'Emerging leader' humbled by Blake award

Andrew Berry

Sir Peter Blake has always been something of an idol to South Auckland policeman Andrew Berry. So it was with a feeling of great pride that the Otara Senior Sergeant travelled to Wellington during the weekend to be acknowledged by the Sir Peter Blake Trust as one of the country's six young emerging leaders.

"Sir Peter Blake was always an idol, someone I hold in the same vein as Sir Edmund Hillary or Ernest Rutherford - they are true leaders," said Mr Berry before receiving his award.

"It is an amazing thing, very humbling to be recognised by an organisation bearing the name of a person I admired."

The Leadership Awards signal the start of NZ Leadership Week which aims to raise awareness of the importance and impact great leadership makes to the country.

Mr Berry was nominated for the awards by his South Auckland bosses who saw great potential in the 33-year-old policeman.

He was selected as one of the six emerging leaders because of this potential - and the wide ranging work he has done in the community.

The Senior Sergeant has been in the police force for 9 years and has quickly moved up the ranks. He has spent time in the Counties Manukau Child Abuse Team, Burglary Investigation unit and CIB where he worked on Operation Choy - the investigation into the murder of Pizza delivery man Michael Choy.

Today Mr Berry is in charge of the Otara Police station and more than 30 staff.

Before joining the police Mr Berry completed a zoology degree, masters in marine biology, and was responsible for the Project Jonah whale standing response. He also used to be a DOC ranger on Goat Island and honorary fisheries officer.

Mr Berry, who has always had a love of sailing, skippered the police boat during the America's Cup defence in 2000.

It was during that time he meet his idol, Sir Peter, in person.

"He was standing on the pontoon with Prada and the boat tied up. He was right there and I shook his hand and said 'congratulations'. He just had this look of pride and satisfaction of a job well done."

"I certainly didn't imagine then, six years later, that this (winning a Sir Peter Blake leadership award) would have happened."

The head of the award selection panel, Sir Ron Carter, said Mr Berry was a person who was "quite impressive" in areas beyond his policing.

"He's a very widely involved man. He's a real beacon for the police service."

Mr Berry receives a $10,000 scholarship which he can use to further his leadership work and will be given leadership mentoring during the next year.

He hopes to take what he learns back to the people in his policing district.

Sir Peter received his knighthood in 1995 in recognition for his leadership services to sailing and New Zealand.

In 2000 he created his own organisation, Blakexpeditions, which was dedicated to saving the environment. It was on one of these expeditions in the Amazon region that he was attacked and killed by pirates in December 2001. Sir Peter is survived by his wife Lady Pippa Blake - one of the trustees of the Sir Peter Blake Trust - and their two children, Sara-Jane and James.

About the awards

The Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards were launched in 2005 and nominations come from all sectors of society. The selectors are looking for "leaders" not managers. Managers are appointed by people above them, leaders are promoted by the people they head. The most outstanding leader of the year receives the Blake Medal. Six others young emerging leaders receive leadership awards.


Winner of the Blake Medal - 2006

Stephen Tindall


Emerging leaders - 2006

Emeline Afeaki-Mafileo, founder of Affirming Works in Manukau

Andrew Berry, Otara station Senior Sergeant

David McConnell, joint Managing Director of McConnell International and developer of Auckland's Pacific TelstraClear Stadium

Michael Redman, Mayor of Hamilton

Sarah Trotman, Founder of the Small Business Expo in Auckland

Dr Gary Wilson, Dunedin-based chair of the multi-national Antarctic drilling project.