NZRise board members Victoria MacLennan and Don Christie were named alongside fellow industry leaders Paul Matthews of ITP and Craig Young of TUANZ as the 20th most powerful people in the NZ Technology scene by the NZ Herald.
The article “The 40 most powerful people on the NZ Technology scene” is behind the Herald paywall. It contains an impressive line up with Peter Beck at #1 and other highly successful entrepreneurs like Sir Stephen Tindall, the CEO’s of NZ’s largest Telco’s, Ministers Woods and Faafoi, Sir Peter Jackson, the Privacy Commissioner and Chief Censor – to name just a few.
On NZRise specifically the commentators said:
“The lobbyists
Back in 2010, a spat began over whether NZ needed software patents. Victoria MacLennan and Don Christie – who both ran (and still run) local IT companies, thought the measure was too expensive and impractical for Kiwi companies in the fast moving tech world. While lobbying (ultimately successfully), they realised that the ICT industry groups of the time were dominated by local subsidiaries of the multinational tech giants. Thus, NZRise was born – which has since agitated, with considerable success, on issues such as copyright under the TPP and government tendering rules. Its influence was notable with IRD’s multi-billion upgrade, where meetings with ministers helped local outfits get a foot in the door. MacLennan remains a co-chair of NZRise; Christie has just stepped down as co-chair, but says that will only allow him to be, if anything, more outspoken.”
It is fantastic for NZRise to be recognised for the tireless work we undertake on behalf of the New Zealand owned Digital Technology industry.
The NZRise Board.