Graphic / Kelly Martin
They may not have thousands of followers on social media, but they are the influencers of Auckland. They keep the cogs and wheels of our fair city turning. Spy Editor Ricardo Simich reveals who wields the power behind the City of Sails.
Kelly Martin
Her name is behind New Zealand's biggest TV shows including Shortland Street, Outrageous Fortune, Westside, 800 Words and The Bad Seed.
Before becoming the chief executive of South Pacific Pictures in 2012, the 52-year-old worked in television for more than 20 years, at both the major networks, TVNZ and MediaWorks.
Martin is also on the executive of the Screen Production and Development Association of NZ and president of Women in Film & Television New Zealand.
Chris and Helen Cherry
Starting their brands Workshop and Helen Cherry in the 1980s in dual stores in the iconic Century Arcade on Auckland's High St, the pair have kept their brands cool, with millennials buying their threads alongside their hip grandparents.
They will toast 40 years in business next year and now have stores in Ponsonby, Newmarket and throughout New Zealand.
Their collaborations with new young things, as well as established artists like Max Gimblett, have secured a fashion house that lasts.
Graham Wall
He's the man to enlist to sell your house if it is worth millions or if you are a visiting bigwig and want to rent a gilded pad.
Wall has extended his Midas touch to sons Ollie and Andrew, forming a boutique real estate agency to be reckoned with.
Last year, the trio secured the biggest sale of the year — selling Paula and Simon Herbert their $27.5m waterfront property on New Zealand's most expensive street, Cremorne St in Herne Bay.
Wall has also been credited for the establishment of cycleways in this country: after meeting English cyclists on the beach, he suggested a national network to mayor John Banks, who then told PM John Key. The pair met and Key announced the network at his Job Summit.
And last year Wall visited the most cherished piece of real estate in the US, the White House, where he was shown around by good mate and fellow Kiwi Christopher Liddell, Donald Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy co-ordination.
Richard Sigley
With dozens of establishments under his name, Sigley could well be the country's biggest restaurateur.
His Nourish Group owns and operates 15 of the country's top restaurants. Auckland brands include Euro, Soul, Jervois Steakhouse, Crab Shack, The Culpeper, Coley & Punch and the new Andiamo on Ponsonby's Jervois Rd.
He also owns Charlie Farley's on Waiheke and Brew on Quay in the Britomart, and sold his Better Bar Company, which runs 11 gastropubs, a few years back to a publicly-listed company for a reported $36 million.
Ngarimu Blair
He's one of Auckland's most influential Māori leaders. The elected representative of the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust, Blair has been the driving force behind Kainga Tuatahi, a development of 30 medium-density homes with a strong emphasis on community, on Kupe St near Bastion Point.
He also led the fight against the Government's move to dispose of surplus Crown land without iwi redress, and established what Ngāti Whātua says is "the largest ecological restoration project on the Auckland isthmus, at Bastion Point".
Blair has played a significant role in the success of Whai Rawa, the commercial arm of the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Trust.
When he was nominated for the Herald's Business Leader of the Year Award in 2015, its total net assets had risen from $390 million to $458m in a year, and the value of commercial investment properties was $727m.
The 43-year-old is a University of Auckland Māori and geography graduate and has lived and breathed the celebration of Māori tikanga in Auckland since he was a teenager.
Sonny Bill Williams
He might be a god in the sporting world, but it's how he lives his life off the field that elevates him to the top sportsperson of Auckland, even when his Super Rugby team the Blues are on a losing streak.
In 2015, Williams travelled to Lebanon as an ambassador for Unicef to highlight the plight of children living in Syrian refugee camps.
Spy knows 33-year-old Williams is the first to help a friend or organisation with personal appearances or donating auction items for worthy causes.
When tragedy struck Christchurch's Muslim community on March 15, Williams was a light within the community.
Steve Armitage
Armitage markets New Zealand's biggest city to the world.
The 40-year-old general manager of destination at Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development focuses on the city's visitor economy, making the Queen City not only a gateway to New Zealand but a standalone place to visit.
His team promotes and celebrates the wonderful big and small things the City of Sails has to offer, utilising our best to show off to the world and, when the big influencers come to Auckland, making sure they share and enjoy our story.
Lizzie Leuchars
She lights up our social pages nearly every week, as well as every room she enters.
As well as all the glamorous events she attends, the corporate events manager at SkyCity organises a host of charity events including International Women's Day fundraiser Te Huringa o te tai o nga wāhine, (Turning the Tide for Girls) and the Tower De Force, a fitness event raising money for military veterans.
She's also behind the Bold Steps Conference, an event where people talk about their career moves, and her most glamorous event is the Melbourne Cup Day's Fashion on Federal, a long lunch held at five different SkyCity restaurants, including a fashion parade through the outlets.
Caroline Forsyth
Waiheke Island is becoming the playground of the rich and famous and Forsyth is chairwoman of its growing biennial arts fest, Sculpture on the Gulf, a 2km coastal walk featuring work from mainly local artists, which attracts a coterie of Aucklanders and tourists.
She got a footing on the island as part-owner of Te Whau Vineyard.
Forsyth is big on supporting local artists and getting their pieces into ritzy residences on the island. She previously had a career as a foreign service officer with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mark Kneebone
Kneebone brought Adele to Mt Smart and Pink to Spark Arena.
Head of promotions at entertainment company Live Nation, he is behind some of the biggest musical tours to Auckland.
He's also the co-promoter of the New Zealand leg of St Jerome's Laneway Festival, the event that changed the way our city closes its summer gig season.
The 39-year-old former Sacred Heart student first studied law at Auckland University of Technology before changing to communications.
Tina Symmans
Symmans, a former director of Emirates Team New Zealand, is the chairwoman of the America's Cup Event Ltd and will be responsible for the biggest sporting event on our shores in 2021.
She has more than 25 years' experience in advising companies, particularly in the fields of strategic communications and corporate and government relations and is currently making inroads in all kinds of circles to get Cup fever going.
She has already been schmoozing rich listers, hosting sailing lessons.
Not bad for someone who was happy to get the vacuum cleaner out at Team NZ's base in Bermuda during the 2017 challenge.
Daniel Newman
Sources say Auckland Council is split into two teams, Mayor Phil Goff's A team, and the opposition B team.
The latter are slowly getting the upper hand, dealing fatal blows to some of Goff's initiatives around the council table.
The person leading the charge — with the political skills to do the hard yards behind the scenes — is Manurewa-Papakura councillor Newman.
The most notable win for the B team came against the stadium strategy.
At the 11th hour, they won a reprieve for speedway at Western Springs, allowing it to stay at the council-owned venue for at least another year.
David Hisco
If money makes the world go around it makes sense that the chief executive of the nation's largest bank wields considerable influence in Auckland's commercial world.
But ANZ chief David Hisco has also been actively engaged in public debate around issues like Auckland's housing shortage and infrastructure challenges.
Hisco, in his mid-50s, took a $300k cut in his pay packet this year but still banked more than $3.35 million.
He's also been known to liven up the occasional business event by taking to the stage with his electric guitar.
At one black-tie ANZ gala dinner he even jumped on stage with Dragon to sing an impromptu version of April Sun in Cuba.
Mark Knoff-Thomas
During his five-year tenure as chief executive of the Newmarket Business Association, Knoff-Thomas has moved with the times, developing a strategy for the shopping precinct that has focused on the business community along with the retailers.
The association has carefully juggled the Westfield redevelopment and Auckland Council roadworks that have been frustrating local business.
With the mall set to reopen later this year, including a new David Jones department store, Knoff-Thomas will be armed to take on rival Sylvia Park. He runs the Newmarket Business Awards, and the New-market Magazine he created has also been a huge success.
Lisa King
King is the founder and chief executive of Eat my Lunch, the social enterprise that has given away more than one million lunches to children in need at the rate of one for every packed lunch purchased by a customer.
Four years ago, King was inspired to make a difference for children who were going to school without food.
With the help of chef Michael Meredith, she has done just that.
In March, the 41-year-old was named MYOB Woman Entrepreneur of the Year, and represented the country at the Impact2 World Forum in Paris.
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