Today the Weekend Herald salutes the winners of the annual Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards, which honour one of the country's greatest leaders, the late Sir Peter Blake.
The Weekend Herald profiles the winner of the supreme award, scientist Ray Avery, and six emerging leaders selected as showing great potential.
BLAKE MEDALLIST: RAY AVERY CHIEF EXECUTIVE, MEDICINE MONDIALE
Growing up in orphanages proved to be one of the key factors in shaping the man that is Ray Avery today.
"There's always some residue that you don't belong," he says. "And that makes you want to achieve, to work harder."
The 62-year-old - who spent 14 years of his childhood in orphanages in England - was last night awarded the top honour at the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards, being named this year's recipient of the Blake Medal.
Mr Avery now lives in Auckland's Mt Eden and regards himself as a Kiwi.
He joins an impressive list of New Zealanders who have picked up the award over the years, including Sir Murray Halberg, Sir John Anderson and Dr John Hood.
Mr Avery said news of the award came completely out of the blue, but it was an absolute privilege to receive it.
"Being acknowledged in something like this - it's always meant that if you get an award in a country you've chosen to live in, that you're now one of the guys. "And that's just great," he said.
Mr Avery, a founding member of the University of Auckland's School of Medicine and department of clinical pharmacology, is a pharmaceutical scientist whose inventions have changed millions of lives.
One of them - the low-cost intraocular lens, which he invented in his garage - costs only $6 and has saved the sight of millions of the poorest people in the world.
In 2003, Mr Avery founded Medicine Mondiale, an organisation that develops innovative medicine and technologies to help those who could otherwise not afford it.
Early this year, he was recognised for his works in the medical field, helping people worldwide, by being named the New Zealander of the Year by Prime Minister John Key.
The chairman of the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards selection panel, Sir Ron Carter, praised Mr Avery and said his work was groundbreaking.
"Ray's vision to assist those most in need has required much patience. Yet his relentless determination to succeed has meant victory for all," Sir Ron said.
"He has generated amazing collaboration amongst so many diverse groups to achieve this and that is due entirely to his outstanding leadership ability."
A former street kid, Mr Avery also has a passion for helping youngsters and regularly visits schools and universities to motivate students to live out their potential.
"It's about helping other people, and if you've got the intelligence, if you've got the acumen, there's no point sitting at home - there's nothing worse than having a wasted life."
Asked how he felt about being singled out as a leader, Mr Avery brushed off the idea of what he called "typical leadership".
"We tend to often think of leaders like Tiger Woods - well, we all know what happened there. People get put up as heroes.
"But it's really just the ordinary human being doing good. Just a mum and dad bringing up good kids - that's leadership.'
NGARIMU BLAIR - MAORI LEADER
At 34 years old, Ngarimu Blair could easily be mistaken for being one of the younger - and therefore less experienced - leaders within his hapu.
But in fact he has been in the game for more than a decade, getting his first taste of leadership within Ngati Whatua o Orakei as a 22-year-old.
Fresh out of university, with a geography degree under his belt, he was quickly snapped up by elders who recognised his potential to use his skills for the good of his people.
Mr Blair was assigned to a resource management role and for the past 12 years has been promoting tangata whenua issues relating to sustainability, protection of sacred sites, restoration of bio-diversity and the Maori community.
Asked what made him stand out as a leader, he said: "I tend to handle things a bit more calmly, where in Maori politics it can be a bit heated."
The father of two has, over the years, become a well-known and respected figure within Ngati Whatua o Orakei and the wider Maori community.
He is a trustee of the Ngati Whatua o Orakei Maori Trust Board and a director of all its companies, and is also working on projects that look to connect urban Maori back to their roots.
Such projects include establishing Auckland's largest ecological restoration project at Bastion Pt.
Another involves plans to build a huge sustainable urban village at Orakei.
If successful, it would see up to 6000 people able to live off and on their ancestral lands - something that would be a dream come true, Mr Blair said.
"Most Aucklanders don't know about the rich history in our city and that's what we're trying to do - to get people informed and interested again."
RENEE LIANG - PAEDIATRICIAN AND POET
If you ever call the Liang residence, here's a tip: Don't ask for Dr Liang.
The response is: "Which one?"
With three doctors in Renee Liang's family - her father is also a paediatrician and a sister is a surgeon on the Gold Coast - she has never been far from excellence.
A third sister is a film maker.
Renee Liang, 37, grew up in Auckland and is a proud old girl of St Cuthbert's College in Epsom.
She says that growing up in a family who supported her love of both medicine and the arts helped her to become a confident woman.
"I always felt encouraged and always felt mastery.
"My primary school friends tell me that they can still remember me saying that I wanted to be a pediatrician - and I was 7 years old!
"But my dad was one and I knew the word - I always looked up to him and now I'm here."
Dr Liang works as a consultant paediatrician and researcher.
She has an interest in community and child health and her research involves looking at human development.
Her second love - the arts - has also seen her become a widely published poet, playwright and short-story writer, as well as being involved in the performing arts.
She says her Chinese name, Wei Wei, was given to her by her grandfather and means "literary blossom."
"My grandfather named me that because he said there were too many doctors in the family - we need a writer or an artist!
"My mother didn't tell me that until my third year into medicine, so who knows what would have been if I had known that before."
Dr Liang plans to continue her journey in life "as sort of a surprise".
DR KAREN WILLCOX - ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS
An obsession with Star Wars and the launch of the first spaceship to the moon are what first got a young Karen Willcox excited about outer space.
Dr Willcox was last night named one of the emerging leaders at the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards.
She is an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics and co-director at the Centre for Computational Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology - one of the world's best-known universities.
Professor Willcox, who was raised in Massey, West Auckland, is looking to become New Zealand's first astronaut. Already she has been named a finalist in the latest astronaut selection for Nasa.
But asked how she thought of herself being named a leader, she said she was still trying to come to terms with the idea.
"It's sort of hard to look at yourself - especially as some sort of leader. But I guess if it's leading by example, doing what you're passionate about and inspiring little kids - then that's me."
Passionate about engineering and all things space, Professor Willcox is currently leading two multi-institutional research teams, one of which is being funded by Nasa to develop ways to design environmentally sensitive aircraft.
Her passion also sees her as a popular guest lecturer at universities and for students from all over, having given more than 50 invited lectures internationally, including here in New Zealand.
She has also mentored many students of primary-school age, teaching mathematics, mentoring for the Science Club for Girls Rocket Team and for a number of undergraduate and graduate students at MIT.
She says teaching developing minds is something she loves and she will continue to do as much of it as she can.
"The most fun about being a professor is waking up and teaching the undergraduates, because they are so excited and sometimes I see myself in them - the same enthusiasm," Professor Willcox said.
"Helping them develop, and then I really love seeing what they're doing later on in life. It really is satisfying."
She says although she has learned and achieved much already, she still continues to love learning.
"Even today, mentors continue to play a large role in my career development. The opportunity to be a mentor myself is one of the things I love best about my job as an academic."
CATRIONA WILLIAMS - FOUNDER OF CATWALK
Growing up in Martinborough, Catriona Williams wanted nothing in the world except to ride horses.
But her hope of becoming a great equestrian was shattered when in 2002, she had an accident that cruelly threw her out of her dream and into a wheelchair.
"Beforehand, it was all about me and my goals. I had a wonderful family and I had personal goals looking to go to the Olympics. I was selfish," she said.
"And then I broke my neck ... and now it's the little things that I value the most."
The 38-year-old - who now lives in Masterton - has come a long way since her accident, setting up the CatWalk Spinal Cord Injury Trust.
The trust aims to fund research into ways to help spinal cord injury sufferers walk again.
Since Mrs Williams set it up in 2005, the trust has raised just over $1 million for the cause.
Being named as an emerging leader in this year's Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards is humbling, she said. "The first thought, I guess, was how did they know? You just do your own thing and you don't really know if anyone's taking notice.
"I've got pretty weird hands and obviously the legs don't work - I physically can't do these things that most people can. And I'm just honoured."
Mrs Williams says knowing that the awards commemorate someone who was, and still is, widely regarded as one of the country's top leaders adds to the sense of privilege.
She is now working to take part in the New York Marathon.
"Life is about the things you do - not about the things you have."
CHRIS QUIN - GEN-I CHIEF EXECUTIVE AUSTRALASIA
It is probably fitting that Gen-i's chief executive for Australasia, Chris Quin, has been named an emerging leader at the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards.
Mr Quin, 43, was head boy at St Patrick's College in Silverstream, Wellington.
Today he is part of the senior executive team of one of the country's largest companies, Telecom.
His leadership became the driving force in the company's acquisitions of information technology companies Gen-i and Computerland, forming what is now known as Gen-i.
The business now has about 3300 employees - a team whose leader preaches that to succeed, you have to make the odd mistake and learn from it.
"Leadership is taken, not given," Mr Quin says.
"It's a set of behaviours, it's a choice, it's your actions and the way you speak to people - you've got to say sorry and move on."
Mr Quin, who is a member of the advisory board of the Centre for Social Innovation, is also a board member of The Icehouse and chairman of the Marram Trust.
He said the leadership roles he had been given showed off not only the sort of people who raised him, but those who surrounded him every day.
"My parents - they weren't privileged or anything. They were normal people who were very community-based and values-based.
"They used to help set up housies for the community fundraisers and they were very strong on values - that's what we were taught."
Mr Quin paid tribute to the late Sir Peter Blake, describing his style of leadership as team-oriented and "true Kiwi".
JAMIE TUUTA - MAORI LEADER
Listening and learning from your elders is one of Jamie Tuuta's secrets to success.
Born and raised by his grandparents in Urenui, near Taranaki, Mr Tuuta quickly learned that to be heard, you first had to listen.
"My grandparents were heavily involved in the community and iwi projects.
"So I was fortunate to have been shown that right from a young age and I learned a lot from being there."
Mr Tuuta, who was sent to school at Hato Petera College on the North Shore, became involved at the governance level in his iwi, Ngati Mutunga, at 19 years old.
Since then he has continued to be a strong leader within his community, working as an adviser, negotiator and coming up with strategic projects for the betterment of his people.
He is also widely known in Taranaki for his work on improving the economic and environmental performance of primary industries that include Maori pastoral and fishing sectors.
Language is also a great passion of his, as he is also involved in helping youngsters learn the Taranaki dialect, with students' study sessions even held at his house each week.
Asked how he defined a leader, he described a person who had the ability to influence positive direction and effect positive direction in others - particularly young people.
"Part of this award and being acknowledged and so forth is being a positive role model.
"I've been raised in the provinces. I've gone to school in the big city and seen it all. But going back home, I've really enjoyed it.
"And that's what I want kids to know - that when you succeed, you've always got to give it back to your own people."
PAST WINNERS OF THE BLAKE MEDAL
* 2005: Sir John Anderson, businessman.
* 2006: Sir Stephen Tindall, businessman.
* 2007: Professor Sir Paul Callaghan, scientist.
* 2008: Sir Murray Halberg, athlete.
* 2009: Dr John Hood, academic.
Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards
One of Ray Avery's inventions has saved the sight of millions of the world's poorest people. Photo / Natalie Slade
Today the Weekend Herald salutes the winners of the annual Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards, which honour one of the country's greatest leaders, the late Sir Peter Blake.
The Weekend Herald profiles the winner of the supreme award, scientist Ray Avery, and six emerging leaders selected as showing great potential.
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