The NZUS Council has appointed Jonathan Mason as its Chair, succeeding Rosemary Banks who is departing to become New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States. Mr Mason is a professional independent director with vast experience in companies involved in the US market.
Mr Mason has extensive commercial experience, having worked in financial management positions across the dairy, forest products, oil and gas, and chemical industries in New Zealand and the USA. His experience in this field has been across a wide range of companies including Fonterra, Carter Holt Harvey, International Paper, ExxonMobil Corporation and Cabot Corporation.
Alongside his financial management background, Jonathan has ample experience in non-executive director positions on boards in both New Zealand and the USA, which have included Air New Zealand, Vector, Westpac NZ, Zespri Group and the World Wildlife Fund.
Jonathan also holds the position of Adjunct Professor of Management at the University of Auckland, with a focus on finance.
Mr Mason will soon be stepping down from the role of President of the American Chamber of Commerce in New Zealand.
Mr Mason said “as our third most important trading relationship supporting over $26 billion in two-way trade, the NZUS Council plays an important role in engaging with US government and business to protect and enhance our economic relationship with the USA.
“I’m happy to be appointed to the role and look forward to promoting better access for trade in goods and services and investment between the two countries”.
This change of Chair comes at a time when there is renewed focus on New Zealand’s relationship with the United States as a critically important trading partner, a source of investment, and new technologies.
The NZUS Council is a non-partisan and independent organisation committed to promoting all dimensions of New Zealand’s multi-faceted relations with the United States. The Council welcomes members from business, government, academia, and the expanding technology sector.
https://www.nzuscouncil.org/
Award winning New Zealand tech innovator, Fingermark, has secured a cornerstone investment from global water, hygiene and infection prevention leader, Ecolab. This investment includes a multimillion dollar capital injection that will support Fingermark’s rapidly rising global growth trajectory.
Luke Irving, Founder and Chief Executive of Fingermark, hailed the deal as transformative. “This is a true collaboration that will help both companies better serve global Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) customers and further establish Fingermark’s growing reputation,” said Irving. Fingermark is an industry leading computer vision and self ordering technology provider to some of the world’s largest Enterprise QSR brands. Their technology provides automation that supports restaurant processes to enhance profitability and competitiveness, reduce costs, mitigate labour shortages and meet heightened customer expectations. A trusted partner for millions of customers, Ecolab (NYSE:ECL) is a global sustainability leader with annual sales of $15 billion and 48,000 associates serving customers in more than 170 countries around the world. Ecolab’s innovative solutions improve operational efficiencies and sustainability for customers in the food, healthcare, life sciences, hospitality and industrial markets.
“For more than 100 years, Ecolab has worked to help our hospitality and foodservice customers achieve their operational and sustainability goals,” says Chris Loflin, Senior Vice President & General Manager Global QSR. “Teaming up with Fingermark will help us address modern operational challenges and begin delivering on the promise of AI and computer vision technology at scale for our global QSR customers.” “There is massive change in the Global QSR sector as the move to automation gathers pace,” Irving comments. “While this is just the start of our work with Ecolab, they see Fingermark as playing a critical role in the long-term strategies for the QSR market.” Irving says Fingermark’s growing success is also an endorsement of the New Zealand tech sector. “We may be on the edge of global markets but our work and that of others in the New Zealand tech sector are putting this country on the map,” Irving says. “The Prime Minister and Minister of Trade have both set ambitious goals around growing exports and attracting foreign investment and I believe our tech sector is going to deliver on those targets – look at what we’ve done here, and the best is still to come.”
At the latest AmCham awards, where Fingermark won the DHL Express Success & Innovation Award for Technology Exporter of the Year to the United States, the judges noted the company’s dedication, innovation, and capacity to succeed on a global scale.
The judging criteria included showcasing a deep passion for achieving business success, fostering innovation and harnessing marketing opportunities, with Fingermark exemplifying these characteristics, as well as the power of innovation, collaboration, and determination, said the judges. Source: https://fingermark.ai/
Auckland, New Zealand: Scott Technology (NZX:SCT) is to strengthen its expertise and drive further innovation in the North American protein market as it seeks to capitalize on the vast opportunities this region offers.
A key driver of this investment is the expansion of its world leading BladeStop safety bandsaw product line to include the T300, a saw specifically designed for the instore meat cutting of the supermarket sector. Independent research indicates that the total addressable market for the T300 retail saw in the U.S. is approximately 25,000 units which includes leading retailers such as Albertsons and Kroger.
In addition to the BladeStop expansion, Scott Technology's proprietary Poultry Trusser product has gained significant traction in the market. Sales have been secured with three of North America's largest poultry processors, demonstrating strong market adoption. Despite this success, there remains a substantial untapped market for this product.
“With Scott’s strong pedigree of bringing world-leading automation technologies to market, we continue see large opportunities ahead in the North American red meat and poultry sectors. The poultry trussing product is well into its commercialisation phase with orders building upon the early rollouts into the Costco processing network. Our recently released T300 BladeStop saw is now being launched into the leading US supermarket chains where retailers undertake meat cutting activities instore” commented John Kippenberger, Scott Technology Chief Executive.
To support Scott Technology's growth in the North American protein market, the company is pleased to announce the Executive appointment of Mark Host as Vice President of Sales – Global Protein. Based in the U.S, Mark will lead the global sales efforts for the protein sector, leveraging his extensive experience and expertise to drive growth and strengthen Scott Technology's market position.
“We are delighted to have Mark Host join the group executive team in this newly created role. Marks appointment will see an important injection of sales leadership and protein industry experience into North America.”
Mark brings a proven track record of sales growth, market and product development, and team leadership. He has over 25 years of experience across multiple food processing categories where he has helped processors implement solutions to increase worker safety, improve processing yields, and grow profitability.
Mark comes to Scott from Pearson Packaging Systems, a market leader in secondary packaging and robotic automation, where he was the VP of Sales. Prior to that, Mark served as VP of Global Sales at Bettcher Industries, a global protein processing supplier, where he led the acceleration of the business, the launch of new products, and grew both direct and distributor markets. These strategic moves highlight Scott Technology's focus on innovation, market expansion, and leadership in the North American market, positioning the company for continued success and growth.
Source: https://scottautomation.com/
Australian private equity firm Potentia Capital Management through its vehicle Admetus has paid $92.2 million ($2.10 a share), for an 18.45 per cent stake in Vista Group after deals done over the weekend.
Potentia is in discussion with the Vista board, although it is understood a full offer is not in the wings.
A further 10.60 million shares in the listed cinema software specialist will be acquired from Jarden Securities, with settlement due on Friday, Admetus said in a filing with the NZX.
The deals were arranged mostly through Jarden.
The holdings, together with on-market trades today, are expected to take Potentia to a 19.9 per cent stake.
At $2.10, the price was a 26c or a 14 per cent premium to Friday’s closing price.
The offer price values Vista at 40 times its 2024 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, and values the company in total at around $500m.
Admetus also said it had entered an agreement to pay sellers of Vista stock an “escalation payment” should it decide to take the company over at a higher price.
When ownership reaches 20 per cent, certain obligations under the New Zealand rules take effect regarding full and partial takeovers.
The main sellers were Spheria Asset Management, a smaller company investment specialist, and WAM (Wilson Asset Management), an ASX-listed investment company.
Both parties sold their entire stakes.
The company was founded by Murray Holdaway in 1996.
Holdaway started Madison Systems, which became New Zealand’s largest IBM reseller.
After Madison was involved with two cinema system developments, Holdaway formed Vista, which went on to dominate the global market for movie theatre management software.
Vista debuted on the NZX in 2014 at $2.40 a share, giving it a market cap at the time of $191m.
On Friday, Holdaway received the New Zealand Hi-Tech “Flying Kiwi” award at the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards.
“As co-founder of Vista Group, Murray played a leading role in taking Vista Group from a small, New Zealand-founded company to the largest cinema software company in the globe with a leading global market share,” the company said.
“Murray led Vista Group to international success, with offices established in 10 locations worldwide, customers in over 110 countries, and eight software acquisitions to date in international territories.”
In 2015, Vista Group was named the IPO of the year and in 2016 Vista Group won the PwC Hi-Tech Company of the Year award at the New Zealand Hi-Tech Awards.
Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/
Australasia’s hospitality tech pioneers – HungryHungry and MOBI – have merged to create a new powerhouse in the local market and to take on new markets, especially the USA.
The new company combines HungryHungry's expertise in hospitality-focused software with MOBI's enterprise-grade mobile technology solutions, services over 4,000+ venues across 15 countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.
The new entity creates a unique combination of consumer facing technology to drive new customers for venues while also offering a white label technology platform that allows brands to effectively engage with customers and generate lasting brand loyalty for their own brand.
With MOBI founder Tarik Mallett having exited the business in 2022, the new company will be led by HungryHungry Co-Founders Shannon Hautot and Mark Calabro, who have extensive experience in powering the hospitality industry with Point of Sale (POS) software and digital ordering platforms, including their first business OrderMate, which they sold to former ASX company MSL Solutions in 2021.
Shannon Hautot, Co-Founder and CEO, said, “We have enormous admiration for MOBI founder, Tarik Mallett, who spent 12 years creating a solid business with a great culture and we’re excited to announce the coming together of HungryHungry and MOBI.
“Having been in this space for over two decades It’s a rare opportunity to witness two strong, established and profitable companies come together with a vision of combining forces to deliver massive value for customers.
“We may be the underdogs in our space, having only raised a fraction of outside capital compared with some of our peers, but that means we've had to be very efficient and respectful with how we spend our investors’ money.
“We share a genuine desire to create a powerful, sustainable market leader in the hospitality sector, that will act as a growth engine to stimulate the industry, whilst continuing to lead with innovation and integrity. Together with MOBI, we are better positioned than ever to innovate, scale, and meet the evolving needs of the global hospitality industry, both SMB and Enterprise, with big plans to sprint past our competitors.”
Mark Calabro, Co-Founder and Head of Partnerships, added, “Shannon and I were inspired to start our first business, OrderMate, through a love of food, dining out and technology.
“Fast forward to 2021 when we sold OrderMate - we were even more inspired to innovate and go again. Our journey has been driven by a passion and commitment to delivering the most innovative technology driven solutions that align with the evolving needs of the hospitality industry. As we join forces with MOBI we look forward to the next chapter including the launch of our game changing payments product, HungryPay - a product which leans into a service-centric industry that is hospitality, whilst having product market fit for countries like the US which are all about staff taking orders and tipping.”
Brodie Arnhold, Chairman of HungryHungry and now Chairman of the group said, “It is great to have two profitable businesses come together in a move that will further consolidate the market and create significant value for shareholders of both companies. Being EBITDA positive, cashflow positive and debt free, means we can really strategically target new products, new markets and look at further M&A opportunities for growth.”
Mark Vivian, Partner at Movac and a major investor in MOBI, said, “With a rich history in venture capital investment in New Zealand, we're always on the lookout for tech opportunities that have the potential to disrupt the status quo.
“Since first investing in MOBI in 2019, we've seen the business grow from a New Zealand online ordering platform to a global hospitality tech leader. The merger is the logical next step in the evolution of both companies, as it creates a new entity with significant critical mass, an impressive global customer base, and a full product offering to better serve a range of hospitality customers and their guests. With further innovation and global expansion, the future is an exciting one."
About HungryHungry
HungryHungry is an award winning, end-to-end ordering and payment hospitality tech platform co-founded in 2019 by Mark Calabro and Shannon Hautot, each with 20+ years’ experience in Point Of Sale (POS) and integrated technology solutions for the hospitality industry. They launched their first business Point of Sale company, OrderMate, in 2003. In the years that followed they grew their customer base to over 2,500 venues across Australia, NZ and the UAE, building a successful business that was acquired in 2021 by MSL Solutions.
HungryHungry is on a mission to deliver innovative, tech-driven solutions that help venue owners increase revenue, lower costs, and access valuable data insights to enhance customer loyalty and inform ways of delivering better experiences. It operates as a standalone product to place, fulfill and record all food and beverage orders in multi-segments across indoor and outdoor dining, fast service, high volume delivery venues, hotel and room service, pick up and collect at counter ordering, kiosk solutions, multi-area restaurants and cafes.
About MOBI
Founded in 2010, MOBI is the market leader in the mid-market enterprise category in Australia, New Zealand & Canada, processing over $500m in customer transactions. With a presence in more than 3000 restaurants and hospitality businesses across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the U.S, MOBI’s enterprise-grade solutions focus on helping clients increase revenue, improve customer experience, and regain control of their customer relationships. Originating as an online ordering solution for Order Ahead & Pick-up, MOBI has expanded product offerings to now include Branded Storefronts, Mobile Apps for iOS and Android, AI-driven guest experiences, White-Labelled Delivery, Marketplace Order Aggregation, Order with Google, Order at Table, Personalised Loyalty and over 120 powerful integrations.
Source: https://www.mobihq.com/
The world's largest restaurant franchisee operator is acquiring New Zealand's Wendy's burger outlets (Wendco NZ Ltd)
The San Francisco-based business generates more than US$4.5 billion in annual sales, according to its website.
Flynn Group also expanded into Australia last year with plans to open 200 Wendy's restaurants across the Tasman by 2034.
"Operated by the Lendich family since 1988, the Wendy's New Zealand franchise business has grown to include more than 20 Wendy's restaurants from Auckland in the north to Dunedin in the south," the franchisee said.
"With the purchase, Flynn is now the sole franchisee for The Wendy's Company in Australia and New Zealand and will be working closely with the brand's team to scale and develop in both countries."
Flynn Group, founded in 1999, has more than 2600 restaurants and gyms in the US and Australia, and employs over 75,000 people, according to its website.
"The acquisition of the Wendy's New Zealand business represented a compelling opportunity to continue our growth ambitions internationally and to expand our strong partnership with the much-loved Wendy's brand," Flynn Group chief operating officer Ron Bellamy said.
"Wendco New Zealand has a proud 35-year track record of delighting customers and we are honoured to carry that tradition forward. Our immediate priority will be to collaborate with the existing team to determine how we can best leverage our scale and capabilities to build on their success as we enter this next chapter of growth together.
"To help ensure strong continuity for all 500 of Wendco New Zealand's employees as well as its partners and suppliers, Flynn plans to retain the current operations and support teams and looks forward to creating job and career advancement opportunities as the Wendy's brand expands in this market." Source: https://www.newshub.co.nz/
AgriZeroNZ is doubling down on efforts to deliver a methane vaccine with an investment in U.S. ag-biotech start-up, ArkeaBio.
The JV has invested NZD $9.9million (USD $6m) to accelerate ArkeaBio’s development of a methane vaccine for ruminant animals, including cows, sheep and deer, with an initial focus on cattle.
It is the JV's second investment in vaccine development, having already invested in the New Zealand research programme.
AgriZeroNZ chief executive Wayne McNee, says the JV is backing two vaccine projects to increase the chance of delivering the highly sought-after, world-first solution.
"A methane vaccine for ruminant animals is internationally recognised as the ‘holy grail’ to deliver methane reduction at low cost and mass scale. It could be one of the best long-term options to really shift the dial on agricultural emissions in New Zealand without compromising farm profitability, as well as a powerful tool globally.
“It would be a particularly useful tool for our grass-fed animals and a good fit for our pastoral farms as vaccination is already commonly used to support animal health.
“We’re really pleased to be supporting ArkeaBio and its innovative approach to develop this important solution to help farmers curb emissions," Wayne McNee said.
ArkeaBio is based in Boston and led by Kiwi expat, Colin South.
The start-up recently completed US$26.5m Series A venture financing to support process development, trial expansion, and defining path to market. This financing was led by existing investor, Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV), with new investments from AgriZeroNZ, The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, Rabo Ventures, Overview Capital, and The 51 Food & AgTech Fund.
South said they are pleased to have AgriZeroNZ join its round, which provides both funding and a close relationship with an important and motivated early market for their global solution.
"A vaccine is the lowest cost path to global scale enteric methane reduction and is applicable to cattle worldwide. This singular solution, distributed globally with large-scale adoption, can change the trajectory of global warming and demonstrate a path to meeting major climate mitigation goals. The funds raised in this Series A financing will play a pivotal role in expanding the research, development and deployment of the vaccine, including large-scale field trials and engagement along the supply chain.
"We look forward to working with AgriZeroNZ and the members of the innovative Kiwi farming environment to make world-leading progress in reducing enteric methane emissions," Colin South, CEO ArkeaBio.
A vaccine would be a critical tool to help farmers achieve the JV's ambition of reducing agricultural emissions by 30 per cent by 2030.
McNee says this is crucial for New Zealand, to meet global customer targets, protect trade agreements and support the country's climate goals.
"The work to develop a methane vaccine is pioneering, complex and challenging. We’re proud to be working with two world-leading research teams to support and accelerate their work for farmers in New Zealand and around the globe," Wayne McNee.
AgriZeroNZ is half owned by the New Zealand government, with the other half owned by major agribusiness companies – The a2 Milk Company, ANZ Bank New Zealand, ANZCO Foods, ASB Bank, Fonterra, Rabobank, Ravensdown, Silver Fern Farms and Synlait.
These shareholders are providing $183 million for AgriZeroNZ to achieve its ambition.
Since being established on 1 February 2023 the JV has committed over $29 million to accelerate development of emissions reduction tools for Kiwi farmers. Other investments include funding for a methane inhibiting bolus, novel probiotics, low emissions pasture and construction of a greenhouse gas testing facility. Source: https://www.agrizero.nz/
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today.
“The medicines and products we are talking about are critical to New Zealanders’ health. We want cost-effective access to the right products, to support health outcomes, and to ensure there aren’t unnecessary barriers for our exporters,” Ms Costello says.
“The current Medicines Act is out of date, but the TPA was not the solution. It would have over-regulated some products and imposed unnecessary costs on consumers, businesses and exporters.
“In repealing the Act, the Government is listening to the concerns of industry and consumers.
“Industry groups considered their products would be over-regulated, particularly lower risk products, such as some natural health products. Consumers, importers and practitioners, told us that over-regulation could make these products more expensive or unavailable and I am not confident the Act would have improved approval times for new medicines.
“To provide certainty to industry, consumers and practitioners the TPA will be repealed in full. It is my intention that the repeal Bill passes before the end of the year.”
Most provisions in the Act were intended to come into force 1 September 2026. As the Act will be repealed before this date, the repeal will not require businesses or practitioners to change the way they currently work and operate and there will be no disruption to consumers.
“The Government will now develop a modern, risk proportionate regulatory regime for medicines and medical devices, and a separate modernised regime for natural health products,” Ms Costello says.
“The new regime needs to back our innovators and health practitioners and to provide timely access to new and promising therapies. As well as improving peoples’ health, the right system will take the pressure off our general practitioners and our hospital system.”
Later this year, the Government will consider proposals for new legislation that will streamline the way in which new medicines are approved and ensure that regulation supports innovation in health and medical products and economic growth.
“There will be engagement with key groups through this process. I hope we can build on some of the work that has already been done in this area and look forward to hearing from consumers, industry, and practitioners so that we develop the best possible law and frameworks.”
Repealing the TPA are commitments in the National-New Zealand First and National-ACT coalition agreements.
Media contact: Richard Ninness +64 21 807 136
Editor’s notes:
The Therapeutic Products Bill was introduced to the House on 30 November 2022 and the Therapeutics Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 26 July 2023.
Therapeutic products covered by the Act included medicines, medical devices (such as bandages, hospital beds and surgical equipment) and natural health products.
In 2023, the Health Select Committee considering the Bill reviewed more than 16,500 submissions and heard submissions from more than 300 organisations and individuals. Over 95% of submissions opposed the Bill, mostly due to the inclusion of natural health products.
The regulatory regime required to support the TPA, including the creation of a new regulatory agency and IT systems, had still to be developed and this work was unfunded. Until new legislation is passed, the Medicines Act and Dietary Supplement Regulations which are currently in place will continue to apply. Source: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/
ikeGPS Group Limited (ASX/NZX:IKE) or IKE, today announces that:
Five new IKE PoleForeman subscription agreements are being put in place with major U.S. Electric Utilities, with an expected Total Contract Value (TCV) of ~NZ$4m, and Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of NZ$1.3M.
Since the launch of this next-gen product in late 2023 the Company has added TCV of more than NZ$12m, representing ~NZ$4m of ARR. + These new contract wins include the largest parent electric utility group in the U.S. by revenue, who serves power to ~ten million underlying customers, and a Fortune 500 group that serves power to ~seven million underlying customers in the northern U.S. + In total, contracts to date will result in ~3,700 engineers using the software on a subscription basis across 47 utility groups (28 existing customers that have been upsold and 19 new customers).
IKE PoleForeman is IKE’s next-gen subscription software product that enables utility engineers to efficiently design their distribution power and communication networks.
An expectation that within the next 12-18 months, eight of the ten largest Investor-Owned Utilities in the U.S. will be standardized on IKE PoleForeman for their distribution network design. More broadly, IKE expects that dozens of additional utility & engineering customers will transition to the platform in the short and medium-term given the market acceptance of IKE PoleForeman as an industry standard, and particularly given the market leading capabilities of this new product. + These customers represent a highly sticky footprint. This structural analysis & design product is core to the network design process within these businesses, often with hundreds of engineers using the product every day. As such, it is a difficult solution to replace, and long-term retention rates exceed 95%. + IKE therefore has an expectation for a significant life-time value multiple beyond the TCV levels currently being closed.
IKE notes that the total addressable market in North America is large, with more the 3,000 electric utilities and their engineering partners, plus more than 200 tier-1 communications groups and their engineering partners requiring this network design and analysis capability.
IKE notes that prior contract wins announced have also included: + A five year ~NZ$2m agreement with the second largest electric utility in the U.S. The initial purchase order was for the first year of the agreement, for ~NZ$0.4m. This customer serves approximately eight million customers in the southern U.S. region. + A ~NZ$3.7m subscription contract with a Fortune 150 Company and one of the ten largest Investor-Owned Utilities in the U.S., upgrading them from IKE’s legacy product. Over the coming five years, this long-term customer commitment means that over 1,000 engineers at this utility will use IKE PoleForeman’s advanced capabilities.
Beyond the PoleForeman product, IKE offers a suite of products for the collection, analysis, management, and digitization of pole and overhead asset information for electric utilities, communications companies, and their engineering service providers in North America. Today, IKE serves more than 395 customers with subscription products. IKE’s subscription revenue has grown substantially over the past four years and the company expects total subscription revenue growth of more the 50% in the FY25 period to March 2025.
Source: https://www.nzx.com/
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America.
“Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says.
“New Zealand and the United States have a broad range of shared interests, and we are responding to a challenging strategic environment by finding ways to cooperate ever more closely.
“It was vital that we appoint as Ambassador to Washington D.C. a diplomat with serious experience, gravitas and nous to help New Zealand navigate the period ahead. We are therefore delighted that Rosemary has agreed to undertake a second term in the role.”
Ms Banks, currently the Chair of the NZ-US Council, previously served as New Zealand’s Ambassador to Washington from 2018-2022. She succeeds Bede Corry, who is returning to Wellington to be the next Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Ms Banks, who has also headed New Zealand diplomatic missions in New York and Paris and served as a Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will take up the role in early June. Source: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/
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