Mark Lowndes Appeared on NZI Business TV on the morning of the debate with Corin Dann to headline why this debate is necessary now. The issues were also discussed in an article in the Sunday Star-Times headlined “Economic Union Aust-NZ unification slammed by Oram.” written by Lois Cairns

The debate was held between 7.30am – 9.30am, Wednesday 3 November 2010, Stamford Plaza, Auckland

Lowndes Associates and Unlimited magazine were pleased to host the fourth and final 2010 Business Intelligence breakfast workshop series. Now in their eighth year, these superior content-rich workshops are for busy executives, owners, directors, managers, advisers and corporate counsel.

Is it time to join forces with Australia? Many think so, many oppose the idea vehemently. What is the best answer for NZ business? The debate actually ended up persuading many in the room that it’s probably best to gradually do more effective business with our neighbours, but remain sovereign as New Zealand has more potential being in control of their own future. Time will tell.

As the Australian and New Zealand governments work to decrease the barriers between the two nations, Kiwi support for a Trans-Tasman merger is rising:

• Will a Trans-Tasman economic union boost the NZ economy?
• Will being part of a bigger market create more jobs and give better access to opportunities for careers and education?
• Will there be a level playing field for Kiwi businesses in Australia?

…read more about the workshops

Four outstanding speakers debated this important topic, two arguing for a union, and two arguing against:

Rod McGeochCo-Chair, Australia & New Zealand Leadership Council
Andrew Main Business Editor,The Australian
Rod Oram International Business Writer, former editor of Business Herald
Mark Weldon Chief Executive, NZX

In the TVNZ SME Spotlight, NZI Business’ Corin Dann chats with an Auckland-based design and procurement firm, MD, Vee Smit about how they have continued to grow throughout the last 24 months through a focus on the refurbishment markets and overseas – specifically in the Hotel , Aged care and Retail Sectors.

Auckland, 6 May 2010 –  Wayne Besant CEO of AIA New Zealand appeared on  NZI Business  with Corin Dann to discuss the  launch of the new business product. 

The underinsurance gap in New Zealand’s primarily owner-operator business market has prompted insurer AIA New Zealand to develop two new products for business – one of which insures business owners in operation for less than four years, a demographic which traditionally has had trouble securing affordable business insurance.

Launched on 1 April, the New to Business Cover is especially designed for businesses less than four years old, while the Business Continuation Cover is intended for established businesses. To support these products and ensure business clients receive the right level of cover, AIA New Zealand has also developed the Business Lifestyle Check, which helps gather information from clients to develop an appropriate business succession plan.

The Business Lifestyle Check is a comprehensive analysis tool for ensuring accuracy in setting business cover and for business succession planning, giving business owners the reassurance that they have the right protection for their business.

AIA New Zealand CEO Wayne Besant said a significant proportion of business owners did not have a succession plan, which poses a risk for companies in the event that the owner was unexpectedly unable to work.

“With 95% of New Zealand businesses being small to medium sized enterprises, and most of these having the owner as the key person running the day-to-day operations, it was clear to us that there was a need for these products and services. However, this need wasn’t being fully met by what was already available in the market.

“Many businesses wouldn’t survive if a key person was unable to work, so we see getting the right business protection, with succession planning, as essential for owners – and we wanted to make it as simple as possible.

“New Zealand is a nation of small businesses. It is critical to New Zealand’s productivity and enduring entrepreneurial spirits that businesses are able to survive the solvency test under the Companies Act due to a life risk event,” says Mr Besant.

Mr Besant is forthright about his company’s plans for New Zealand businesspeople: “There is a significant underinsurance gap in the New Zealand market, so we are excited to see awareness building around the need for income protection and are looking forward to supporting New Zealand business owners with these new and enhanced products.”

 About AIA New Zealand

AIA New Zealand is the trading name of American International Assurance Company (Bermuda) Limited (AIA) in New Zealand, and a member of the AIA Group.

Since the company arrived in New Zealand in 1981, AIA New Zealand has consistently provided the market with innovative personal and business insurance products that suit the Kiwi way of life. Today we offer a complete range of risk management products that focus on the needs of our customers.

AIA New Zealand is based in Auckland with regional offices in Wellington, Hamilton and Christchurch. However, through our Insurance consultant network, we reach every corner of the country.

AIA New Zealand is a member of the Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI), the Insurance and Savings Ombudsman Scheme (ISO) and the Health Funds Association of New Zealand (HFANZ).

About the AIA Group

The AIA Group is a leading life insurance organisation in Asia Pacific that traces its roots in the region back more than 90 years.  It provides individuals and businesses with products and services for life insurance, retirement planning, accident and health insurance as well as wealth management solutions. Through an extensive network of more than 320,000 agents and approximately 23,500 employees across 15 geographical markets, the AIA Group serves the customers of over 23 million in-force policies in the region.

The AIA Group has branch offices, subsidiaries and affiliates located in jurisdictions including Australia, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Mark Lowndes of Lowndes Associates speaks with Corin Dann on NZI Business

A commercial lawyer says clients have become more discerning as the impact of the global financial crisis hits the sector and the growth of social media frees up information.

Mark Lowndes from Lowndes Associates represented New Zealand at the recent Multilaw conference in South America and says while the feeling in New Zealand is that we are emerging from the crisis, American and English lawyers still felt like they were well in the middle of the recession.

Lowndes told NZI Business that commercial law firms in most countries have had a drop off in revenue and have had to trim costs and look at their business model.

In boom years people get a bit careless with costs, Lowndes says and he believes more flexibility is needed with the way legal services are delivered.

Lowndes says while the traditional hourly rate charging model is convenient and easy to understand, it doesn’t necessarily align itself to value. As clients become more demanding, Lowndes says lawyers need to stay close to them and really understand what they are looking for.

Younger managers and lawyers have different expectations around work-life balance and the formality of the way service is delivered, says Lowndes.

And he says clients tend to turn up well informed. Lowndes says lawyers need to be collaborating with them as business people, not just information providers. He says clients aren’t  prepared to pay large fees for routine transactions.

“The days of doing standard transactions and delivering standard information and making a good living out of that are gone.”

TVNZ NZI Business’ Corin Dann spoke with Mike Taylor, Managing Director of Pie Funds about the sovereign debt issue, of which Taylor believes we are only seeing the tip of the crisis-ice berg now.

In his interview, 21 April, Taylor discusses the concerning debt issues of western nations and highlights those countries which he believes are at highest risk.  He also warns investors that developed countries such as the US and Japan are not safe from risk either. 

Find out New Zealand’s current debt position in the foreign debt crisis, follow this link to view the full length interview.

Campaign Overview

International engineering consultants GHD have been making in-roads in New Zealand – both literally and figuratively. While paving the way for a brighter future in infrastructure, GHD wanted to share both great news about a new certificate qualification and an international perspective on public-private partnerships in the sector. 

By introducing a Vocational Graduate certificate course, GHD has invested in the future development and maintenance of asset management as a skilled profession. Recognizing this particular gap in the market, GHD has created both solution and opportunity that supports the industry and its budding minds.

National infrastructure strategy group manager Sara Dennis believes New Zealand’s skills shortage in this area has potential long-term implications for our economic development. To help address this, the course caters to a range of different disciplines and the syllabus takes a broad approach to infrastructure topics. Already highly successful in Australia, the certificate qualification in Physical Asset is offered in conjunction with the Chifley Business School in Melbourne and will be introduced here in September.  

GHD facilitated two major infrastructure forums in March, with key decision-makers and international stakeholders in attendance. The AC team was briefed to raise awareness of GHD’s involvement in infrastructure projects, and bring to light the topic of public-private partnerships, without compromising the confidentiality of the first forum, held privately in Wellington on 8 March and attended by New Zealand and Australian government policy-makers and key private sector representatives.

The second infrastructure event was the NZ Trade and Enterprise New Zealand-Australia Investment Forum on 10 and 11 March in Auckland. GHD was a sponsor, facilitator and presenter at the forum. 

Both AC and GHD acknowledged how important the direction, progress and impact of New Zealand’s infrastructure is on the wider public. With infrastructure announcements coming from the government in recent weeks, we agreed that topics of discussion, in particular public-private partnerships should be delivered directly to the public.

Results

The Vocational Graduate Certificate in Physical Asset Management announcement was received with great interest.

Sara Dennis appeared on TVNZ’s NZI Business with Corin Dann to discuss the opportunities and philosophy behind the course and explain its key objectives.

In addition, a full-page article was published in New Zealand Management magazine. The piece, titled ‘A Focus on Asset Management’ outlines the course disciplines and what it sets out to achieve. It positions GHD as an industry leader, highlighting the organization’s foresight and commitment to the future of infrastructure.

AC secured a second GHD television appearance in early March, this time on TV3’s ASB Business with Michael Wilson. Addressing a hot topic at the infrastructure forums in Wellington and Auckland, international economist Steve Kanowski discussed the pros and cons of public-private partnerships (PPP). 

In the same week, the National Business Review covered the issue in the article ‘Public private partnerships needed to drive infrastructure’.  The article was selected as an editor’s choice piece and was of significance to government and key stakeholders; it included quotes from Bill English, Anne Tolley and Steve Kanowski.

Along with the television interviews, the strategically-placed print articles have helped raise awareness of GHD’s investment and positioning in relation to the development and future of infrastructure. These results reaffirm GHD as an industry authority able to communicate with an independent voice on a range of industry subjects to different audiences.

Challenge Trust Chief Executive Clive Plucknett

Challenge Trust chief executive Clive Plucknett tackles the silent epidemic that is depression head-on today in the National Business Review, 05 March.

In his interview with Niko Kloeten, Plucknett says depression is the next global crisis, it happens to more people than we realise, the problem is, NZ executives are too afraid to open up and confide in one another.

Depression the silent epidemic for executives uncovers another side of the corporate world and identifies several issues;

• Boards are not dealing with the issue effectively;
• Outlines NZ within the global context;
• Depression does not necessarily happen gradually, and it may strike anyone, at any time;
• Challenge Trust offers help at hand with the Wellness & Recovery model based on International Benchmarking, a model that may be applied to a whole organisation or individual;
• Challenge Trust runs sessions on emotional resilience;
• Sufferers should not go-it-alone, support in recovery is key;

Clive also appeared on TVNZ’s NZI Business, 16 March, to discuss the ‘corporate’ attitude of depression among New Zealand offices.  In this segment he reiterated the culture of ‘macho’ bullet proof executives and stressed the importance of support structures for leading business likening the countries’ support of the All Blacks. 

Plucknett understands pressure and hard-work as the head of Challenge Trust, an organisation dedicated to recovery services for people from all walks of life.

Tyndall Investment Management welcomes new Managing Director Peter Lynn to the helm.

With over 17 years’ experience in investment markets, and an interim role as chief for six months in 2007, Lynn has always been capable of doing the job. Three years on, he is better equipped to lead and to build on Tyndall’s excellent track record.

Making headlines already, Lynn appeared on 2 February on TVNZ’s NZI Business to share his thoughts with Corin Dann on the financial year ahead. The self-confessed maths-lover predicts 2010 will be pivotal in determining how investment markets will react over the next five years, and expects central banks to take the middle ground to help ease the pressure.

No rest for Lynn, he recently spoke to Goodreturns’ Jenha White regarding the future of Tyndall Investment for an article distributed on 5 February; Tyndall Looking To Add More Retail.

Peter’s appointment to Managing Director was also mentioned in New Zealand Asset magazine.  Find out more about Peter Lynn and his journey to the hot seat at Tyndall Investment in the business section of the New Zealand Herald , on goodreturns.co.nz and in the March Issue of NZ Management magazine talking to Reg Birchfield about his new job.

About Tyndall New Zealand

Tyndall, part of ASX-listed Suncorp-Metway Ltd, manages over $3.6 billion in investments for a range of clients, covering KiwiSaver schemes, retail investors, corporates, superannuation schemes, charities and group companies Vero, Asteron and Guardian Trust.