Business champion for Export Year 07 appointed
New Zealand entrepreneur and leading exporter Ken Stevens has been appointed the Business Champion for Export Year 07, Economic Development Minister Trevor Mallard and Trade Minister Phil Goff announced today.
Ken Stevens is the founder, owner and executive chair of Auckland company Glidepath, a world leader in airport baggage handling and sorting systems.
"Export Year 2007 is aimed at improving New Zealand's long-term export performance as the Labour-led government works to grow more firms that are competitive in international markets. This is part of our agenda to continue to transform New Zealand into an export-led, innovative and high wage economy," Trevor Mallard said.
"Mr Stevens has extensive and widely recognised exporting experience and expertise and we are confident he will provide crucial private sector leadership as our government works with business in the development of initiatives for Export Year 2007."
"We want Export Year to have a material impact on exporters and those wanting to get into exporting," Phil Goff said.
"Key to achieving that is close consultation with private sector at the earliest stages. Mr Stevens' role, along with a newly formed private sector reference group, is to help us engage with the business and exporting community on developing and implementing a detailed programme aimed at lifting our export performance," he said.
The government is working with NZ First on this initiative. Export Year 07 is part of the government's support agreement with NZ First and was highlighted in the Prime Minister's statement to Parliament this year.
The private sector reference group has representatives from exporter and employer groups, chambers of commerce, Business NZ, the NZ Pacific Business Council, NZ Council of Trade Unions and the Economic Development Association NZ.
Background
Ken Stevens was a 2005 finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards and in 2006 won the World Class New Zealand Award for Manufacturing, presented by the Kiwi Expat Association (KEA). Glidepath has subsidiaries in Sydney, Shanghai, Toronto, United Arab Emirates, Dallas and Santiago and has been involved in some 449 projects in 38 countries.
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