KR on Argentinean Edge
nzedge.com co-founder, Saatchi & Saatchi CEO and Lovemarks instigator Kevin Roberts keynoted HSM’s Buenos Aires management conference alongside Harvard U strategy guru Michael Porter, Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz (Economics) and Muhammad Yunus (Peace), and Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales. Speaking to an audience of 2,000, Roberts’s advice for challenged times was “hold your nerve; stay focused; welcome paradox; have consumer foresight; lead with emotion; and have courage to act.” He said that the destruction of old operating systems gave rise to new rules, new markets, new ideas and new technologies. He noted that both Microsoft and Fedex were founded in the mid-70s recession. “Fortune favors the brave – still.“ 
(27 October 2008)

Greenery in urban London 
New Zealand-born James Fraser founded UK landscape firm Avant Gardener in 1990, which continues to operate from a nursery out of Battersea in London. One of Fraser's latest projects is profiled in the Telegraph, which describes artist Biddy Bunzl's south-east London garden as "a unique and intuitive partnership between the planting and landscaping." Stepping out of Bunzl's back door is like embarking on an adventure into an unknown landscape. Tropical-looking palms and tree palms combine with spiky yuccas and cordylines to give an exotic, jungly feel, interspersed with unusual plants from New Zealand, such as spear-like lancewoods, Pseudopanax. In 2000 Fraser exhibited at the renowned International Festival of Gardens at Chaumont-sur-Loire in France. His designs have also featured in the Sunday Telegraph and Gardens Illustrated. 
(6 October 2008)

Unconventional movement
New Zealander Grant Harrison, 44, Hutt Valley High School old boy and owner of American health benefits company Humana, one of the largest in the United States, is the man behind bike-share programme Freewheelin which has seen Democrat and Republican delegates getting about Denver and Minneapolis on bicycles during the latest conventions. The New York Times lists Freewheelin as one of the ten things to do in Denver on a 36-hour visit. "You'll be hearing a lot about this convention's efforts to be environmentally sustainable, so do your part to offset all that hot air and borrow one," the Times recommends. Harrison was in Denver for the August convention where he heard former president Bill Clinton, vice-presidential nominee Joseph Biden and Obama speak. "It's pretty exciting," he said. "It's about changing things for the future and really impacting how people live their lives. It really is a social movement." Freewheelin is currently in discussions to expand the program to other cities, and plans to leave behind about 70 bicycles in both Denver and Minneapolis-St Paul for public use after the conventions.
(10 August 2008)

Microsoft's gatekeeper
Christopher Liddell, Chief Financial Officer at Microsoft since 2005, and the former senior New Zealand business leader is the architect of Microsoft's recent $44.6 billion takeover offer for Yahoo. Liddell is now dealing with the rejection of that offer and Microsoft's imminent acquisition fight. "You have to be disciplined and ruthless," Liddell told The New York Times before Yahoo's board turned down the offer. "We should see acquisitions as a way of growth. We should not be embarrassed at all." Liddell, who since joining Microsoft has made 50 acquisitions, was previously CFO at forest product company International Paper and CEO at Carter Holt Harvey. 
(11 February 2008)

Slimming with Rachel 
Model and reality TV show host Rachel Hunter is the face, and figure, of US weight loss brand Slim-Fast. Advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather chose Hunter because she embraced a more realistic body type. EVP for strategy and planning at Ogilvy Public Relations Therese Caruso said: "She could also talk sincerely about her experiences, the pressures of the industry, and people who expected her to be a different type of model, yet she stayed true to who she was." The choice of Hunter has also enabled the brand to reach beyond traditional women's magazines, to the target audience of 30- to 45-year-old women. 
(3 March 2008)

Some pig 
A miniature variant of the NZ kune kune pig has become the must-have pet in Britain. Chris Murray, co-owner of Pennywell Farm in Devon, began breeding the pigs nine years ago. He crossed kune kune with local miniature breeds, resulting in a pig that grows no bigger than a cocker spaniel. "They are easy to house train and have a good temperament," he says. "A sow would normally snap at you if you picked up one of her litter, but these are amazingly content." British TV personality Jonathan Ross has bought two of the pigs as pets for £150 each, and Murray has had requests from as far away as Australia. 
(15 October 2007)

Technology high-fliers
Marketing entrepreneur Andy Lark is the latest New Zealander to land a top job at a leading US technology firm. Lark has been appointed global vice-president of marketing and communications at Dell, one of the world's largest computer makers. He joins former Carter Holt Harvey boss Chris Liddell, now chief financial officer at Microsoft, and ex-EDS sales head Michael Boustridge, who now leads British Telecom's business in the Americas. As the chairman of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise's Beachhead programme in the US, Lark has a strong involvement with NZ businesses and industry programs. "Fortunately, Dell is supportive of my efforts to help New Zealand companies thrive in the US and other markets," he said in the NZ Herald. "I wouldn't have taken the role if it had meant giving that up." 
(17 September 2007)

Burger boom 
A restaurant chain founded by three New Zealanders has become one of the most successful businesses in the booming UK "posh burger" market. Gourmet Burger Kitchen was established six years ago by school friends Greg Driscoll, Brandon Allen and Adam Wills. The trio sold the business to restaurant investment company Clapham House Group for NZ $25.7 million in 2004, staying on for 18 months as directors before cashing out. Since the start of the 2006 financial year, Clapham House has added 13 GBK outlets to the chain, and is currently looking for a further 100 sites across the UK. 
(10 June 2007)

 

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Cinema success story

First in flight 
Nelson's Ngati Koata has become the first Maori tribe to venture into the airline industry. The iwi aims to launch a Nelson-based passenger charter service in the next three to four months, and has further plans for an airline freight operation. "We are starting off small and getting into the aviation industry in a conservative manner," said Ngati Koata Trust CEO Caron Paul, who will also be acting CEO of the yet-to-be-named airline. The Trust has leased two 18-seat aircraft that were previously owned by Origin Pacific Airways, a NZ regional carrier that closed in September last year. Ngati Koata Trust is the legal entity representing more than 5000 iwi members. Its business interests include a ship repair yard, a furniture manufacturing company and a health and social services arm. The Trust recently announced plans for another new and potentially lucrative business - making and selling biodiesel to the local fishing industry, motorists and manufacturers. 
(22 May 2007)

New voice in US media marketplace 
NZ-born advertising executive Antony Young, US CEO of Optimedia, is about to publish his first book in America. In Profitable Marketing Communication he offers US marketers a fresh perspective on the media marketplace, based largely around successful European campaigns and organisational models. One of his key points is the need, particularly in the US, to move from analogue to digital: "I'm a fan of digital, and while many talk about bringing digital into the mainstream, we [at Optimedia] wanted to turn the organization on its head and do it." Young began his advertising career at Saatchi & Saatchi and Colenso/BBDO in Auckland, before spearheading Zenith Media's launch in Asia. He replaced industry veteran Mike Drexler as CEO of Optimedia US in June last year. 
(8 May 2007)

Healthy competition 
A NZ healthy fast food chain has opened its first European outlet in Glasgow, Scotland. Owner Conrad van der Klundert believes that Reload, a South Island-based juice, salad and sandwich bar, can take on established chains such as Subway as well as existing juice bars in the UK and Ireland. He eventually hopes to employ between 200 and 300 staff in more than 100 stores, with each making £350,000 annually. "We are trying to change the eating style in as many places as possible, from fast food to healthy food," says van der Klundert, who already operates Reload stores in Australia, Singapore and China, as well as across NZ. The UK and Ireland franchise has been bought by Scottish businessman Keith Stark. 
(22 April 2007)

Auckland pioneers landing technique 
Auckland International Airport is leading the world in trialling a landing method designed to reduce fuel use and emissions. Beginning April 18, the test landings will see selected Air NZ and Qantas jets glide into the airport with engines set on idle. "We've chosen only a very small group of aircraft to participate. [These planes] typically arrive at times of the day other traffic is light," said airport spokesman Lew Jenkins. If successful, the program may be tested by airports such as LAX in future. 
(13 April 2007)

Two Paddocks enters asian market 
Actor Sam Neill has been busy promoting his Two Paddocks vineyard in Hong Kong, but has dismissed any suggestion of a major expansion into China. "We're a boutique winery. I think if we started expanding into China we'd be swallowed up in a minute," he said in the Washington Post. Instead Neill's range of premium wines will be sold exclusively through an organic food store in central Hong Kong. Two Paddocks is located in Central Otago and produces just 3000 cases of wine a year. 
(31 January 2007)

Future vision 
Needing to know the life cycle of your business in 2030? Wondering about the strengths and weaknesses about merging two global IT systems? Interested in the long-term climate for pensions? Former Auckland systems manager and management trainer Faye Cossar runs her business astrology practice Juxtaposition in the Netherlands consulting for conglomerates such as KLM-Air France, supermarket chain Ahold and worldwide insurer Generali on company life cycles, and organisational development and culture which makes an ideal topic for a lecture. The Ahold study showed that their Albert Heijn supermarkets in the Netherlands are now in the 8th phase of a 72-year, 12-phase cycle. According to this model there would also be a parallel with the previous phase 8, from 1935-1941. Understanding the systems archtypes presented lessons from the past. Advice for phase 9 starting in May 2007 could be given based on the last phase 9, 1941- 1947 and the positive themes of this phase - Involvement in Politics, Expansion, Overseas issues. 'Big is best'. Faye Cossar was one of the first MA graduates in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology in 2004, from Bath Spa University College, the first university in the world to offer such a programme.
(December 2006)

Agencies with edge 
The Kiwi ad industry once again proved its strength on the global stage, picking up a slew of awards at this year's Cannes Lions Advertising Awards. Saatchi & Saatchi won a Gold Lion in the media category for its Rubbish Film Festival for Telecom, Aim Proximity won Gold in direct marketing for its Body Parts campaign for BNZ, and Colenso BBDO's Scott Maddox and Fraser Grant won Silver Lions in the Print Young Creative category. TBWA/Whybin won two Promo Lions for its Stand in Black and Be the Ball campaigns for Adidas, as well as a Gold Lion in direct marketing for its Bootscraper campaign for ASB. Stand in Black also earned TBWA/Whybin a Gold Award and Grande Clio (Best in Show: Innovative Media) at the Clios in Miami, Silver at ADFEST (Thailand), Bronze at the Media Spikes (Asian Advertising Awards), and a New York One Show Bronze Pencil. Saatchi & Saatchi New York also poured gold at Cannes for NZ client 42 Below. 
(28 June 2006)

Best foot forward 
NZ footwear company, Kumfs, has reached a significant milestone in its nearly 70-year history with the opening of its first branded store in the US - in Fresno, California. The US and Canada account for 10.5% of Kumfs' wholesale business, which now generates a $54.6 million annual turnover. Kumfs started as a podiatrist clinic producing its own shoes in Auckland in the 1940s. By 1961, the company was commercially manufacturing its own orthopaedic shoes. With factories in Auckland and China, Kumfs now produces 9,000 pairs of shoes per week and leads the Australasian market for fashion footwear recommended by podiatrists and physiotherapists. 
(29 May 2006)

Sudoku mania
Retired Kiwi judge, Phil Gould, continues his path to world domination as the man behind current puzzle-page phenomenon, Sudoku. Gould now provides puzzles for 120 newspapers in 36 different countries. “It will fade but I don't expect it to disappear for good,” says Gould. “I think the crossword and the sudoku will sit side by side for years to come. The crossword is there for the wordsmith and the sudoku is there for the rest of us.”
(3 October 2005)
   

International man of mystery
Wayne Gould – retired NZ judge turned “international puzzle star” – is responsible for the latest craze in newspaper teasers, Su Doku. Gould discovered the number-based logic test in a Japanese bookstore in 1997. After six years of labour, Gould created a computer program to produce the puzzles, and sold the result to Rupert Murdoch’s Times. The game has been a hit in the UK, spawning a best-selling book (and two more in the pipeline), and has now been purchased across the Atlantic by the New York Post.
(27 May 2005)
   

Ben Ohau doing just fine 
The South Island's MacKenzie Basin is internationally famous for two things; providing the stunning backdrop to the final battle in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and producing the most consistently high quality merino wool in NZ. The Cameron family of Ben Ohau Station have been exporting their premium merino wool to Europe since 1897. One of its more recent customers, Italy's Loro Piana fashion house, has twice awarded Ben Ohau its World Wool Record Challenge Cup for the finest bale of wool produced in a solar year. The station has also won the Loro Piana Trophy for the NZ Record Bale for four years running. Ben Ohau currently holds the NZ record for the finest fleece ever produced - at 12.3 microns it is finer than cashmere. Read about the history of Ben Ohau Station in NZ Life and Leisure here. 
(3 September 2005)

The new wave
Two NZ companies made international business magazine Red Herring’s vaunted “Top 100 Private Companies in Asia” list for 2005. Esphion and Argent Networks, both based in Auckland, are rated as companies which could significantly affect the way we live. Esphion is a network appliance company which specialises in securing large IP networks by detecting faults in the network itself before they reach computers. Argent Networks provides billing and customer service solutions for telecommunications companies, netting much of its business from the rapidly expanding mobile phone markets of Africa and the Middle East. Both companies are financed by Wellington-based venture capital firm No.8 Ventures.
(2 September 2005)
    

Sam’s back
Called by Kerry Packer “the world’s best television executive,” NZ-born Sam Chisholm is back helming Packer’s Channel Nine. In the 90s he turned UK’s BSkyB into a cash cow for Rupert Murdoch. The Auckland born King’s College old boy moved to Australia in his early 20s. The gruff Chisholm is equally known for his medical fortitude, having had a double-lung transplant as a result of a rare respiratory condition. Chisholm and Nine have been Australia’s top media story this year. "Television is the most perishable commodity - we have no stock, we have no plant, we have no factory - this is a creative business...You're always trying to anticipate what your constituency wants and try to provide them with that. It's the ultimate service industry. If viewers don't like it - zap! They vote every day on what we do and if they don't like it they're quick to tell us." 
(14 July 2005)

Less is more 
In a study released by the World Bank, New Zealand has been named the most business-friendly nation in the world. The study ranked 155 countries and was based on classic American assumptions of economic success, like the idea that the less red tape - the easier it is to do business. Singapore joined New Zealand in the top spots while America came in at third place, followed by Canada. The World Bank examined factors such as the ease or difficulty of hiring and firing, the abilities of creditors to recoup money in the case of bankruptcy and the ability to enforce contracts in court. 
(14 September 2005)

Liddell to work on margins
TBR believes the addition of New Zealander Chris Liddell as Microsoft’s CFO should help usher in an era of growing operating margins and a tightening of the fiscal belt. In TBR’s opinion, the hiring of Liddell, direct from the forest industry, will bring a relatively-low margin operation mindset to Microsoft. Specifically, TBR believes Liddell will reduce expenses brought on board during Microsoft’s growth stage. During a difficult operating environment and faced with unfavorable currency headwinds, Liddell was still able to increase International Paper Co.’s operating margin 18% from 2003 to 2004, even when revenue grew only 6.5. TBR predicts Microsoft’s operating margins could expand significantly during the next one to three years as Liddell brings a more mature and responsible fiscal management culture to the company. Chris Liddell holds an engineering degree from the University of Auckland and a master of philosophy degree from Oxford University in England. Chris was a prime mover in The Knowledge Wave and an instigator of the progressive think tank The New Zealand Institute. 
(13 May 2005)

Battle of the titans
Fonterra has made a formal takeover bid for Australian conglomerate, National Foods, earning it the title “NZ moo-nopolist” in the Sydney Morning Herald. The super-company already owns Australian brands Bega, Western Star, Bodalla, Perfect Italiano and Peters & Brownes. In an ironic twist, Fonterra’s chief competition in the takeover bid looks likely to be Graeme Hart, NZ’s most successful entrepreneur and owner of the Burns Philip food group.
(3 November 2004)
 

Whinge benefits
Research undertaken at Victoria University suggests a positive side to gossiping and whining at work. According to the report, “whingeing to a sympathetic co-worker both reflects and constructs the close relationship between team members, thus consolidating the team's solidarity.”
(25 October 2004)

Suntan Man
Al Baldwin, 74, has sprayed his last beachgoer. Over the past 30 years, New Zealand-born Baldwin had become a fixture in Surfers’ Paradise beach, spraying an estimated three million beachgoers with suntan lotion. His business was a patch of sand where he sprayed suntan lotion on up to 600 beachgoers a day, and hired out chairs, umbrellas and boogie boards. He grew up in a New Zealand orphanage, moved to Sydney in the early 1950s and to the Gold Coast in 1968.
(2 September 2004)

Chisholm to Packer
New Zealand-born media supremo Sam Chisholm has resigned as a Director of Telstra to joint Kerry Packer’s media group PBL. Chisholm, 64, retains his chairmanship of Foxtel. He was head of Nine in Australia for 15 years before becoming Chief Executive of British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) for several years. He was Executive Director of News Corp until 1999. Chisholm is the consummate worker of phones and backrooms in some of the biggest Australian-led media initiatives.
(4 September 2004)

I see red
A New Zealand company, Knights of NZ, wins the contract to make the Australian Olympic team's opening ceremony coats for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Worth more than $3000 each, the coats are made from 100 per cent Kiwi baby virgin wool. Aussie World Champion aerial skier Kirstie Marshall believes they will threaten the sporting tradition of uniform swapping between competitors: "I don't know that any Australians will want to swap. These look fantastic,"
(23 January 2002)
        

V. Good
New Zealand energy drink V rates well for taste and kick.
(13 June 2001)

Insurance chart for safe passage
Former New Zealand Shipping Company employee John Richardson's 1979 The Merchant's Guide to Documentary Problems has guided thousands of marine insurance under-writers through the shoals of incoterms, bills of lading, letters of credit and other tricky areas of the trade.
Pdf Copy
(12 May 2001)
 

Castaway
A New Zealand consortium plans two lodges on Pitcairn Island, home to the descendants of the Bounty mutineers.
(31 March 2001)
 

First time
Christchurch Casino has placed a clock in its gaming room - a first for the industry, which usually likes punters to forget the outside world exists.
(17 December 2000)

Guru Gilson 
Clive Gilson, University of Waikato Professor, co-author of Peak Performance: Business Lessons From the World's Top Sports Organisations, and motivational coach, to "is to turn the [English] Football Association from its traditional home for semi-retired blazers into a Peak Performing Organisation". 
(5 November 2000)

High stakes
Christchurch Casinos Limited and international affiliate CryptoLogic have debuted Kiwi Casino on the net. Punters drop their dollars surrounded by "the exotic sub-tropical rainforests of New Zealand". 
(5 October 2000)

Sir Ron Brierley: 61 not out
Sir Ron described by the Financial Times as the "cricket mad corporate raider" and "one of the most controversial corporate figures of the past twenty years" knocked the London Stock Exchange for six when his Guiness Peat Group opposed the merger between the LSE and Deutsche Borse. The swashbuckling former stamp-collector is known for batting off the front foot.
(11 August 2000) 
 

"Brain drain clouds NZ's future" - refuse the hype and get to the edge
More centric thinking, this time from London's Observer, "New Zealander's are leaving their country in droves, placing a strain on the economy and painting a grim picture for the future." Our opinion: New Zealand Edgers of the world network and take over.
(13 June 2000)  
    

Kiwi revolutionises advertising through seamless internet surfing
Financial Times special report "Japanese Internet Tsumani", looks at how the internet is making reaching customers easy: "you can be sitting in the back of a taxi in a traffic jam checking your stocks, paying bills.  It is seamless", says New Zealander Jonathan Hendricksen, president of ValueClick Japan.
(May 2000)

           

Kiwi ex-bellboy now Japan dotcom millionaire
Young entrepreneur Jonathan Hendricksen this week became the first foreigner to list a company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange - and overnight made himself a $150 million fortune.  The former hotel doorman has a 15% stake in billion dollar on-line advertising company ValueClick. 
(May 2000)

0800 GAZZA - personalised phone numbers up for sale in Britain
Henry Newrick, a New Zealand entrepreneur, who brought the idea to Britain, says, "They will change the way people think about phone numbers and make them more memorable and certainly valuable".
(6 April 2000)
               

dot.com dream
Kiwi Victoria Davies is among the silicon dolls  burnt by the dot.com crash. She's now on a $100,000+ salary, but has less confidence in stock options, "I don't look at it as my ticket to being a millionaire because I really don't think it's that easy".
(11 December 2000)
   

Kosher washer
Dishdrawers by Fisher & Paykel are taking the American Jewish market by storm. The separate compartments make them the kosher washer of choice according to New Zealand sources close to the Paykel family.
(19 November 2000)

  


Kevin Roberts punts Saatchi & Saatchi into the Premier League
The ideas shop meets 'La Difference' when it was announced that Saatchis was to merge, for £1.24 billion, with French giant Publicis. Celebrating the merger, as well as scooping creative awards at Cannes and the company's booming fortunes, Kevin raised a Kiwi toast to jubilant staff, "Go buy your people and your colleagues across the way at Publicis a cold beer [or French champagne]."
(22 June 2000)
  

Economic hardware 
In 1949, New Zealand engineer and economist Professor William "Bill" Phillips astonished the London School of Economics revealing his "do-it-yourself" creation: an analogue computer model of the workings of the British economy. The Monetary National Income Automatic Computer or MONIAC prototype was an odd assortment of tanks, pipes, sluices and valves, with water pumped around the machine by a motor cannibalised from the windscreen wiper of a Lancaster bomber. Visiting fellow at the National Institute for Economic and Social Research Professor Brian Henry says the machine is far more than a museum piece. "Phillips was a brilliant guy. He came up with interesting ways of providing practical advice on policy." Phillips was born to Albanian immigrants on a farm in New Zealand in 1914. He died in Auckland, in 1975. 
(8 May 2008)

Feasts in factories 
New Zealander Margot Henderson, sought-after London gourmand and the other half of Arnold & Henderson catering, does not like to use the word 'simple' when describing their menus. "It's more like it has a sense of place," she says. At a recent Parisian soirée in a metal factory, 240 guests, including the French prime minister, sat down at long banquet tables while the cooks worked out of a makeshift kitchen. Dishes were served family-style from large bowls and platters; the entrée, veal shin on the bone, arrived with a knife sticking out of it. Arnold & Henderson has an impressive client list including Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs and Mulberry. Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson began the catering business in 1995 when they worked together at London's The French House Dining Room in Soho. They now run restaurant, Rochelle Canteen in Shoreditch.
(23 March 2008)

To India without nails 
New Zealand's prefabricated Lockwood Homes are taking on the luxury housing market in India. MacDonald Sarin, a realty asset management company in Gurgaon, said because of the speed of construction people can enjoy their dream homes sooner. "Initially we will cater to the high end segment, designing it specifically for farm houses and second homes. But in future we will expand this concept to the middle housing segment," the company said. The Indian expansion comes just as Lockwood launches its new range of EcoSmart homes in New Zealand. The Lockwood house was invented in 1951 by Jo La Grouw Snr and Johannes (Jan) van Loghem, based on the log-cabin technique of interlocking timber walls. 
(26 March 2008)

New exec at Opera House
Sydney's most famous landmark is now presided over by New Zealander Richard Evans, who last month became chief executive at the Opera House. Among the challenges Evans will face, is raising some NZ$790 million for the ongoing renovation of the Sydney Opera House complex. Evans told The Dominion Post: "There is no question that it must be one of the more difficult jobs there is, but unless it was, I wouldn't want to do it." Chairman of the Sydney Opera House Trust Kim Williams said Evans has the right attributes for the role. "Richard has a strong entrepreneurial outlook with a good sense of humour ... qualities which are essential to managing an enterprise like the Sydney Opera House," Williams said. Evans was previously chief executive of the Australian Ballet.
(16 February 2008)

NZ director airs at Super Bowl
In just 30 seconds, Wellington ad director Paul Middleditch made his mark at this year's Super Bowl. Sydney-based Middleditch created the NZ$3.4 million one-off slot for Diet Pepsi Max, at his sixth Super Bowl. When Middleditch - whose work includes the New Zealand ASB Goldstein ads - began directing spots and music videos in 1990, he was one of the only young directors working in New Zealand advertising. Now very much sought-after, Middleditch told The Dominion Post he does a lot of comedy work in the United States. "In America when you do comedy it becomes more high-profile and people ask you to do more work like that. So I've been lucky like that."
(20 February 2008)

Chairman of the Internet

Game on 
Wellington-based Sidhe Interactive is the creative brains behind Jackass: The Game, released in the US by Red Mile Entertainment and MTV Games on September 26. The company hopes it will sell over a million copies, which is the benchmark for success in the highly competitive gaming industry. NZ's largest games developer, Sidhe Interactive recently won a multimillion-dollar deal to create a game based on the upcoming US film Speed Racer for Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 2. "It is a perfect combination to be coming off Jackass and rolling on to that," says Sidhe spokesman Jos Ruffell. "We have gone from playing in the Australasian market to competing at the absolute top level in the US market." 
(1 October 2007)

Power producers 
Queenstown-born film producer Tim Bevan (right) features in Vanity Fair's annual 'New Establishment' power rankings, along with business partner Eric Fellner. Bevan and Fellner founded British film powerhouse Working Title in 1984. Their company has produced nearly every hit British film since the late 1980s, from Four Weddings and a Funeral and Elizabeth, to Love Actually and Shaun of the Dead. Bevan and Fellner are ranked 75th on the 100-strong list, which is topped this year by Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), Steve Jobs (Apple, Disney, Pixar), and Sergey Brin and Larry Page (Google). 
(October 2007)

Designing women 
New Zealand Herald writer Fiona Hawtin reports on the unique nature of the NZ fashion scene for the International Herald Tribune. "Of the 45 labels showing at the seventh New Zealand Fashion Week ... 39 of them are designed by women and almost all are owner/operator businesses," she writes, noting the stark contrast with the tradition