Ms Marian Johnson, MNZM, of Christchurch, for services to technology and business
Marian Johnson was CEO of the Ministry of Awesome (MoA), an innovation hub which provides support to startups, a coworking space, and a mentoring community for founders in Christchurch. She is Chairwoman of MoA’s Electrify Programmes. She led establishment of Founder Catalyst, an early-stage startup incubator; Electrify Aotearoa, New Zealand’s first women startup founders’ conference; and Electrify Accelerator, New Zealand’s only women founders’ startup accelerator. She is a member of the inaugural New Zealand Startup Council and Chair for the New Zealand HiTech Trust. As a member of the Startup Advisors Council, Ms Johnson helped deliver the Upstart Nation Report, advocating for innovation-friendly improvements in New Zealand government settings.