Excellence in limelight at Deloitte awards

Freightways CEO Dean Bracewell is one of the Deloitte Top 200 Awards' Executive of the year finalist.

Business community gets ready for celebration of great performance, visionary leaders, governance and diversity.

More than 1000 guests will head to Vector Arena on Thursday to celebrate business excellence at the Deloitte Top 200 awards.

The awards recognise the top businesses along with the publication of detailed information about the country's biggest 200 companies.

The list is compiled by revenue and includes the top 30 financial enterprises based on asset value.

An exclusive report on the Top 200 winners and finalists together with the Top 200 index of companies will be published in the Herald on Friday. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Top 200 compiled by Deloitte with the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB.

Deloitte chief executive Thomas Pippos said he was proud Deloitte was able to help celebrate the success of New Zealand businesses.

"It's important to publicly recognise and celebrate business success, after all, business in all its variations forms part of the fabric of society," Pippos said. "Top 200 businesses employ tens of thousands of New Zealanders and make a vital contribution to our economy.

"The lineup of awards at the Deloitte Top 200 not only celebrate exceptional financial performance of some of our most prominent companies, but their visionary leaders, excellence in governance and dedication to diversity are also recognised."

Awards are presented in nine categories, including a diversity award which is sponsored this year by the Prime Minister's Office. The Top 200 list includes publicly listed and private companies, New Zealand subsidiaries of multinational companies, co-operatives, societies and state-owned enterprises.

Business commentator and awards convener Fran O'Sullivan said the event was a highlight in the business calendar.

"The Top 200 are the iconic business awards in New Zealand. It looks at the best company overall, top CEO, and a range of other performing factors including high-growth companies and visionary leaders and it comes off the back of the top performing lists," O'Sullivan said. "For the business sector it's very important and, of course, the awards are keenly sought after. It's seen as a badge of honour on a CV for a top chief executive or chairman."

Judges this year include Forsyth Barr managing director Neil Paviour-Smith, independent director Sandy Maier and former QBE chairman of the year Dame Alison Paterson.

Paviour-Smith said judging was rigorous, with contenders for the awards chosen from the Top 200 list, before being narrowed down to three finalists for each category. Finalists were judged on various merits and overall success.

Pippos said the awards had grown over time.

" ... the awards have become synonymous with achievement for organisations and individuals that operate at the top end of town," he said. "The Deloitte Top 200 Awards are seen as a key event in the calendar for many business leaders and are actively supported by them. Without this support the awards would not have the patronage that they have."