Leaders find thrills outside office

Deloitte award lunch attendees arrive back from their jet boat cruise through the Waitemata Harbour yesterday afternoon. Photo / Nick Reed

Top executives and business leaders from across New Zealand gathered at Auckland restaurant Harbourside today for a Deloitte Top 200 sponsor and finalists event.

NZME chief executive Jane Hastings welcomed the group, saying the calibre of finalists was exceptional and represented some of the best in business. The group was treated to a jet boating experience followed by lunch and networking.

"I definitely enjoyed the day," said Gary Langford, chief executive of Eagle Technology Group which is co-sponsoring the young executive of the year award.

"I'm a bit of a thrillseeker so I really enjoyed the jetboat ride, it was good for bonding.

Last year we jumped off the skytower, this year was jetboating so I'm looking forward to next year," he said.

Rob Hewett, chairman of Silver Fern Farms, said the day had provided a good chance to catch up with some of the talented people in the room, adding that he was proud to be included as a finalist in this year's awards, something he attributed to his team.

"We've had a lot of challenges this year and the way I think about the recognition of the chairperson of the year award, is that this is a recognition of the team," Hewett said.

"I might have been the person who had the hand on the wheel in terms of the governance but at the end of the day we had a lot of people working very hard in our business."

The awards will be held on November 26 at Vector Arena, hosted by NZME Events in partnership with Deloitte.