Media Releases

Great New Zealand Innovators Confirmed To Speak At Innovate Event

Great New Zealand innovators including Icebreaker managing director, Jeremy Moon and Maxine Simmons, chief executive of ICP, will be sharing their experiences at the Innovate event in Christchurch from March 5-7 2002.

Innovate, an initiative put together by the Ministry of Economic Development, Industry New Zealand and Te Puni Kokiri, will celebrate and showcase New Zealand innovators, such as Jeremy Moon and Maxine Simmons, who have used innovative business practices to turn great ideas into successful enterprises.

Icebreaker clothing has built an iconoclastic New Zealand merino outdoor clothing brand within six short years, in ten countries across the world. At Innovate, Jeremy Moon will outline Icebreaker's unique approach to building a brand, and the secrets behind the company being placed fifth in the Deloittes Fastest 50 growing companies in New Zealand.

Maxine Simmons is chief executive of a company that is quietly doing remarkable things in the biotechnology sector. A mix of customer focus, innovative solutions and top of the range products make ICP one of the leading businesses in the industry. Maxine Simmons describes the innovation model at ICP as really identifying what the market will buy, researching and developing the best product solutions possible.

Other speakers confirmed to date for Innovate include author of 'World famous in NZ: How NZ's leading firms became world class competitors', Colin Campbell Hunt; Frank Findlow, Director Operations for Heinz Wattie; Chris Liddell, CEO Carter Holt Harvey and Henry van Asch, co-founder and managing director of AJ Hackett.

Innovate aims to be innovative in itself, and as well as the key note speakers and more traditional workshops and panel discussions, the event will include short 'toolkit' workshops, an exhibition of up to 100 innovative New Zealand companies, and a hands on learning experience to guide people through the process (and pitfalls) of taking an idea and turning it into a business. Examples of creative New Zealand will also be featured, from wearable art, to dance and film.

Economic Development Minister Jim Anderton says innovation has been identified by the OECD, among others, as one of the key drivers of economic growth. He says the Government's economic development policies are focussed on unleashing New Zealanders' capacity for innovation and encouraging them to take the next step - commercialising and growing great ideas.

“Innovate will celebrate the achievements of our innovators - the people who have been successful in commercialising good ideas. It will aim to inform and inspire a new generation of innovators, and help to promote a culture of innovation in New Zealand.

Innovate is another example of the government's partnership approach to turning great ideas into commercially successful, job-rich, high value businesses."

Around 500 business people, venture capitalists, community leaders, educators, recruitment companies, industry associations and people with new ideas are expected to converge on Christchurch for the event.

To be held at the Christchurch Convention Centre and Christchurch Town Hall parts of the event will be open to the public enabling all New Zealanders to join in the celebration and education.

Registrations for the event will open on January 21, with the detailed programme due to be revealed in mid-January.

To register an interest in the event visit www.innovate.org.nz.

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For further information please contact: Wendy Pannett, NBPR, Phone 021 440 898