Other Kiwi high-flyers

Greg Foran, Walmart CEO

Foran began his career packing supermarket shelves in Hamilton in the 1970s, and in the 1990s was one of two men Warehouse founder Sir Stephen Tindall hand-picked as his potential successor. In 2014 he was appointed chief executive of Walmart, which runs 4000-plus US stores.

Ross McEwan, Royal Bank of Scotland CEO

McEwan was named chief executive of Britain’s biggest publicly-owned lender in 2013. Before heading to the UK, McEwan was one of the youngest chief executives in New Zealand. He ran the local operations of French insurance company AXA and held personnel-type positions at Unilever, Dunlop and National Mutual.

Simon Walker, Institute of Directors director general

Walker was the communications secretary to the Queen and a special adviser to Prime Minister John Major before taking up the top position at the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association. He leads the Institute of Directors and is its primary spokesman on issues including tax, Europe, regulation, trade and corporate governance. He was previously a TVNZ journalist and communications director for the NZ Labour Party.

Helen Clark, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme

The former New Zealand Prime Minister took up the high-powered UN position in 2009 and is the first woman to lead the organisation. Clark lost out last October to former Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Guterres to become the next UN Secretary-General.