Mr Geoffrey Whitcher, of Auckland, ONZM, for services to business and education
As New Zealand’s first Equity Management Director, Mr Whitcher pioneered capital market approaches that have advantaged many New Zealand enterprises. He helped organise the Knowledge Wave Conferences, which led to the establishment of KEA, a global network of expatriate New Zealanders. As the Commercial Director of the University of Auckland Developments, he argued for the addition of a business incubator to the International Centre for Entrepreneurship, and he also served on the Centre’s Board. He established and chaired the steering programme for Spark, now Velocity, the University of Auckland’s Entrepreneurship Programme. As a founding director of the University of Auckland Business School’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, he was involved with the design and operation of the Master of Bioscience Enterprise and the Master of Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship.