Mr Wayne Wright, of Ōmokoroa, ONZM for services to education and philanthropy
Mr Wayne Wright is a prolific entrepreneur, moving from his first business as a lawn mowing contractor, to a kiwifruit orchard business, to a retaining wall construction company with offices across the United States and Mexico, to a telecommunications company in Alabama. He and his late wife co-established BestStart Educare, originally known as Kidicorp, in Tauranga, and he has grown the business to become New Zealand’s largest Early Childhood Education provider. He has invested more than $60 million in the early childhood education sector, and established the Wright Family Foundation, which has distributed charitable funds of $50 million to support education, arts and social programmes over 10 years. This has included the establishment of several Birthing Centres offering postnatal support, of which Mr Wright has been Chair and advisor.