Sir John Kirwan, David Seymour and Alexandra Martelli, All Black Will Jordan and tech entrepreneurs Erika and William Palmer.
Man about town Ricardo Simich brings you Society Insider. This week, All Black Will Jordan has more than on-field wins to celebrate; Sir John Kirwan’s sweet family business; the multi-millionaire tech couple tackling Silicon Valley.
All Black star Will Jordan shone in his team’s win over the Springboks at Eden Park last Saturday. But the 27-year-old Crusaders player is also proving just as sharp off the field, as he shapes his business career.
Late last month, Jordan graduated from the University of Canterbury with a Bachelor of Commerce, having balanced the degree with seven years as a professional rugby player.
It’s been a big year so far for Jordan. A month before he graduated, he proposed to his partner of 10 years, Mackenzie Webb, in a romantic location at one of their favourite holiday spots in Fiji. In between a few rounds of golf and cocktails by the pool at the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa, Jordan presented Webb with a stunning baguette-cut diamond.
It’s been four years since Webb graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Science from Ara Institute of Canterbury, and she described seeing her fiancé finally graduate as “no small feat”.
Webb recently started working at Christchurch-based healthy eating advocacy business, Two Raw Sisters, as a creative content and marketing designer.
Jordan has also dipped his feet in the commercial world. He has been an ambassador for Harcourts Grenadier in Christchurch since 2022 – the branch is the South Island’s number one Harcourts franchise and number two in New Zealand.
Harcourts Grenadier managing director Andy Freeman tells Society Insider he is proud of Jordan’s graduation and equally thrilled for his engagement. “Will’s humble, hard-working and incredibly dedicated, and having him represent our firm is a natural synergy,” Freeman says.
Freeman says that when Jordan films advertisements for the company, his genuine nature speaks volumes.
But it’s not your typical All Black ambassadorial deal; it’s one built on two decades of friendship. Freeman’s son Logan and Jordan started playing rugby together when they were 5 years old and have been great friends ever since.
Freeman once coached Jordan, who went through Fendalton Open Air School (now known as Tūora Fendalton School), Cobham Intermediate School and then Christchurch Boys’ High School with Logan, who started his own sock business in high school which, at age 18, enabled him to buy his first property. He now owns five.
Having lifelong friends in the real estate business made it easy for Jordan to get advice when he bought his first house in St Albans in 2020. He sold that and purchased his second home last year and is understood to have spent an estimated $2 million on a five-bedroom, two-storey contemporary home on a sought-after street, again in St Albans. With open-plan living and dining, an entertainer’s kitchen, and a lounge opening out to the terrace, it will be the perfect home for the newlyweds.
A hint at Jordan’s future business ambitions started two years ago when he registered WTJ Investments Ltd. Perhaps in a nod to his own commercial appeal, he also registered Will Jordan Promotions Ltd.
After nearly a decade of bringing a taste of Italy to New Zealand, Sir John Kirwan and his family are taking Mānuka honey to the Italians. And very soon, Kirwan’s youngest son, Luca, 25, will launch his own slice of Italy: An Italian spritz made here in New Zealand.
Francesca, 31, Kirwan’s eldest child and co-founder of the Italian importing business JK14 (named after his legendary All Black number), tells Society Insider that after eight years of importing their favourite Italian wines and food to New Zealand, the pair decided it was time to flip the script – and start exporting.
“For our first Kiwi product for Italy, we thought Mānuka honey has a point of difference, especially with its medicinal qualities that we can teach our Italian friends about,” says Francesca.
She says JK14 Mānuka honey has been made through family friends in Clevedon, who have hives in Taranaki.
“We have launched the UMF quality system range of 5+, 15+ and 20+ into Italy,” she says.
The UMFs are priced accordingly for 25, 40 and 80 euros, respectively, for 250g.
The family is selling the product through a newly created Italian website and will move into retail from their second home in the city of Treviso, in northeast Italy. “We will then target Italian pharmacies nationwide, which are a blend of health shops,” she says.
The family has been spending a lot more time in the homeland of their mother, Lady Fiorella.
“Mum just came home after two months, last weekend, and dad has also been in Italy this year, doing lots of mental health awareness talks that have resonated,” says Francesca.
Brother Niko, 30, is based in Sardinia, playing professional football for Trapani 1905. Next year, the entire family will reunite for the first time in two years since Francesca’s wedding to Italian medical devices engineer Luca Ortali in Treviso. This time, it’s Niko’s turn to marry his Italian fiancée, Claudia Carraro, in a village near Treviso.
Francesca has been balancing new motherhood, raising her and Ortali’s 15-month-old son, Carlo Jon (CJ) with starting their new venture. “We have used no daycare as I can work with him on my hip, which has been lovely, and it’s also helped me stay on top of raising him bilingually,” she says.
Francesca says she couldn’t have run JK14 without the help of her little brother Luca, who has been home in Auckland since sailing for Luna Rossa in the America’s Cup last year in Barcelona. “Luca has stepped into the business, making it a true family affair; he knows the stories and the people,” says Francesca.
Luca stayed in training for the next A Cup in Italy, until he recently received the news that Team NZ had written out his role of cyclor in their new rules. Francesca says he has also been working on a new product, which will hit the market in a few weeks.
Luca and his old rowing mate, Angus McFarlane, have created a premium Italian-style RTD called Spritzzetto, which they describe as a taste of Italy without the jetlag.
The aperitivo is crafted from Italian bitters and will be sold at select liquor stores, through the JK14 Wines’ website.
This summer, the family is looking forward to enjoying a few drinks at the family bach in Waihī, which was designed by architect Chris Tate.
Kiwi multimillionaire entrepreneurs Erika and William Palmer have got to know some of the biggest founders in tech since relocating to San Francisco earlier this year. Now, they are trying to shake up the app world with their own creations.
The couple left New Zealand in April and tell Society Insider they are currently living in the upscale Russian Hill area and working from a private investor club called Shack15 in San Francisco’s iconic Ferry Building.
“San Francisco is a mecca for a tech founder, particularly at this time in the age of AI – it is ground zero,” says Erika. “We knew going there that the startup culture was prevalent, that’s what it’s famous for, but it gives so much more than what you’d expect.”
“There is no doubt that this year here has been transformative for us as individuals and for our businesses,” Will adds
Those businesses are Cupla, an app that Erika says revolutionises how busy couples connect, and DevRamp, a product Will describes as embedding context into the workflow, so AI behaves like an experienced engineer.
Erika, 35, made a name for herself on the Auckland business scene, co-founding the global entertainment brand Synthony with festival maestro David Elmsly in 2016. Synthony has since been acquired by David Higgins’ company Duco Events.
“I led Synthony for five years, including two years following the Duco acquisition, during Covid,” says Erika. “I love where Duco has taken the business.” Next year, Synthony will return to Auckland’s Domain on March 21.
Fifteen years ago, William, 47, co-founded cinematic management solution Movio with Peter Beguely, which went on to list with Vista Group in 2015. “The business continued to grow fairly rapidly with over 50% of multiplexes globally using our platform, and most of the major studios, including Disney, Fox, Sony and WB,” says Will.
They were glamorous times. The company, through Vista, was listed on the NZX and ASX, and William rubbed shoulders with Hollywood celebrities, including Cate Blanchett and Ryan Gosling. After navigating the company through Covid, William stepped down as CEO of Movio to pursue Cupla, DevRamp and advisory work.
The couple met seven years ago and married at their waterfront Mount Maunganui home in 2021. They welcomed their first child together, Margot Marie, last year.
“Margot has been to 11 countries, which is wild,” says Erika. “We spent a couple of months living and working in Europe in the middle of the year and were lucky enough to enjoy Ibiza with the whole family, which includes Will’s three adult children.”
When Society Insider interviewed the couple, they were enjoying time together in Yosemite with Margot. The family will be home for the summer to enjoy time at their house in Grey Lynn, as well as time at the Mount.
It’s a busy life, but their app could be credited for the couple’s life balance.
“Cupla was born out of the need to solve our own problem,” says Erika. “Will and I were both busy entrepreneurs juggling building businesses with social lives, family and wellness, and found the mental load of managing it all, whilst trying to also prioritise time for each other, completely overwhelming.”
Now, 50% of Cupla’s customers are in the US, followed by the UK, France, Germany and Canada, while New Zealand accounts for only 1% of their users.
Will revealed DevRamp at the Icehouse Showcase event last year, successfully raising growth capital, led by Icehouse with direct investment from private NZ entrepreneurs.
The couple say networking with some of the biggest companies in tech, such as Discord, Nuro, Substack and Oura, has been an incredible experience.
“We knew we needed to be in the action,” says Will.
Last Thursday afternoon, 140 of Auckland’s top corporate clients, health executives and art lovers gathered for the inaugural Artful Minds gala on the 20th floor of Deloitte’s Queen St headquarters.
With sweeping Waitematā views, the atrium became a showcase of New Zealand’s finest art, from Goldie and McCahon to Frances Hodgkins, Max Gimblett and Shane Cotton.
Life-size works, including a striking two-metre Paul Dibble Standing Kowhai stole the show.
The event is organised by the Dementia Auckland Foundation, spearheaded by Directors Jocelyn Weatherall and Patrick Fogarty, and was inspired by an extraordinary act of generosity. Artist Kerry Switzer, who cared for his late wife Rosie through a battle with dementia, donated his entire private collection – a legacy of love that sparked Artful Minds.
In collaboration with Deloitte and Gow Langsford Gallery, the event paired Switzer’s works with outstanding pieces from leading artists.
Gow Langsford generously donated 10% of every sale to Dementia Auckland’s Living Well programme, which helps people with dementia stay connected, active and supported.
A panel of three leading voices in health and research explored cognitive health and the Art of Ageing Well, leaving guests with fresh insight and inspiration.
Adding a poignant touch was the launch of the Respite Feather, hand-crafted in glass by a Māori artist, symbolising the fragility of memory and the strength of love. Sixty were created in natural hues, each destined to be a meaningful keepsake in support of Living Well.
Among the attendees were the CEO of Dementia NZ, North Marsha Marshall, the CEO of Deloitte Mike Horne, Gow Langsford’s John Gow, artist Kerry Switzer and his daughters Carmen Switzer and Mel McKenzie, CEO of Third Age Health Tony Wai and Wow Events’ Cathy Horton.
On Friday night, Auckland’s Pullman Hotel Ballroom was awash with energy, elegance, and purpose as Kiara Cosmetics’ annual fundraiser, Empower Me Pink, returned. More than 250 guests gathered for an evening of connection, storytelling, and generosity in support of the PINC & STEEL Cancer Rehabilitation Foundation, an organisation dedicated to helping New Zealanders rebuild strength, confidence, and quality of life after cancer.
Guests were welcomed with bespoke cocktails thanks to Batched Cocktails and Alchemy & Tonic, before sitting down to a decadent three-course dinner.
Between courses, the stage came alive with powerful performances: the soulful Ella Monnery brought the room to silence with her vocal set, before the tempo shifted with a high-energy DJ performance from Zeisha. As the evening rolled into the early hours, Doctor J kept the dance floor buzzing with his signature beats, ensuring the cause was celebrated in true style.
Natalie Woodbridge MC’d the night with former journalist Tess Woolcock hosting the panels - sharing the stories of those touched by cancer and reminding attendees that Empower Me Pink is not just about wearing a colour, but about showing up with heart.
Attendees included Act Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour with his fiancée, buyer’s agent Alexandra Martelli, Vice President of Global Philanthropy for RevitaLash Dariel Sidney, Kiara Cosmetics director Annemarie Mason and general manager Ineke Pronk, entrepreneur Edna Swart, bridal designer Trish Peng, actress Moni Meredith, and Dr Catherine Stone, who shared her moving personal story, about her long battle with breast cancer, being diagnosed for the second time last year and her double mastectomy.
This year’s fundraising goal of $50,000 received an incredible boost when RevitaLash announced it would match every dollar raised.
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.