EDITOR’S LETTER : Reputation wins…

Everyone in business knows Fortune magazine’s annual feature, The World’s Most Admired Companies. Those voted by their peers onto this prestigious list use it widely to define themselves. Those who languish off the list dream of finding their way onto it.
This year for the first time in New Zealand, NZ Management magazine publishes this country’s own unique version of this – New Zealand’s Most Reputable Organisations – also researched by international consulting organisation Hay Group. We’ve broken new ground with our survey, extending it beyond just companies to also include state-owned enterprises, government departments and not-for-profit organisations.
Unlike many awards, the judges are not few hand-picked experts and advisers, but rather several hundred senior leaders, executives and directors from across all organisation types and industry sectors in New Zealand. They have selected the organisations they feel uphold the highest levels of business acumen and ethical behaviour; those with vision, robust strategies, trustworthiness and commitment to the wider community.
We congratulate the winners and finalists, as we reveal who tops the list as New Zealand’s most reputable in four categories – and those who follow close behind. For Rob Fyfe, CEO of Air New Zealand, and Deloitte/Management magazine Top 200 Executive of the Year 2009, it is yet another endorsement of the excellence of his leadership and the loyalty of those who work for him, as his company proudly becomes NZ’s Most Reputable Organisation.
Particular thanks go to Hay Group for partnering with NZ Management in this significant project, and for making their Melbourne-based data centre available to do the survey analysis. Many long hours of work went into the research and analysis of the results, spearheaded by Hay Group NZ’s managing director Ian MacRae and NZ Management consulting editor Reg Birchfield.
A great reputation is the highest prize brand can own, winning the loyalty of customers and staff alike. In this issue, we also look at how the concept of brand is changing and the new rules of engagement, as part of our Deloitte/Management magazine Top 200 theme, Understanding the New World.