The category winners were announced this week and will now go on to vie for the overall national title.
Mr Darling retired earlier this year from his long-held role as head of listed company Pacific Edge. He was recruited to lead the cancer diagnostics company in 2002, a year after it was founded at the University of Otago.
He came to the role after founding forestry biotechnology business ArborGen for the Fletcher Challenge Group.
He was acknowledged for his long service to entrepreneurialism and leadership of "an incredible business with such impact".
The category winners are. —
Young entrepreneur: Max Ferguson (Lumin). Tech and emerging industries entrepreneur: James Corbett, Tom Batterbury and Phil Thomson (Auror). Product entrepreneur: Stefan Powell (Dawn Aerospace). Services entrepreneur: Brooke Roberts, Leighton Roberts and Sonya Williams (Sharesies). Master category: Stuart Wilson (Modica).
