender that has helped New Zealanders achieve their financial goals for over 35 years. We provide a broad range of tailored lending solutions - including property, auto, personal, and business loans – through our trusted network of introducers. As a progressive and introducer-centric business, we're built to back people, move lending forward, and deliver the best possible outcome for both our introducers and their clients.
National Business Review
29-04-2025
- Business
- National Business Review
Partners Life appoints chief people officer
Partners Life is pleased to announce that Helen Meade has been appointed as the company's new chief people officer, joining Partners Life in April 2025. Prior to Partners Life, Meade's most recent role was chief people officer at Les Mills International, where she led the global people and culture team. Meade has more than 20 years of expertise in human resources, transformation, and communications, which she has gained across various significant organisations including IAG, Auckland Council, and global giants Pfizer, GSK, and 3M in London and Sydney. Meade brings a wealth of experience in people, culture, communications, and transformation across a broad range of sectors including insurance, wellness/health, technology, and FMCG. Meade said: 'I'm excited to be joining Partners Life – an organisation with a clear and authentic commitment to innovation and customer care. These are values that deeply resonate with me. I'm excited to be working alongside a talented team to shape the future of insurance and contribute to Partners Life's vital purpose of building a brighter and more secure future for all New Zealanders.' Meade holds a BSc (Hons) degree in psychology from the University of East London and is currently studying for a master of technological futures degree. Partners Life chief executive Michael Weston said 'I'm delighted about Helen joining our executive team. She's a dynamic leader with a proven track record of attracting, developing, and retaining great people and teams – who are our most important asset and competitive advantage.' This is supplied content and not commissioned or paid for by NBR.
