This year also saw a milestone interplanetary mission send two Rocket Lab spacecraft to Mars. The mission will help scientists better understand how the Red Planet lost its atmosphere.
The panel of high-profile judges, convened by NZME’s Fran O’Sullivan, praised Rocket Lab for securing a rare global leadership position for a New Zealand company, saying its success is “inspiring our next generation of young engineering and science talent”.
Sky chief executive Sophie Moloney is this year’s Chief Executive of the Year, recognised for reshaping the company through a people-first strategy and her ability to act decisively during a string of transformative deals.
SKY TV CEO Sophie Moloney. Photo / Alex Burton
After early-year turbulence from satellite issues, Sky delivered major strategic wins – including the $1 acquisition of Three and ThreeNow from Warner Bros, a five-year rugby rights deal, and Olympic broadcasting rights through to 2032. Judges say Moloney’s leadership helped propel Sky’s share price to five-year highs and restore investor confidence.
The only award that is given without finalists — the Visionary Leader — went to Carmel Fisher, honoured for her pioneering work in the financial services industry.
Fisher began investing in the early 1980s and quickly earned a strong reputation through a series of roles.
In 1998, she and her husband Hugh launched Fisher Funds from home with $17m in seed capital from Sovereign, making investing accessible through low minimums and nationwide town hall roadshows. The firm grew from a single managed fund to more than $25b in assets under management and 500,000 clients.
Carmel Fisher. Photo / File
Judges describe Fisher as a trailblazer, and Fisher Funds chief executive Simon Power says her influence remains “present and enduring”, even after she stepped back from day-to-day leadership in 2017 following nearly two decades at the helm.
A2 Milk’s David Muscat, named Chief Financial Officer of the Year, was recognised for steering the dual-listed milk and infant formula company through a complex series of transactions.
Muscat oversaw the acquisition of Yashili’s Pōkeno plant, the sale of Mataura Valley Milk and the establishment of a long-term supply agreement with Fonterra. Operating across multiple markets and with significant exposure to the renminbi, he has built a finance function that supports disciplined decision-making and transparent investor communication.
A2 Milk chief financial officer David Muscat. Photo / Supplied
Judges praise his humility, competence and “extraordinary impact for a CFO”, noting his role in restoring confidence after the company’s 2020-21 earnings slump and helping deliver a 49% total shareholder return over the year to September.
Fonterra chairman Peter McBride was named Chairperson of the Year, recognising his calm and unifying governance during a period of significant strategic change for New Zealand’s largest exporter. This is a rare repeat win in this category, with McBride also taking out the award in 2018 during his time chairing Zespri – underscoring a governance career defined by clarity, stability and deep commitment to New Zealand’s primary sector.
Since taking the role in 2020, McBride has guided the co-op through capital structure reform, strong performance, and the landmark $4.22b sale of its consumer brands to Lactalis. Fonterra delivered a $1.079b net profit this year, with strong performance from its high-value ingredients business.
Fonterra chairman Peter McBride. Photo / Supplied
Judges say McBride has rebuilt shareholder trust and ended factionalism on the board, highlighting the significant farmer support for the 2021 capital reform vote as a turning point.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare won Best Growth Strategy for its long-term, organic approach that has seen the company double revenue every five to six years without relying on acquisitions.
It posted $2.021b in revenue and $377m in net profit this year, driven by its respiratory care products and sleep apnoea technology. With more than 1000 R&D staff and $226.9m invested in R&D, the company maintains a tight strategic focus.
Judges praise its clarity, discipline and willingness to plan decades ahead as it expands manufacturing in Auckland and overseas, calling it a model of innovation-led, patient, long-horizon growth.
Tower won Most Improved Performance for its transformation that delivered on both digital execution and financial growth.
The major transformation replaced legacy technology systems with a single modern, cloud-based digital platform across New Zealand and its Pacific markets, streamlining operations and enabling sophisticated risk-based pricing.
Home policy growth helped lift gross written premiums from $385m to $595m over five years, while the share price rose 40% over the last 12 months. Judges praise Tower’s strong shareholder returns, customer growth, and leadership in pricing transparency.
Air New Zealand’s Kate Boyer, named Young Executive of the Year, impressed judges with her energy, drive, and rapid impact as GM Airports, a role she stepped into at age 30.
She inherited a complex operation still recovering from the pandemic, with more than half the workforce newly hired and considerable leadership instability. Three weeks into the job, a spike in serious near-miss airport incidents required immediate action.
Kate Boyer. Photo / Supplied
Boyer led a safety reset that reduced serious incidents by 60% and launched an Airport Champions Network to bridge the gap between agile product development and day-to-day operations. She also implemented productivity improvements that saved more than $10m while improving engagement.
Judges say her leadership maturity, people-first approach, and execution at scale place her firmly on a trajectory towards senior executive roles.
Precinct Properties took home the Sustainability Leadership award for a commercially grounded approach that has begun to shift practices across the construction sector.
Recognising that a significant contributor to emissions in property development occurs during construction, Precinct has prioritised understanding and measuring embodied carbon. Its most advanced project in this space, the Deloitte Centre development, achieved a 67% reduction in embodied carbon.
Judges highlight its influence over contractors and suppliers, as well as its long-standing partnership with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.
Energy group Clarus received the Diversity & Inclusion Leadership award for its Building Belonging programme, launched in 2022 to create a workplace where everyone feels connected, supported and empowered.
The initiative strengthened foundations through online training, campaigns on topics like neurodiversity, and team values workshops. D&I was also added to every manager’s performance plan.
It introduced targeted workstreams for women, Māori and older workers, with gender-neutral recruitment, improved parental leave and early-career pathways. It has also more than halved the gender pay gap and lifted female hiring from 29% to 43%.
Judges praise the programme’s maturity, authenticity and strong executive sponsorship.
The judges’ recognition award this year went to Fran O’Sullivan, acknowledging her long-standing contribution to the Deloitte Top 200 judging panel.
O’Sullivan is stepping down this year after 12 years as a judge and as convenor of the judging panel, a tenure defined by her rigorousness, independence and commitment to celebrating the best of New Zealand business excellence.
Fran O’Sullivan.
The Deloitte Top 200 Index consists of New Zealand’s largest entities ranked by revenue. These include publicly listed companies, large unlisted entities, New Zealand subsidiaries and branches of overseas companies and the commercial operations of Māori entities; also producer boards, co-operatives, local authority trading enterprises and state-owned enterprises.
An overview of the Top 200 Index – along with New Zealand’s Top 30 finance companies – is provided at the end of this report, including detailed analysis of revenue, profitability, efficiency and other key performance metrics. Together, these figures offer a clear snapshot of how New
Zealand’s largest organisations are performing, supported by commentary from the Herald’s business reporting team.
The high-level view of the Top 200 this year shows steady but subdued growth. Total revenues rose 2.1%, a slower pace than the previous two years, while underlying earnings (Ebitda) increased 5.1%. Profit after tax rebounded strongly, rising 23.7% and reversing last year’s 57.2% decrease.
In the financial sector, the Top 30 finance companies showed a return to growth across most key indicators, reversing the contraction seen last year. Their combined asset base grew 3.2%, and cumulative profits lifted 10.6%.
ANZ remains the largest bank by a wide margin, with $199b in assets — more than $63b ahead of second-placed Westpac. ANZ also continues to lead the sector in both profitability and equity.