Achievers enter NZ’s hall of fame

Contributors to amphibious vehicles, precision electromagnets, fashion design and a good night’s sleep make up the list of nine New Zealand entrepreneurs announced as inductees into this year’s Business Hall of Fame.

The list includes five living laureates (Bill Buckley, Dame Trelise Cooper, Alan Gibbs and Graeme and Craig Turner) and four posthumous laureates ( James Dilworth, Elspeth Kennedy, Tony Nightingale and Sir Russell Matthews).

Head of the selection panel Sir Eion Edgar acknowledged the difference the inductees had made to business in New Zealand.

Bill Buckley is founder of Buckley Systems, the world’s leading supplier of precision electromagnets used in the manufacture of more than 90 per cent of the world’s silicon chips.

Dame Trelise Cooper established her iconic fashion design business in the early 1980s and opened her first boutique in 1985.

Developing 11 automobiles, and with more than 50 patents in his name, Alan Gibbs is one of New Zealand’s top inventors. Brothers Graeme and Craig are the third generation of Turners to run Sleepyhead.

James Dilworth, born in Ireland in 1815, was a successful businessman.

Elspeth Kennedy became the first woman to become a member of the New Zealand stock exchange.

Tony Nightingale was an innovator, taking the Resene company multinational, and Sir Russell Matthews established Russell Matthews & Company, which became New Zealand’s largest roading contractor.