NZIM merges to become Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand

The New Zealand Institute of Management, the professional association for managers in New Zealand, and the Institute of Managers and Leaders, Australia’s peak body for managers and leaders, have joined forces in a merger to become the Institute of Managers and Leaders Australia and New Zealand (IML ANZ).

A media release from the new body says that this merger means IML ANZ has become the preeminent trans-Tasman professional association and accreditation body for managers and leaders.

The institute will now award New Zealand’s top professionals with Chartered Manager, the internationally-recognised professional designation accrediting management and leadership excellence.

The release says the merger has occurred “in view of a long line of synergies between the histories of the two professional associations. Both founded over 70 years ago, IML and NZIM have set the management agenda in their respective geographies through education and training. However, universities and business schools in both countries began to offer competitive management courses, both IML and NZIM moved their businesses away from education and training towards membership for managers and leaders.”

IML assesses and awards the Chartered Manager designation through a partnership with the Chartered Management Institute in the UK. Through the merger with NZIM, IML ANZ will now launch the accreditation in New Zealand and seek to form ‘Pathway Partnerships’ with the country’s universities and business schools to put graduates on a route to receiving chartered status.

IML ANZ will also offer its members a suite of management and leadership focused products and services.

The launch of the new institute will also see the opening of an office in Auckland.

David Pich FIML, chief executive of IML ANZ said: “We look forward to leveraging NZIM’s well-respected network and leadership expertise, along with IML’s accreditation and partnerships opportunities. Together as IML ANZ, we will offer Australia and New Zealand’s managers and leaders a … globalised leadership body that supports professional development at every stage of their career.

“We warmly welcome NZIM’s members into IML ANZ with a real sense of hope for the future.”

Katheren Leitner, chair of NZIM, says the merger with IML is a huge step in the history of NZIM. “It is one that I and my fellow directors strongly believe is in the best interest not only for our members, but for New Zealand’s management and leadership community.”

She says that by merging to form IML ANZ, the association will now be positioned at the forefront of management and leadership across both New Zealand and Australia.