2016 Hi-Tech Awards winners announced
Record number attend gala dinner
Highlights:
• Vista Group named Hi-Tech Company of the Year
• Katherine Corich and Sam Morgan inducted into the NZ Hi-Tech Hall of Fame
• 90 Seconds takes out two awards
• Precision Seafood Harvesting win the new Maori Innovation Award
• 900 attendees at record breaking gala dinner
Auckland, May 20, 2016 – Vista Group was the big winner at the 2016 Hi-Tech Awards gala dinner in Auckland tonight, claiming the PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year category. A record breaking 900 people attended the awards dinner, held to celebrate the successes of New Zealand
high-tech companies across 13 categories and to recognise two new Flying Kiwis.
In selecting Vista Group as the winner the judges said, “Vista Group demonstrated strong growth with an offering that
truly has worldwide potential. They have a well thought out and tailored product and market knowledge and a fantastic
understanding of their target market. They have a great management team that hasn’t been afraid to go hard to secure
deals around the world and have forged a strong relationship in the key market of partner in China. A great Kiwi company
taking on the world and winning.”
Another big winner tonight was 90 Seconds, winning two awards to take out both the IBM Most Innovative Company Award and the ATEED Best Technology Solution for the Creative Sector Award. The judges remarked, “90 Seconds is the Uber and AirBnB of video production, having developed a genuinely disruptive
scalable model with global aspirations. They are achieving impressive revenue growth and expanding globally, while
maintaining strong levels of profitability. 90 Seconds is well positioned to be a world leader in a $9 billion
industry.”
The Hi-Tech Awards judges said that the calibre of this year’s entrants was at all-time high, making the job of
selecting winners exceedingly challenging for the more than 50 local and international judges who assessed entrants
across the 13 award categories.
The 2016 Awards also saw the introduction of the new Maori Innovation Award which attracted a record number of entries
for a new category. The inaugural award went to Precision Seafood Harvesting for its revolutionary technology that does
away with traditional trawl nets to allow fish to be landed alive and in perfect condition.
Tonight also marked the unveiling of two new Flying Kiwis, Katherine Corich, founder and CEO of Sysdoc Group and Sam Morgan, founder of Trade Me, who were inducted into the Tait
Communications Hi-Tech Hall of Fame.
New Zealand Hi-Tech Trust chair Wayne Norrie says it’s great to be able to recognise their achievements on such a
momentous night.
“Both Katherine and Sam have achieved so much. They have built up hugely successful businesses, they help and mentor the
next generation of Kiwi entrepreneurs and they also do so much philanthropic work. It’s great that their peers recognise
their achievements – both are very worthy recipients of the prestigious Flying Kiwi Award,” says Norrie.
The 2016 NZ Hi-Tech Award winners are:
2016 Flying Kiwis and inductees into the Tait Communications Hi-Tech Hall of Fame
Katherine Corich
Sam Morgan
Fronde Hi-Tech Young Achiever Award
Winner: Danu Abeysuriya – CEO of Rush Digital
Qual IT Best Technology Solution for the Public Sector Award
Winner: Silverstripe
IBM Most Innovative Company Award
Winner: 90 Seconds
ATEED Best Technology Solution for the Creative Sector Award
Winner: 90 Seconds
Callaghan Innovation Maori Innovation Award
Winner: Precision Seafood Harvesting
Duncan Cotterill Innovative Software Product Award
Winner: Movio
Endace Innovative Hardware Product Award
Winner: Aeroqual
Vocus Communications Innovative Services Award
Winner: Flick Electric
NZTE Most Innovative Agritech Product Award
Winner: Outpost Central
Quick Circuit Innovative Mobile Award
Winner: Serato
New Zealand Venture Investment Fund Hi-Tech Start-up Company of the Year
Winner: Figured
Coretex Hi-Tech Emerging Company of the Year
Winner: ARANZ Medical
PwC NZ Hi-Tech Company of the Year Award
Winner: Vista Group
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