Auckland, May 20, 2016.
Record number attend gala dinner
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.
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
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