Business figurehead humble about King’s birthday honour

WILLIAM WOODWORTH

One of New Zealand’s most influential businessmen sits in the Marlborough sun, doing the crossword while patting the happy terrier at his feet.

Renwick’s Peter Taylor joins the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2023 Special Honours for services to business.

But the humble award winner wasn’t informed for three weeks after an email from the Prime Minister’s office went to his spam folder.

“It was a bit of a stuff up finding out about the award”, he says “They rang me up three weeks later to let me know. Nobody else knows though – it’s going to be a great surprise for the kids”.

Peter’s career spans the globe with business and advisory roles, before settling back in New Zealand.

Peter worked up the accounting ranks in the UK and Zambia before he, wife Trish and young children moved back to New Zealand. Peter became a partner at Ernst & Young (EY) and building the Darden Business School Executive Leadership Programme in New Zealand, before a 10-year career as Commerce Commissioner. However, Peter not only took, but created opportunities, he explains.

After spending 1993 at the Darden Business School at the University of Virginia, he befriended teaching staff and discussed what became the EY Executive Leadership Programme with Darden in Taupō, upskilling 1,400 New Zealand executive leaders over the next 29 years.

“I loved my time at Darden, made great connections and set my mind to planning and execut ing a world-class executive edu cation for Kiwi businesspeople”, he says.

“In those days Kiwis travelled for expensive executive management