High School looks to create the Next Generation of Business Leaders
Palmerston North Boys' High School hopes to build the business leaders and entrepreneurs of the future when it embarks
on a commerce tour of the United States later this month. Forty senior students will leave New Zealand for a series of
meetings and presentations by outstanding US companies and tertiary institutes.
What makes this commerce tour even more interesting is that Palmerston North Boys' High School has been able to tap into
an extraordinary network of former Kiwis and expat business executives (many who are Old Boys of the School) and who are
now operating companies in the US, from successful start-ups such as Wildfire Interactive (sold to Google Inc.) and
Xero, to large Fortune 500 companies.
“There is a huge international resource of New Zealand grown talent living and working around the globe that were more
than willing to offer their advice and make future connections for our young men,” says Mr Graham Black, who is Head of
Commerce at Palmerston North Boys' High School, and who is leading this tour. “It is just a matter of tapping into this
resource, which it has taken a team of us around two years to do.”
The school believes that business education must go beyond books and the classroom, and that students should be given
the opportunity to experience first hand what is possible. Catherine Robinson agrees. Catherine, formerly from
Wellington, is now based in San Francisco, where she founded the business incubator Kiwi Landing Pad for New Zealand IT
and “high tech” companies who want to establish a presence for themselves in the United States. Catherine believes that
there is a tremendous opportunity to sow the seeds of business innovation and entrepreneurship early in one’s career and
applauds the approach that the school is taking with the Commerce Tour. The Kiwi Landing Pad will be one of the stops
for the commerce tour while the tour is in San Francisco.
For those traveling, this tour is not a case of sitting back and enjoying the hospitality of their hosts; each student
member of the commerce tour will be engaged in an “Apprentice” style competition throughout his time in the US. Students
have all been allocated into business teams, where they will be set business challenges and Apprentice” styled tasks,
and ultimately compete for the Best Young Businessman of the Tour.
Palmerston North Boys' High School would like to acknowledge the assistance of many local businesses and Old Boys,
without who’s help and support this tour would not have happened. The School also acknowledges the support of New
Zealand Trade and Enterprise who offered planning support during the early stages and also shares the School’s belief of
developing business innovation and entrepreneurship among our emerging NZ business talent.
The tour arrives at Los Angeles on Wed, April 16th. After meetings and presentations in Southern California, they will
then travel to San Francisco before flying to the East Coast where they will visit companies and institutions in New
York and Boston. The commerce tour arrives back at New Zealand on Saturday, 3rd of May.
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