NEWS RELEASE
Embargoed until 10pm, Friday, 26 June 2009
Dr John Hood receives Blake Medal for leadership
New Zealand’s premiere leadership honour, The Blake Medal, was tonight presented to Dr John Hood at the Sir Peter Blake
Leadership Awards.
Dr Hood, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, is the fifth recipient of The Blake Medal, the supreme accolade of
the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards, presented by Pippa, Lady Blake onboard the HMNZS CANTERBURY in Auckland.
Hood joins a stellar cast of New Zealand leaders with previous Blake Medalists including: Sir Murray Halberg (2008);
Professor Paul Callaghan (2007); Stephen Tindall (2006); and Sir John Anderson (2005).
Chair of the selection panel, Sir Ron Carter, says Dr Hood’s successful leadership at one of the world’s leading
universities caps his significant contribution to New Zealand in the realms of academia, industry and to the
architecture of the country’s high performance sports.
“In his tenure at The University of Auckland, John demonstrated outstanding leadership through his ability to clearly
articulate a vision, build a successful team to implement that vision and keep the focus on people. His ability to
motivate people and make them feel part of the bigger picture is a lasting legacy that is reflected by the continuing
respect and admiration many of the university staff have for him.
“John continues to be a role model across the many communities he interacts with and is a shining example of how
leadership qualities can be applied from industry to the world of academia.”
As well as honouring one outstanding leader, the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards also recognise six Emerging Leaders
demonstrating considerable potential.
The 2009 Emerging Leaders are (in alphabetical order by surname):
Name
Title
Pursuit
Age
Region
1
Andrew Hamilton
CEO
ICEHOUSE
40
Auckland
2
Russell Mardon
Wing Commander
Royal New Zealand Air Force
38
Palmerston North
3
Alfred Ngaro
Coordinator
Inspiring Communities
42
Auckland
4
Rachel Paris
Partner
Bell Gully
32
Auckland
5
John Penno
CEO
Synlait
40
Christchurch
6
Iva Ropati
Principal
One Tree Hill College
42
Auckland
Pippa, Lady Blake said the Sir Peter Blake Emerging Leader Awards provide an opportunity to recognise leadership
excellence in a broad range of fields.
“With the recognition the awards provide, the Trust is encouraging New Zealand’s pool of Emerging Leaders to continue to
develop their leadership ‘capital’ for the good of the country.
“This year’s recipients are a shining example of how we can all develop our leadership skills to make a wider
contribution to our communities,” she said.
The Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards were established in 2005 to inspire and celebrate great leadership. The Awards are
open to all New Zealanders and selection includes a rigorous process reviewing nominations for leaders from all sectors
of society.
The selection panel for this year’s awards is made up of a group of New Zealand leaders in their own right including:
Sir Ron Carter (Chair), Professor Paul Callaghan, Mick Brown, Eion Edgar, John Graham, Dr Lester Levy, Fran Wilde and
Sir John Anderson.
The Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards officially launch New Zealand Leadership Week (June 29 - July 3), which aims to
raise awareness of the importance of great leadership and showcase the work that is being done to develop leadership
capability throughout the country. More than 65 events are being held across 15 regions.
For more information and a calendar of activities click here or visit
www.sirpeterblaketrust.org/leadership/leadershipweek.
Ends