The past 12 months have been tough for many New Zealand businesses. The Business Herald selected a group of top New Zealand business leaders who haven't let the tough times keep them down.
Winner of the 2011 Business Leader of the Year was Mainfreight managing director Don Braid.
Other finalists were:
Briscoe Group managing director Rod Duke
NZX chief executive Mark Weldon
ex-Fonterra chief executive Andrew Ferrier
Xero founder Rod Drury
LanzaTech chief executive Jennifer Holmgren
Ngai Tahu Holdings Corp chief executive Greg Campbell
TZ1 founding chief executive and former Microsoft NZ chief executive Helen Robinson
Farmers/Whitcoulls owners David and Anne Norman
Ryman Healthcare chief executive Simon Challies