Massey Business School CEO Survey

Key goals of the initiative:

• Generate practical insights: We will create new knowledge that directly benefits businesses, not-for-profits, local and central government, regulators and policymakers, ensuring actionable findings for effective decision-making.
• Strengthen academic and industry links: This initiative seeks to establish a robust connection between academia and the public, private and not-for-profit sectors in New Zealand.
• Empower stakeholders: Our research will provide organisations and all other stakeholders transparency and benchmarking tools, enabling them to assess their performance relative to peers and strive for excellence.

We want to thank our organisational partners: the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER), BusinessNZ, Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ), Creative HQ, New Zealand Growth Capital Partners (NZGCP), and Ākina, along with all the supporters helping us share the survey.

This research is informed by the advisory board at the Leadership and Governance Collective, which consists of industry leaders, CEOs and governance professionals. We appreciate their valuable expertise and insights.

• Brooke Roberts, founder and Co-CEO of Sharesies, who brings extensive leadership experience in startups, scale-ups and B Corps, as well as governance expertise in both for-profit and charitable organisations.
• Tahana Tippett-Tapsell, General Manager at Tūaropaki Trust and with multiple governance roles, provides valuable insights into Māori businesses, championing long-term prosperity for Māori communities and iwi.
• James Lee, former CEO of Jarden, who currently provides strategic advice to boards focusing on long-term strategy, aligning stakeholder interests and developing cohesive cultures, and is recognised as a highly regarded, award-winning CEO.
• Rhiannon McKinnon, founder of CEO 101, CEO at Cassiobury, former CEO of Kiwi Wealth, and was named CEO of the Year at the 2022 Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards.
• Kalyn Ponti, CEO of Humankind, played a key role in introducing the Best Place to Work Awards to New Zealand and is dedicated to demonstrating that thriving people and commercial success go hand in hand.
• Sophia van Zijl, a strategic consultant to NZX and former Chief People Officer at JB Were, provides expertise in financial management and strategic people leadership and focuses on leveraging employee engagement to drive commercial success and long-term value.
• Michael McCarthy, holds multiple governance roles and has a background in leadership, including as former CEO of Farmers Collective and former CFO of Wellington Hospital. He brings extensive experience from both the primary and private sectors.
• The more than 70 CEOs, board members and senior leaders who spoke to us to ensure the research content directly addresses the priorities and needs of leaders and governance professionals.

Academic outputs will be developed through Massey University, while easily digestible reports and dashboards will be created for organisations and made available for free download from the Leadership and Governance Collective.

Read more about this initiative: Harnessing NZ leaders and universities for enhanced organisational performance - Massey University