Cecilia Robinson joins Havelock North based Pie Funds. Photo / Supplied
Cecilia Robinson joins Havelock North based Pie Funds. Photo / Supplied
Major Airport Award for The Kuaka Gateway Project
The Watchman Road Intersection Upgrade Project (The Kuaka Gateway) has scooped the award for Infrastructure Project of the Year at the NZ Airport Association's annual awards held in Auckland. Sponsored by Beca Airports, the awards were presented at a black-tie event heldat The Auckland Museum Events Centre on October 24 before an audience of over 100 representatives from throughout New Zealand's aviation sector.
The Kuaka Gateway was acknowledged as being a special project for the way in which it saw three organisations collaborate in an aspirational and holistic approach to problem solve alongside genuine stakeholder engagement. The results saw a traffic blackspot transformed into a safe and admired environmental statement.
Hawke's Bay Airport CEO Stuart Ainslie was on hand to accept the award and was quick to acknowledge funding partners NZ Transport Agency and Napier City Council as well as the various stakeholders who were so instrumental in enabling the project to be the success that it is. Ainslie points out that the many of the cultural elements of the Kuaka Gateway will be carried through into the redevelopment of the airport's terminal and surrounding forecourt. "We have engaged local artist Jacob Scott to re-design the forecourt in front of the terminal and to inject a cultural overlay into the internal finish."
Entrepreneur Cecilia Robinson joins board of Pie Funds Management Limited
The visionary founder of Kiwi success stories Au Pair Link and My Food Bag has taken a pivotal new role. Cecilia Robinson joins Havelock North based Pie Funds, who is the issuer of the JUNO KiwiSaver Scheme, as a director – a move she says she's absolutely thrilled about. "I'm delighted to work with the Pie team," she said.
"I have a huge amount of respect for what its founder, Mike Taylor, has achieved since inception, growing funds under management from $3m to over $1b and launching its low fee, education-focused KiwiSaver scheme under its JUNO brand." Pie's founder and CEO, Mike Taylor, says Cecilia's appointment to the board comes at an exciting time for both Pie and JUNO. "October has been our biggest month for new JUNO membership since our launch in August 2018 and we added well over 1000 members, so we're in a great position, enjoying strong performance, and growing market share all the time," he says. "However there's always more to do. Cecilia's experience in marketing, and her people and culture focus will help prepare us for new challenges. We like her entrepreneurship mindset and are impressed with her business acumen."
Retail spending growth continues across Hastings district
Continued economic growth in the Hastings district is reflected in the most recent figures on retail spending for Hastings and Havelock North. The upwards retail spending trajectory has been sustained over the past year with another increase in the past three months, according to Marketview figures for the September 2019 quarter released this week. In the Hastings district spending was up 5.6 per cent on the same quarter last year, and transactions up 6.5 per cent.
Havelock North also recorded increased spending and transactions on the year prior - up 5.7 per cent and 6.4 per cent respectively. As with previous quarters, the spending and transaction growth rate outstripped the national results that showed a two per cent increase in spending, and transactions up by 2.2 per cent.
In total $72.08m was spent in Hastings - $51.56m of that by locals and $20.52m by non-locals. Spending in Havelock North totaled $33.54m, again predominantly by locals ($24.47m). Compared to the national figures, local shoppers spent less online than other areas, with 10.5 per cent of the total retail spending conducted via the web, as opposed to 12.6 per cent for the rest of the country. The Marketview figures are compiled from electronic card retail transactions, reported by Statistics NZ to be used for just under 70 per cent of all retail spending.
A look at the week's business news in Hawke's Bay. Photo / File
Young entrepreneur to speak at Hawke's Bay I&E 2019
A young business entrepreneur is set to take the stage at this Friday's Hawke's Bay I&E 2019 event. Dunedin student Georgia Tiatia Fa'atoese Latu, 13, started making eco-friendly sets of poi, with colourful braids, in her living room for a school fundraiser. Her company, Potiki Poi, won the People's Choice Award at the Soda Inc NZ Startup Bootcamp in June. She now sells her merchandise to countries all over the world including France, Australia and the United States. Latu will be sharing her very impressive story that won her the Supreme Trailblazer Award at the 2019 Girlboss Awards. Tickets for this event are still available at the events website. The speaking engagement looks at celebrating the best innovation and entrepreneurship in Hawke's Bay.
