The country's peak business lobby group, Business New Zealand, is preparing to announce a replacement for long-serving executive director Phil O'Reilly, with speculation the current head of the New Zealand Bankers' Association, Kirk Hope, will be named for the role.
Several sources have confirmed to BusinessDesk that Hope is in the slot for the role, although Hope himself offered "no comment" on the suggestion.
The president of the Business NZ Council, Laurie Margrain, confirmed that the appointment process had been completed.
"We have made a decision. I can confirm that," he said. "We are in the process of concluding it."
O'Reilly announced his resignation as head of the national lobby group for business interests in May after a decade in the role.
Hope became chief executive of the NZBA in February 2012, having held executive director and government relations roles with the Financial Services Federation and Westpac Banking Corp.