Man about town Ricardo Simich brings you Society Insider. This week, inside Damian McKenzie and Georgia O’Sullivan’s Fiji family holiday ahead of their pregnancy announcement, and how his All Black teammates are preparing for their new arrivals. Plus, why Kiwi tech mogul Max Ferguson returned
Society Insider: All Black Damian McKenzie and Georgia O’Sullivan’s Fiji family holiday before baby announcement
Subscribe to listen
Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?
Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
Damian McKenzie and Georgia O'Sullivan, Claudia and Ethan de Groot, and Hannah and Beauden Barrett are all preparing to welcome new babies to their families; Kiwi tech mogul Max Ferguson (right) shares why he returned to NZ. Photo / Herald composite
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
“We are both beyond excited to be expecting and are very grateful to be starting a family together,” they said.
The news comes less than a month after McKenzie’s older brother, former professional rugby player Marty, welcomed his first child, son Porter, with his wife Bridget.
The Fiji family holiday included O’Sullivan’s parents – Waikato-based legendary jockey and trainer Lance and wife Bridgette – as well as her sister Caitlin, an Ellerslie Racing ambassador, and her husband, former professional football player turned commercial real estate broker, Tom Doyle. Caitlin and Tom married in February at Red Barn on the O’Sullivans’ sprawling 200ha Piarere dairy farm and estate, Rockspring.
Society Insider is told the family stayed at the five-star resort Sixth Senses on Malolo Private Island, Fiji, in a multi-roomed residence, which comes with private pools, fully equipped kitchens and sun decks and can cost from $8000 per night.
The resort has a wellness spa set in lush jungle, and it’s understood the family made use of pampering and healing treatments, as well as enjoying pool time and watersports. On Saturday night, after a few games of cards, the laptop came out so the family could watch the racing beam in from Ellerslie, where one of Lance’s Wexford Stables horses, Waitak, was racing.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
The gelding comfortably won the Livamol Classic thoroughbred race at the Ellerslie meet, and has now won four of his last five starts. Racing commentators are saying this season will be career-defining for the horse.
Sources close to the couple tell Society Insider that O’Sullivan cannot wait to be a mum, and she thinks McKenzie will make a stellar dad.
Now home, they are enjoying time at McKenzie’s stunning $3.5 million compound on a Waikato estate south of Hamilton, which he purchased in April and he and O’Sullivan moved into in May.
Sources say the couple wanted to wait a full six months before going public with their exciting news so they could settle into their new home and life together.
Society Insider first reported the pair were dating last September, although they met a decade ago when McKenzie was attending the University of Waikato.
McKenzie will travel to Chicago with the All Blacks in the coming days as they kick off their Northern Tour. On his return, the pair are said to be planning a babymoon together.
It’s an exciting time for O’Sullivan’s career as well – she and sister Caitlin have launched a new business venture called O’Sullivan Marketing.
Drawing on their combined 15 years of experience in the industry, the sisters now employ two fulltime staff, with another vacancy to fill.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
The business has more than a dozen clients, including Mount Maunganui fashion label Sisters and Co and Auckland contracting firm Build.
McKenzie’s fellow All Black, Ethan de Groot, 27, and his wife, people and culture business partner Claudia, 28, announced last week they were expecting a baby girl. Like McKenzie and O’Sullivan, Claudia tells Society Insider the pair will welcome their first child early in the new year.
The couple, who have dated for more than five years, got engaged in 2022 and married in a picturesque wedding at Jacks Point in Queenstown last January.
They are based in Dunedin and last year bought a modernist four-bedroom home on a large lifestyle block on the hills of Otago Harbour with stunning waterviews, with an estimated value of nearly $1.8m.
The de Groots might not have had a break away but last week some special arrivals were delivered at their home, with Claudia telling Society Insider “we were lambing at our house”.
On the slopes of their lifestyle block, the de Groots have a pregnant ewe and, in a midnight lambing session, Claudia helped Ethan deliver two newborns.
Elsewhere, All Black Beauden Barrett, 34, and his wife, influencer Hannah, 30, have been enjoying a family babymoon in Queenstown, after last month announcing they were expecting their third child.
The couple, who married in the summer of 2019 on Rakino Island, have two daughters – Billie, who had her 5th birthday last month, and 2-year-old Coco.
The Barretts had an idyllic time staying at Millbrook Resort, famous for its golf course. The whole family got in on the putting action, and the famous Millbrook ducks delighted Billie and Coco.
The Barretts also caught up with Rich List property developer Kurt Gibbons, his wife Makere and their children, who have made Queenstown their family base after selling their Marine Parade, Auckland mansion for well over $30m earlier this year. Gibbons has a number of high-profile developments under way in South Otago.
Gibbons opened a bottle of Château Latour Grand Vin for red wine-loving Beauden, who now has his own premium wine order service, Beau Jour, which Society Insider revealed earlier this year.
Depending on the vintage, a bottle of Grand Vin can go into the thousands of dollars.
Five years ago, Society Insider reported Barrett, Gibbons and former All Black Israel Dagg were building holiday homes together in Queenstown.
Those plans together never came to fruition. However, Gibbons and Barrett are still directors of a company called The Triangle Limited.
The pair both own a one-third share; the other shareholder is Nicholas Patterson of the generational construction business BK Builders.
Companies Office records show the classification of the business as rental/residential, with Triangle filing a return every year since its incorporation in 2018.
Barrett and Gibbons didn’t respond to Society Insider’s request for comment on what might be happening with Triangle.
Meet the Kiwi tech mogul helping shape New Zealand’s growing sector
New Zealand tech mogul Max Ferguson, who estimates his business to be worth more than $100m, has revealed to Society Insider why he returned to Christchurch after a decade in California’s Silicon Valley.
Ferguson, 34, the founder and chief executive of Lumin, says he wants to change New Zealand’s business future, to ensure the country can retain its top talent, rather than Kiwis having to move overseas to make it big.
New Zealand has world-class talent, he says, but historically people have had to leave to build a global company.
“I want to be part of the generation that changes that,” he tells Society Insider.
Lumin is a cloud-based platform that lets users edit, annotate, sign and collaborate on any document, from a web browser or phone.
Used by corporate giants including Spotify, Netflix, Airbnb and Uber, as well as F&M Bank in the United States, Lumin has experienced an incredible growth curve and has 122 million users globally.
The business idea came to Ferguson while he was working with the Student Volunteer Army after the 2011 Christchurch Earthquakes. He went on to work as an engineer during the city’s rebuild in 2013, and it was then he launched the first version of Lumin.
A year later, he went on his own personal journey studying for his PhD at Stanford University, which was the perfect complement to grow his business.
“A decade or so ago, the American appetite was much higher for success,” Ferguson says, which is why he stayed in the States to grow his business.
Ferguson says the scene in San Francisco was “surreal”, recalling times he was sitting in coffee shops in Palo Alto, and the person at the next table was running a multibillion-dollar company.
He says it was common to hear conversations like “... we might need to invest another billion dollars to get this product working”.
“That was a totally different way of thinking than the local tech industry in Christchurch, where $50k investments were common,” Ferguson says.
He would occasionally see people like Google chief executive Sundar Pichai out for dinner, Apple chief executive Tim Cook at Starbucks, or Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan trying to find a car park in Palo Alto.
Yet he is quick to point out that mega-wealthy tech people tend to stay very low-profile, instead spending most of their time working on new products and ideas.
He returned to Christchurch five years ago and since then has been working hard to help build a thriving local tech sector. He enjoys mentoring young entrepreneurs and speaking at universities to inspire the next wave of founders.
Ferguson is helping other NZ start-ups, recently investing in automated tax-paying platform Lodg and property renting and tenant platform Renti.
Since basing the business back in New Zealand, Ferguson says the culture of “anything is possible” is now simmering away here.
“The US attitude is if you fail, try again, whereas in New Zealand the thought process was failure is not an option.”
When looking for start-ups to work with, Ferguson says he seeks “founders who have a deep connection to the problem they are solving – people who aren’t just chasing a trend.
“They need to have immense resilience and a clear vision for how their Kiwi idea can scale to the world.”
Ferguson is enjoying his success in down-to-earth Kiwi fashion. He has recently bought a smart central city abode with his partner, Elizabeth Esson, the national adviser at the Department of Conservation.
The pair enjoy walking to work rather than driving.
He finds peace and serenity in growing herbs and planting trees in the garden, which he says is a welcome break from the madness of running a tech company.
When he is not travelling the globe for business, he and Esson ski in New Zealand and around the world.
“We have been to almost every major ski destination in the world, including Vail in Colorado, Jackson Hole in Wyoming, Big Ski in Montana, Les Trois Vallées and Courchevel in France, and all the Californian ski mountains.” This year, the couple is going to Banff in Canada.
Currently, Lumin is focusing on being more creative, and to do that, Ferguson says they are hiring designers and marketers in New Zealand who want to work on new AI products.
“The dream is to look back in 20 years and see a thriving New Zealand tech sector that we had a small part in helping to build.”
Party People of the Week
Sayso launch at QT
Boutique PR, communications and talent management company Sayso (previously NSPR), gathered clients, media and friends of the business together last Monday evening to celebrate the launch of the new name and brand identity. The event was held at Rooftop at QT in Auckland’s Viaduct, part of the EVT group, which is a Sayso client.
Sayso directors Niki Schuck, Kate Grant and Rebecca Reid hosted guests for an after-work drink, celebrating the next chapter of the business.
Guests chatted over cocktails dreamed up by the Rooftop at QT bar team and featuring Roots Dry Gin, supplied by Elemental Distillers for the occasion; another one of Sayso’s clients. The canapés were the Mediterranean-inspired fare for which Rooftop at QT is known, with standouts including the goat cheese profiteroles with honey and pistachio, and the chicken souvlaki skewers with toum garlic sauce.
Attendees included representatives from several Sayso clients, including House of Travel chief operating officer Dave Fordyce, Orbit director Brendan Drury, Crockers chief executive Darren Powell, ecostore and Fairground Foundation founder Malcolm Rands, public speaker Jess Stuart, QT Auckland GM Michael Stamboulidis, and social change advocate Richie Hardcore.
There was also a strong media presence, with NZ Herald Editor-at-Large Shayne Currie, NZ Herald Live News Managing Editor Alanah Eriksen, Coast host Lorna Riley, House of Wellness editor Vanessa Marshall and NZ Woman’s Weekly editor Marilynn McLachlan.
The Tribe’s all-nighter
Auckland’s newest accommodation offering, Tribe Hotel on Fort St, threw a chic all-nighter last week to celebrate its debut in New Zealand.
Movers and shakers of the influencing scene got to experience their first stay at Tribe, with a night full of culture, craft, and comfort in what’s being billed as Auckland’s most affordable and design-forward accommodation.
Guests enjoyed Bajan Californian delicacies provided by the in-house eatery Sienna, creating their own mango margaritas with The Cocktail Guys, a paint and Sip hosted by Paint Vine, and a crochet workshop hosted by Mini Crochet.
Attendees included TikTok stars Alana Vale, Jessie Vale and Isabella Ross; video game streamer Aziaa; and fashion and lifestyle influencers Estella Gapes, Jess Molina, Zoe Kerr, Petra Pocock, Josh Young, Sophie Negus and Jessie Kirk.
Fifteen Years of Nick Von K
Nick Von K celebrated 15 years of jewellery craftsmanship and artistry earlier this month, with an intimate Retrospective Exhibition VIP Night at his Karangahape Rd studio in the atmospheric La Gonda Arcade.
Von K has become synonymous with otherworldly elegance and craftsmanship that fuses fantasy with fine art, with his creations worn by Lady Gaga, Rita Ora, Taika Waititi, Zoë Bell and Colin Mathura-Jeffree.
Guests, including Mathura-Jeffree, models Chichi Nyangoni, Amon Tyson, and actor Vinnie Bennett, mingled over champagne and canapés while admiring archival pieces that included gothic silver skulls, a tooth carved from pounamu, and the sculptural gold engagement rings that have become Von K’s modern signature.
The retrospective also unveiled limited-edition revival designs available exclusively on the night, a nod to collectors who have followed Von K since his early rock‘n’roll days, revelling in the spirit of rebellion tempered by refinement.
Ricardo Simich has been with the Herald since 2008 where he contributed to The Business Insider. In 2012 he took over Spy at the Herald on Sunday, which has since evolved into Society Insider. The weekly column gives a glimpse into the worlds of the rich and famous.