The Herald's business leader of the year: Ralph Norris

Selecting Ralph Norris as the Business Leader of the Year was not an easy task. For one thing, the Business Herald has yet to be convinced that Norris' strategy of allying Air New Zealand with arch-enemy Qantas is a good idea.

For another, there were many strong candidates, including effective business operators such as Ralph Waters, Rod Duke and Evan Davies, and people who have had a big impact on the business scene such as Bruce Sheppard, Sarah Trotman and Mark Weldon.

What we were looking for was someone who was not just a successful chief executive but also had a significant impact on the wider business scene; someone who was not just a star performer on the conference circuit but also knows how to take tough decisions.

It is fashionable to criticise the performance of New Zealand business leaders - and certainly there are a few who have been paid huge sums for dire results - but there are also a lot of success stories.

Some we came up with were:

* In a tough time for IT companies, Russell Hewitt managed the controversial merger of Hewlett Packard and Compaq remarkably smoothly, ending up with a unit which had revenue of about $600 million in the past 12 months and dominates most sectors of the PC market.

* Evan Davies steered Sky City Entertainment Group to another record profit and even moved successfully into Australia. It remains to be seen whether the move into Force Corporation (now Sky City Leisure) was wise, but after a rocky start Davies and his team seem to be turning the business around and the rest of the group continues to roar ahead.

* Bruce Sheppard and his Shareholders Association have made a huge impact. His tactics may not be to everyone's taste but there can be no doubting that they have made boards far more accountable and that can only be to the benefit of investors and business generally.

* Ralph Waters has done an amazing job at Fletcher Building, taking the hard decisions and turning a $288 million loss into a $93 million profit. Waters pulled off a coup in snaffling Laminex from potential Australian buyers and convincing the market that it was a smart move.

* Mark Weldon came home from New York to take on the tough job of revitalising New Zealand's capital markets. Whether he will succeed remains to be seen but he is clearly moving with considerable speed and determination to implement a strategy which has won general approval.

* Jon Mayson may not have a high profile but under his leadership Port of Tauranga has been a consistently good performer. Its Metro Port concept has put the heat on Ports of Auckland which can only be good for customers.

* Sarah Trotman, who recently stood down as head of Business in the Community, has presided over an extraordinary increase in its business mentoring programme. Over 5000 businesses a year now benefit from its programme.

* During a period devoid of successful floats Rod Duke launched Briscoe Group a year ago and those who were lucky enough to get shares at $1 can now enjoy a price of more than $2.60. Duke has ridden the retail boom more successfully than most and now has a war chest of $50 million.

* Wally Stone's name may not ring any bells in Auckland but he has had a huge impact on tourism. Thanks to Whale Watch, of which he is executive chairman, visitor numbers to Kaikoura have risen from under 5000 in 1987 to close to 200,000 last year.

* Craig Norgate took on an incredibly difficult - and important - role when he took the helm of Fonterra. So far he has ridden through the industry feuds, commodity price downturns and political sniping with skill and dignity. But the big test will be whether he is still there in a year .

* In a good year for the building industry, Mark Binns has seen Fletcher Construction score most of the big jobs. Perhaps most significant of all, in an industry famous for its disputes, it's hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about Binns.

* Another IT company to shrug off dismal times is IBM, which achieved a 19 per cent rise on its New Zealand profit, and much of the credit for that goes to local boss Nick Lambert. Lambert is also president of the Information Technology Association and has created hopes of it becoming a more effective industry group.

* Kim Ellis has run Waste Management very successfully as a business. But his biggest impact has been to transform its image from one of environmental vandal to an advocate of sustainable development.

* John Widdup, the mild-mannered head of Westfield NZ, has shown the effectiveness of charm. In short order, he has settled the turf war over Newmarket malls, bought out rival 277 and got the mall rolling along very nicely.

So, against such strong competition, why Norris?

Three reasons really.

First, for his courage in taking on the job in the first place. A lot of his colleagues thought he was mad to risk his reputation as a successful head of ASB Bank by trying to rescue a lame duck national carrier in an industry where hardly anyone is making money.

Second, for his remarkable leadership in turning the business around. Air NZ is making money again, the share price has climbed, a clear strategy has been developed, staff morale has hugely improved and the airline is going places again. Apart from the odd querulous performance on television and radio - which belie Norris' personal charm - it's hard to think what he could have done better.

Third, for the boldness of his decision to safeguard the future of the company and the investment of its shareholders by seeking an alliance with its most ferocious competitor. That proposal may or may not merit consumer enthusiasm but there is no doubting its commercial logic, its economic significance ... or its sheer chutzpah!