Snapshots: Going for gold

From left: Dan Higgins, Dion Nash, Clifton Piper and Nadine Chalmers Ross at Clicquot in the Snow. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

A mix of former and future Olympic stars as well as former prime minister Jenny Shipley, Prime Minister John Key, Auckland mayor Len Brown and other black tie business leaders gathered at the Viaduct Events Centre on Thursday to officially start the countdown to the 2016 Olympics in Rio. The glittering occasion helped fundraise for the New Zealand Olympic Committee which organises and manages the New Zealand team, as well as securing funding to get them over there in the first place. More than $180,000 was raised, boosted by a last minute addition of a three-hour golfing afternoon with John Key and Brendon McCullum. Key admitted he had not asked the Black Caps skipper about it but said he would give him a call in the morning to let him know. A sponsored VW Golf R-Line raised the highest total on the night fetching $55,000, but perhaps the biggest buzz on the night was created by a troupe of glitzy Brazilian dancers showing off customary amounts of skin.

Kirk Hope and Angela Stone, left, attend the Olympic Gala dinner at the Viaduct Events Centre. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

Diana Good and Mike Chunn. Photo / Norrie Montgomery

Trumped

Nancy Gibbs, managing editor of venerable US news magazine

Time

, blitzed the country last week on the back of a trip organised by Fulbright and helped deflate some of the colourful hype surrounding property-developer turned wild political maverick Donald Trump. The colourful real-estate mogul is presently leading polls to take the Republican nomination for president, despite (or is that thanks to?) storms of self-inflicted controversy. But don't let the early poll numbers fool you, Gibbs doesn't see "President Trump" featuring on the cover of her magazine anytime soon. She said her team considered putting together a rush-job book on Trump. The project would take eight week to complete, and Trump's flame would need to burn brightly for eight further weeks to generate enough sales to make the venture profitable. The book never got off the ground - Gibbs thinks he'll burn out long before the project would break even.

Nancy Gibbs, managing editor of US news magazine Time.

Time zoned

John Key almost missed the Olympic Gala dinner after his handlers forgot to factor in the time difference between New Zealand and Rarotonga where he was flying back from. Key was supposed to return the day before the dinner but due to the miscommunication ended up flying in just hours before. He said he had been rushing to plan what he was going to say while on the plane home and predictably, chose to discuss the flag change, mostly promoting the idea of having a silver fern as the new emblem. He added that even the likes of anti-change campaigner Mike Hosking had changed his tack in favour of a change.

Snow business

New Zealand's glamorous across the business, fashion and social circles jetted, drove and helicoptered into Queenstown in time for Veuve Clicquot's big bash, the Clicquot in the Snow Party. This is the fifth year the international event, also held at luxury ski resorts around the world, has been held in Queenstown. The four-day event featured a sold-out long lunch at Botswana Butchery, and a Kathryn Wilson catwalk show among other features, with the likes of Wilson, Sara Tetro, and Tim Alpe in attendance - all needless to say, with a glass of Veuve in hand.

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Coming up this week

Mood of the Boardroom, the Herald's annual CEO survey, is out on Thursday. It's a prime barometer of business sentiment in New Zealand and in this year's survey, chief executives will give an insight into the business environment and the strategies their firms are developing as the economy cools. They'll also comment on Government strategies and Labour's emerging policies and share their views on issues like housing.

Deloitte chief executive Thomas Pippos said the Mood of the Boardroom CEO Survey was a telling indicator of the opinion of our top business leaders. "Its worth lies in the personal opinions and overall mood of CEOs on our economic and political performance across all industries," he said.

The Mood of the Boardroom 2015 report will be unveiled at a breakfast at the Langham Hotel.