Oritain Global crowned supreme winner

People attend the Grand Business South Awards at the Dunedin Town Hall last night. Photo: Peter McIntosh

The very best of business was celebrated in style in Dunedin last night.

The Grand Business South Awards, which are held every two years and are the southern region’s premier celebration of business excellence, were presented at a gala dinner at the Dunedin Town Hall.

Oritain Global won the excellence in science and technology award, before going on to be named supreme winner.

The pioneering Otago-based company has been a global leader in using forensic science to determine product provenance of food, beverages, fibres and pharmaceutics.

It has grown from its origins at the University of Otago — where it was created by Prof Russell Frew and Dr Helen Darling — into a niche player in a specialised area of the global market.

Now led by chief executive Grant Cochrane, its clients range from luxury goods and government organisations to leading food, wine and fibre brands.

Earlier this year, it opened its fifth global office, in Washington DC, to accommodate rapid growth and better service its commercial and government partners.

At the time, the company said with strong commercial partnerships under way with Cotton USA, Supima and Theory, it was working to grow its verticals in the Americas by developing new markets, it said.

These included hemp, red meat, pharma, coffee, cocoa, timber, polysciliates and rare extractives (to include diamonds and gold).

The opening of another global office represented the increasing importance of environmental, social and governance to businesses, consumers and markets in general.

An increased sense of consumer responsibility was driving brands to take actions that secured and verified the origin of products beyond traditional paper and digital traceability approaches.

The judging panel commented that Oritain Global’s science-based solutions were solving a growing global problem by protecting brand reputations throughout the world from opportunists who attempted to defraud, counterfeit and exploit the brand endeavours of global exporters.

The judging panel comprised Dominique Dowding (The Grand Casino), Jarrod Chisholm (Findex), John Guthrie (Transition to Work), Frank Gibbons (Air New Zealand) and David Kiddey (Kiddey Consulting), supported by specialty judges Ronda Tokona, Janine Tindall-Morice, Angela Davis and Matthew Holdridge.

There were 54 finalists represented across 18 categories.

The judges were impressed by the calibre of applicants and enjoyed hearing about their successes and their inspirational leaders.

The panel assessed more than 100 applications and interviewed all shortlisted candidates, Business South chief executive Mike Collins said.

Judges introduced a new category this year, the Young Entrepreneur Award, to acknowledge an emerging entrepreneur with "limitless potential" in the business community.

That acknowledgement went to 16-year-old Georgia Latu, the founder and chief executive of Potiki Poi, now the world’s largest poi manufacturer.

Georgia had received various accolades since she first started making poi in her living room for a school fundraiser.

She won Young Maori Business Leader at last month’s Maori Business Awards, and the Supreme Trailblazer Award at the GirlBoss Awards — which celebrated young women with a passion for their community and the environment.

Wider whanau helped the young businesswoman fulfil orders, which included one from the Women’s Rugby World Cup to make 32,000 poi.

Judges described her as a "true entrepreneur" who had taken her love of poi and shared it throughout retail sites across New Zealand.

Leader of the year was awarded to Josie Spillane, chief executive of Highlands — Experience the Exceptional.

Supreme winners of the Grand Business South Awards are Oritain Global team members (front, from left) Dan Zhu, Robert Van Hale, Connor McSpadden, Kaho Hirafune and Rachael Sinclair; (back, from left) Nick Kubala, Mackenzie Faulks, Sam Lind and Kavindra Wijenayake Photo: Peter McIntosh

The judges said her leadership and enthusiasm for the company, staff and customers was infectious.

"She has broken the glass ceiling in the world of motorsport in New Zealand, and drives a diverse portfolio of businesses surpassing all corporate goals," they said.