It’s a case of do mention the war.
Sir Rod Drury, last night named 2026 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year, has spent the past few years pushing for expansion of renewable power and electrified transport - from cable cars in Queenstown to an all-electric rental car fleet that, downstream, would help create a mass market for affordable second-hand electric cars.
Now, with Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz and liquified natural gas (LNG) and oil prices soaring, Drury said: “The conversation has changed.
“Energy sovereignty is becoming front-of-mind for all New Zealanders.”
An electrified economy not only means lower emissions and lower long-term costs, but more economic security in an increasingly unstable world.
“We need a clear strategy,” Drury says. And he says thinking has to extend beyond energy storage. “We only store five weeks’ worth of water. Why don’t we store six months’ worth water?”, he asks.
Drury rose to prominence by founding Xero and turning it into a global success story worth billions.
But after leaving the cloud accounting software firm (he retired as CEO in 2018 and left the board in 2023), he turned to thinking about how New Zealand could break out of its productivity slump and reverse its brain-drain.
In what sector could New Zealand develop a sustainable competitive advantage in something?
“For me, the answer was really easy – renewable electricity. It could be our version of Saudi Arabian oil," Drury said.
He saw a positive environmental impact and, with overcapacity, the chance to export renewable power to data centres offshore too.
He’s also a booster of the 280-mega-watt (MW) Datagrid “AI factory” in Southland and the potential for its companion project, a new offshore cable, to generate weightless exports (the cable remains on the drawing board after Datagrid partner Chorus pulled out).
Drury has also been part of the political conversation around renewable power, calling on the Government to break up the big generator-retailers (gentailers) just as Telecom was cleaved into wholesale (Chorus) and retail (Spark) operations to help boost investment in the sector.
He sees such a move also unlocking investment from big institutional investors, including KiwiSaver funds.
In his adopted home of Queenstown, Drury has been getting down to the brass tacks of electrification, pushing a vision of fully electric public transport, including driverless electric shuttles and electric cable cars that would take 3000 people an hour between the airport and downtown – a $280 million project that won conditional endorsement from the Infrastructure Commission last December.
Drury has also invested in Electric Wave, a Queenstown start-up building an on-pier charging network to encourage the development of electric boats and is a supporter of the Queenstown Electrification Accelerator, which is kicking off a trial involving electric cars charging homes.
He sees Queenstown as a test-bed for rapid change across the country.
Nationwide, Drury is a backer of Lodestone Energy (with his frequent collaborator Sam Morgan and others), which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars to install 360,000 solar panels on 350ha of land over five sites and counting.
He also has his eye on the energy horizon. Through his venture capital firm Radar Ventures (established in 2021), Drury is one of the investors in a more speculative power play – Wellington’s OpenStar Technologies, which is working on a nuclear fusion reactor that could one day supply cheap, clean and near-limitless energy.
And then there’s his own latest venture, Corro - a “sovereign messaging platform” that will take aim at Big Tech offshore efforts like Microsoft Teams and Salesforce’s Slack.
The past year has also seen Drury put more funds into Atomic, the messaging start-up run by ex-netballer Jo Haanstra that’s helping the likes of ANZ, BNZ, Westpac, Kiwibank, Mercury, Z Energy and NZTA beat fraudsters trying to imitate their brands. Haanstra told the Herald that Drury was a mentor who helped her make the move from sport to business.
And September last year saw Drury - a long-time backer of easier digital payments – join a venture capital round for Volley, a self-styled Kiwi Venmo that takes advantage of recent open banking features introduced by the major banks.
He’s also on a push to aggregate local tourist operators to create their own booking platform that would put them in control of their data and give them power against the global booking platforms, whose dominance he sees being boosted by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), as things stand.
“We said we would change tourism after Covid, but we haven’t really,” he says. He favours a plan to make most rental cars electric, which he sees in turn helping to create an affordable fleet of second-hand EVs.
Drury would also like to see the rental camper van fleet go electric. That would also allow it to be a backup during natural disasters that take out power, he says.
After genealogical research by his late father led him to learn about his Ngāi Tahu roots, Drury has advised the iwi’s commercial wing, set up scholarships for Ngāi Tahu students and artists and backed two of the iwi’s major initiatives: Mana Tāhuna, a kaupapa Māori charitable trust in the Queenstown-Lakes district focused on improving the social, cultural and environmental wellbeing of the local Māori whānau, and Project Tohu, a Coronet Peak reforestation project that is replacing around 200ha of Douglas Fir with native trees.
Drury says as well as addressing the menace of wilding pines, Project Tohu includes about 50km of new mountain bike and horse riding trails, helping to diversify Queenstown away from its reliance on skiing and snowboarding.
He has also been involved in a drive to clean up Lake Hayes and is an active supporter of the Southern Lakes Health Trust, which seeks to co-ordinate public and private investments in healthcare.
It’s part of Drury’s “venture philanthropy” model, where private-sector skills are deployed to help solve problems with public infrastructure and services.
The Xero founder continues to think big. He told a Technology Queenstown event last month that if it works in Queenstown, his cable-car vision could be rolled out in Auckland, too.
“New Zealand needs a big win – and this would be an incredibly visible one.”
“Sir Rod is driving sustainable, future-focused innovation while empowering a new generation of Kiwi tech leaders to think boldly and globally,” the New Zealander of the Year judges said.
“More recently, he has been focused on venture philanthropy and funding a significant number of public good infrastructure projects.”
“Sir Rod Drury has a track record for turning ambition into action,” Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich said.
“From transforming how small businesses operate and grow across the world, to backing the next generation of innovators and investing in the people and physical infrastructure our country needs for the future, his impact is far-reaching and deeply practical.
“What stands out most is his commitment to using his success as a platform to enable others – helping more New Zealand businesses to start, scale and succeed."
The other category winners:
● Lucy Blakiston (Marlborough Te Tauihu-o-te-waka) – Founder and CEO of Shit You Should Care About
Judges’ comments: “Lucy Blakiston empowers millions of young people to engage critically with global issues and shape a more informed, compassionate world.”
Read more: Shit You Should Care About: Inside the rise of a millennial and Gen Z New Zealand media phenomenon
● Alan and Hazel Kerr (Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau)
Judges’ comments: “Dr Alan and Hazel Kerr have dedicated their retirement into a lifetime of service, saving the lives of nearly 800 children through two decades of volunteer medical missions to Palestine.”
READ MORE: Israel-Hamas war: New film follows Kiwi’s lifeline for Palestinian children
● Craig Piggott (Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau)
Judges’ comments: “Through his leadership at Halter, Craig Piggott’s vision is positioning Aotearoa New Zealand at the forefront of global agritech innovation, advancing solutions that benefit farmers, animals and the environment.”
READ MORE: Kiwi cow tech firm Halter raises $165m to hit $1.65b valuation
● Mike Casey (Otago Ōtākou)
Judges’ comments: “As an electric farmer and CEO of Rewiring Aotearoa, Mike Casey (Ngāti Kahungunu ki Wairarapa) is a driving force in Aotearoa New Zealand’s transformation towards sustainable energy, reshaping conversations on climate justice and electrification, and proving that green innovation is not only possible but profitable.”
READ MORE: The Great Electric Cherry Migration with Mike Casey
● Māhera Maihi (Auckland Tāmaki Makaurau)
Judges’ comments: “Through her organisation Mā Te Huruhuru, Māhera Maihi (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua, Muriwhenua) is transforming lives and communities by championing a kaupapa of systemic change, equity and compassion in tackling homelessness and poverty.”
READ MORE: Wahine toa Māhera Maihi helps young Māori from gangs, poverty
● Safeguarding Children Initiative (Nelson Whakatū)
Judges’ comments: “The Safeguarding Children Initiative is reshaping our national response to child abuse and neglect, uniting more than 85,000 advocates in a shared commitment to protect tamariki and rangatahi [children and young people].”
This award recognises a lifetime of outstanding contribution. The winner, selected from the semi-finalists across all award categories, was:
● Dame Lynley Dodd (Bay of Plenty Te Moana a Toi)
Judges’ comments: “Through her extraordinary storytelling and commitment to nurturing literary talent, Dame Lynley Dodd has indelibly shaped New Zealand’s cultural identity and fostered a love of literature in generations of children.”
READ MORE: Hairy Maclary turns 40: Dame Lynley Dodd remembers the ‘accident’ that created a beloved character
Chris Keall is an Auckland-based member of the Herald’s business team. He joined the Herald in 2018 and is the technology editor and a senior business writer.